(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); This is some nasty news pouring in, according to The Wired, Sony has gotten permission to subpoenaed Bluehost (Geohot.com hosting company) to reveal a list of IP addresses of every visitor (and more) that visited Geohots site (which is most of you reading I assume). Full article and what Sony is looking into below.

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To Quote:


Sony told Spero, a San Francisco magistrate, that it needed the information for at least two reasons.

One is to prove the “defendant’s distribution” of the hack. The other involves a jurisdictional argument over whether Sony must sue Hotz in his home state of New Jersey rather than in San Francisco, which Sony would prefer. Sony said the server logs would demonstrate that many of those who downloaded Hotz’s hack reside in Northern California — thus making San Francisco a proper venue for the case.

The DMCA prohibits the trafficking of so-called “circumvention devices” designed to crack copy-protection schemes. The law does not require Sony to prove that Hotz received payment for the hack, which was designed to allow PlayStation 3 owners the ability to run home-brewed software or alternative operating systems like Linux. It builds on a series of earlier jailbreaks that unlocked less protected levels of the PlayStation’s authentication process.

Jailbreaking a console is also a prerequisite to running pirated copies of games, which Sony emphasizes in its lawsuit.

“I think the these subpoenas, the information they seek, is inappropriate,” said Corynne McSherry, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In a letter to Magistrate Spero, she termed the subpoenas “overly broad.” (.pdf)

The judge also signed off on a Google subpoena seeking the logs for Hotz’s Blogger.com blog, geohotps.3.blogspot.com.

A YouTube subpoena, also approved, seeks information connected to the “geohot” account that displayed a video of the hack being used: “Jailbroken PS3 3.55 with Homebrew.” The subpoena demands data to identify who watched the video and “documents reproducing all records or usernames and IP addresses that have posted or published comments in response to the video.”

A fourth subpoena is directed at Twitter, demanding the disclosure of all of Hotz’s tweets, and “documents sufficient to identify all names, addresses, and telephone numbers associated with the Twitter account.”

Sony has threatened to sue anybody who posts the hacking tools or the encryption key. It is seeking unspecified damages from Hotz.

A hearing on whether Hotz will be tried in San Francisco or New Jersey is set for next month in San Francisco federal court.”
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Live Proxy:
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As you may know:
A live proxy will let you navigate through the internet with another IP address.


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[multipage=Update]
I've made a new page because the update is too big and I don't know how to summarize it.

In news that could have far-reaching consequences, a Judge has granted Sony’s request for information that could identify anyone that has visited the web sites belonging to hacker George ‘Geohot’ Hotz.
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You’ll probably remember the news that Sony is suing Hotz for his part in the hacking (jailbreaking) of its PlayStation 3 console, and the Japanese giant has even managed to seize the hacker’s computer hard drives. Now Judge Joseph Spero has granted Sony’s request for identifying information for anyone that has visited the sites owned by Hotz. Along with the site’s hosts, YouTube, Twitter and Google are also targets for information requests.

It’s the subpoena of the web site hosts, Bluehost that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. As CrunchGear writes, Sony claims the requests are ‘narrowly tailored’, though looking through the information requested we find that a little hard to swallow.

Sony contends that the subpoenas are “narrowly tailored for jurisdictional discovery.” Yet their subpoena for Bluehost, GeoHot’s host, requires “all server logs, IP address logs, account information, account access records and application or registration forms” and “any other identifying information corresponding to persons or computers who have accessed or downloaded files hosted using your service and associated with the You must login or register to view this content. website, including but not limited to the geohot.com/jailbreak.zip file.” Essentially, everyone who visited GeoHot’s site (or his blog at Blogspot) is subject to involvement in this case.

But Bluehost aren’t the only ones Sony are going after. YouTube will also be asked to reveal the identity of anyone who has watched videos showing how to jailbreak a PS3 – scary stuff.

