PSN outage info - PS3ers - must read!

[RedRaven]

Got an email from sony this morning, just a copy of the letter from the link Spaceboy posted.

I never put my bank details in so should be ok! Still, it has not stopped me from checking all my bank info, and other online services such as Amazon, Ebay and Paypal with which transactions are all initiated by myself to purchase something. They only direct debit setup is for my Telecommunications provider. And with no credit card or over-draft facility I know my account can not be used to run up large debts in my name.
 

[Binnatics]

I do the same, actually. Any buy is without CC. Don't like the things, only causing trouble. I authorized almost all companies who I have to pay mothly and that's all checkable. If I want to buy something online I use I-deal, which is a way to link the company's page (steam for expl) with my internet-banking account, only a t the moment of paying for a product I want to have. Then I can fill in a transaction to the asking company where I want to buy from, and my bank handles the rest as soon as I enter all security codes as usual.

It's secure, as long as you trust the company where you buy from. So that's important. Be sure you're not fooled by a blinkin' website with recomendations and stuff from great companies. It can all be fake. In fact I don't do much muying online, only if necesarry. 

[Fiach]

Strangely enough they never sent any notification to me yet, maybe its only a certain server/s that was hacked and not the whole network.

[mmosu]

I'm not sure we're actually going to get much "notification" in this instance - the problem seems to be well known now, and anyone active on the network has known about the outage for at least a week now.  I also don't think this would be a good time for Sony to push forward with making PSN a paid service, that would be just the slap in the face it would take to have PS3 faithful abandoning in droves  >:((.

Speaking of things people (this time meaning Sony) are gonna have to pay for, here's two stories on IGN today.  A law firm in California has filed a class action lawsuit to force Sony to make a complete disclosure of compromised information with implications that they will pursue a settlement for consumers who were unable to use subscribed to services in the weeks following the attack.  Apparently the whole issue has also attracted the attention of Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, which is where the second article picks up:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/116/1164392p1.html
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/116/1164282p1.html

[mandru]

I'd heard very early this morning on TV news a report that pretty much echoed what has been covered here with the addition that there is a quick to pounce lawyer in Oklahoma trying to rally clients for a class action lawsuit against Sony.   ::)

I wonder where he gets off thinking that Oklahoma is the Mecca of gamer protection and reparation.   ???

[Fiach]

Got the notification this evening, GO SONY!  >:D

[mmosu]

Did it read:
"Dear user,
You're boned.  Also, go screw yourself.

Kisses,
Sony"

[fragger]

 ^+-+ Short and to the point :-()

Re Senator Blumenthal's response: The decision by Sony to hold off on notifying their customers about the breach immediately upon detection could end up being a very expensive one for them. I'm wondering why they did that - perhaps they hoped they could fix it quickly and quietly and sweep it under the rug without having to 'fess up, or maybe they just dithered too long trying to come up with the least painful way (for themselves) of breaking the bad news. Whatever the reason for the communication delay, it may end up taking a good sized bite out of their collective behind.

Moral of the story: Always be upfront with your customers :-D

[spaceboy]

interesting info regarding the situation etc.

Q: Will our download history/friends list/settings be affected by the PSN downtime?
A: No, they will not.

Q: Will trophies that were earned in single-player offline games during the outage be intact when the service resumes?
A: These trophies are intact and will be re-synched when the network is once again operational.

Q: Will my PS+ cloud saves be retrievable?
A: Yes, once PSN is restored.

Q: Will there be a goodwill gesture for the time we haven't been able to utilize PSN/Qriocity?
A: We are currently evaluating ways to show appreciation for your extraordinary patience as we w@&k to get these services back online.

http://techland.time.com/2011/04/29/sony-says-psn-cloud-saves-and-offline-trophies-safe-%E2%80%98goodwill-gesture%E2%80%99-coming/

[JRD]

I`m not even a PS3 guy and certainly don`t read much about what`s going on in the PS3 universe and yet I`ve been reading a lot about that PS3 outage in the economic pages  ???

