14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has just announced that it has released a new firmware version for the PlayStation 3 console, taking its software to 3.55, which updates the security measures and, most likely, fixes the recent firmware downgrading that has been discovered by the makers of the PlayStation 3 Jailbreak devices.
Sony was extremely enigmatic about what the new firmware version actually does, limiting itself to saying that "This is a minor update that adds a security patch," on the official PlayStation Blog.
While the company didn't admit anything about trying to combat the new jailbreak progress, it seems that the new update has effectively killed the loophole in the PlayStation 3's security which allowed hackers to downgrade the firmware of the console to a previous version.
For those not familiar with the PlayStation 3 hacking scandal, it seems that firmware version 3.41 and previous editions allow for the console to be put into a service mode in which they can play game backups from external storage devices, effectively leaving the door open for pirates to play illegal copies on the Sony console.
The Japanese company didn't want anything to do with it, and released two new firmwares, 3.42 and 3.50, which, besides adding a few new features, killed off the loopholes that allowed for the PlayStation 3 to be put into service mode by hackers.
That seemed to be the end of it, until recently, when the creators of the original PlayStation 3 jailbreak device, PSJailbreak, revealed that they had successfully managed to downgrade the firmware of a PS3 from 3.50 to 3.41.
This meant that any console, no matter the firmware, could have its software rolled back, and was susceptible to being hacked and playing illegal games.
Now, the new 3.55 firmware has been released, and already reports are arriving that it has killed the possibility to downgrade the firmware back to a previous version.
Don't forget that this update is mandatory if you want to access any online features, like the PlayStation Network or PlayStation Store, so be prepared to endure another update process on your PS3.