Unsurprisingly, the EFF has joined in the fuss, writing a letter to the Magistrate with wording such as “the discovery seeks information about non-parties and… the relationship to the narrow jurisdictional question at issue [i.e. where the case should be tried] seem tenuous at best”.

The issue of where the case should be tried refers to Sony’s request for proceedings to be heard in San Francisco. The reason for this is it’s the home of YouTube, Google and Twitter and is close to Sony’s headquarters.

As we’ve said before, this is one case that is sure to rumble on and on, but at this rate, we’re all going to get dragged into it for having the audacity to watch a YouTube video or following the wrong person on Twitter.
[multipage=UPDATED! READ!]
PS3 hacking case: Sony gets downloaders' information

Sony has said it can identify PS3 users running hacked consoles
Continue reading the main story

Sony has been given permission to obtain details of people who downloaded files needed to hack the PlayStation 3.

A judge in San Francisco granted the electronics giant a subpoena that would allow it to see a list of IP addresses.

The software, used to crack the PS3's operating system, was posted on the website of George Hotz, who is also known as Geohot.

Sony is suing Mr Hotz, claiming his hacks breach copyright laws, and could allow users to play pirated games.

Court documents, obtained by Wired magazine, show that the company successfully petitioned to obtain IP addresses from the web-hosting company Bluehost.

The details could be used to trace the real-world geographical locations of users who accessed George Hotz's website, Geohot.com.

However, it may not be Sony's intention to take legal action against those found to have downloaded the software crack.

Illicit conduct
Sources with knowledge of the case said there was unlikely to be the appetite for a prolonged and expensive series of legal challenges.

Rather, the subpoena document suggests that Sony wants to discover the number and location of the downloaders in order to establish jurisdiction in its case against Mr Hotz.

"SCEA [Sony Computer Entertainment America] needs to determine how rampant the access to and use of these circumvention devices has been in California in order to rebut Mr Hotz's suggestion that his illicit conduct was not aimed at the forum state," the document reads.

The subpoena also grants Sony the right to access information relating to the case from Twitter, Google Blogspot and YouTube.

Restraining order
The company had previously been granted a restraining order against Mr Hotz, banning him from revealing techniques to manipulate the PlayStation 3's operating system.

The 21-year-old, along with a number of other individuals, is charged with violating several copyright-related laws, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

He is also accused of offences under the United States' Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Mr Hotz denies that he set out to help software pirates, claiming instead that he was championing the 'home brew' community - users who write their own software for the PS3.

Sony has said it is now able to remotely identify users who are running hacked PlayStation 3 consoles and that it will ban persistent offenders from using its online services.

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Goes to install a proxy

*goes to a proxy search site*
but damn thats not cool...
heres a proxy site guys!
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Thank you. I will update my thread with this. Really helpful.

*Doesnt go to install a proxy site*

becuz its all legal in uk hahaha, if sony does do something to me, ill go to court and sue them on my own, ill be my own lawyer, because i know they cant touch me, its all legit in uk

They may have our ip addresses, But how will they track us down :carling:

MY ip is in London, Well so it says.

Wtf is Sony going to do with like over 100,000 ips? Not like they'll ban anyone for visiting a website.

They can track us down if they want to. All they have to do is ask the user's internet company for their address and they might go to your house. Sony is really powerful man, even if you live in London they can send somebody there. (If they wanted to).

---------- Post added at 09:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 PM ----------



I had the same thought when I saw this...

Ooops double post. My internet said something "flood" when I posted the reply so I tried to post it again. If any of you haters think i was double posting, my bad.

no one cares about you and your "awesomeness" in avoiding Sony because this impacts thousands of people who accessed his website. I hate Geonubz because hes a fag who always lies even though hes a very smart programmer and am pro Sony but this is downright wrong. Sony can now redflag anyone because they visited his site (they will red flag you) and warn you. Also you are an idiot because for 99% people, all Sony has to do is match the IP adress with ISP and just get your information. Idc about you and your awesome abilities to have to change ip just to go online on a gaming console because you are too much of a p***** to go on using your real ip.