PS3 Update 3.56

Earlier in the day, all PlayStation 3 users across the world were welcomed by a new update along with a recommendation of downloading it at the earliest from Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). The release of PS3 update v3.56 seems to be a desperate damage control measure from Sony to prevent jailbreaks triggered by fail0verflow and Geohot disclosure that improper implementation of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) makes it possible for the users to recover the private key used by Sony to sign software.

After all the hacking drama and lawsuits, this was expected but what is surprising is the fact that it has come too soon. Sony has left PS3 users guessing without providing much information on the new update. Problems with PS3 update v3.55 perhaps prompted Sony to go ahead with this step so soon, but will this security patch be of any help in a long term is something that needs to be given a serious thought.

PS3 Jailbreak

Experts are of the opinion that the dramatic hacking of Sony's PlayStation 3 game console by George "Geohot" Hotz at the 27th Chaos Communication Conference in Berlin which was followed by an announcement by a group calling themselves 'fail0verflow' announcing that they had successfully bypassed a number of security measures of PS3 made Sony take this desperate measure. These hacking attempts also resulted in Sony filing lawsuits against both George "Geohot" Hotz and fail0verflow for violating Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) on 12th January, 2011. Within two weeks Sony has come up with PS3 update v3.56 - a minor but important security patch for the console.

Features

The latest update of the 3.0 series doesn't do anything but makes your system secure by working on the loopholes of the system. The new update succeeds PS3 update 3.55 - which upgraded system security by blocking jailbreak and downgrading attempts. As of now, only a limited information about the PS3 update v3.56 is made available on its official blog which clearly states that, "it is a minor security patch". More information on PS3 update 3.56 download is expected to be published on this blog sometime soon, thus giving you access to some more facts about the same. The v3.56 update is mandatory if you intend to play online multiplayer games.

If tech pundits are to be believed, this update is important because it will provide relief to all those people who had to bear the brunt of hacking over the last few weeks. The users of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - who had to face the music with hackers targeting multiplayer components of this game, must be the happiest lot as of now. This quick security fix is a must have upgrade if you intend to make sure that the rest of the year is free of such hacking hassles for you. The list of upcoming PS3 games is more interesting than ever before, and that is a good reason for you to get going with the PlayStation 3 firmware update v3.56.