Sony`s stocks went down 5% or more following the confirmation of the breach! It goes for both the fact that Sony will be facing law suits for decades and due to the lack of support and transparency to customers which translates into "don`t trust those folks, they are lying"  >:((

Once the network is compromised executives will try to a) go public but minimizing the situation or b) try to find a solution before going public so it`ll look as they are pro-active or c) keep it as secret as possible, after all maybe this is not a big deal and suckers might not even realize what happened  :D

In all situations you guys - unfortunately - are paying the price, so the image of the company is forever stained!

I say screw the trophies, screw the notifications... I want a safe network to interact with friends and that`s, my friends, Sony cannot provide!  \:/

*************************EDIT*************************

Just read that hackers are trying to sell data over the web... that is expected, even if it`s fake rumor (authenticity of data yet to be confirmed) but we can expect a lot of fake rumors in the following months!  :-\\

[PZ]

Although I love my PS3, I don't like Sony as a corporation for the same reason I dislike Apple.  They like to offer "black boxes" which they deliberately make difficult to modify.  I won't rant on about my Apple difficulties (have already done that), but suffice it to say that Sony is a close runner up, especially with this outrageous lack of security.

[Art Blade]

There is one more reason not to go public, and that's a good one:

Let the hackers believe the hack hasn't yet been detected so they keep their back doors open and traces in the system and even come back in looking for more. Then snap the trap shut. That's the same thing with ongoing investigations, you don't inform the public in detail (if at all) so you are still free to chase and bait unsuspecting criminals. Once the news "leak" out information about an ongoing investigation, the criminals will go into hiding making it hard next to impossible to catch them.

Question is, what is better.. telling everyone "hey, I believe we've just been robbed" spreading panic and everything and let the bad boys get away or try to fetch them first and go public later?

[mandru]

I don't like Sony as a corporation for the same reason I dislike Apple...  I won't rant on about my Apple difficulties (have already done that), but suffice it to say that Sony is a close runner up..."

I owned a Sony Vaio desktop 3 computers back and it was a total gronk.  Not powerful enough to be a desktop and completely proprietary on the upgrades that could be added.  Kind of like an Apple all-in-one iMac.  Forget about anything resembling a graphics card.   :D

As for Apple my wife won a 2Gb iPOD Shuffle as a door prize at a w@&k related conference she attended a couple weeks ago and we won't let it anywhere near our computers.  It's sitting unopened in a cupboard in the hallway because Apple products are notorious for hijacking every type of audio icon in a system if you let them get within spitting distance.   ???

I asked her why she didn't trade it for something valuable there at the conference.  Some unsuspecting schnook at the luncheon must have had a fruit cup they'd have swapped her for it.   ^+-+

[PZ]

 ^+-+

[JRD]

I asked her why she didn't trade it for something valuable there at the conference.  Some unsuspecting schnook at the luncheon must have had a fruit cup they'd have swapped her for it.   ^+-+

^+-+

I have an iPod 120GB with loads of music and photos. I must say I love my iPod just because I can have all my songs with me all the time. Besides, the design is great, I really like that dial control even though I admit it is clumsy sometimes. Any Apple gadget I know have a great design but once you start to see over the looks of the product, then its s shock  ???

The love I feel for my iPod is directly proportional to the hate I feel about the stupid iTunes... man, how I hate that piece of crap... I can`t understand how they managed to create such a lousy software  >:(( absolutely everything about iTunes sucks in my opinion, everything!

[PZ]

The love I feel for my iPod is directly proportional to the hate I feel about the stupid iTunes... man, how I hate that piece of crap... I can`t understand how they managed to create such a lousy software  >:(( absolutely everything about iTunes sucks in my opinion, everything!

My feelings exactly - Apple forces you to use iTunes if you have an iPhone - Quicktime is the worst excuse for media software I have ever seen.  There have been times in the past where it threaded itself so tightly into the OS that I had to reinstall Windows in order to fully get rid of it.

[Art Blade]

good stories, gentlemen, got a good chuckle out of all that  ^+-+

I have never had either a Sony or an Apple product in my possession.

Speaking of which.. maybe people already knew back in the day.. that old proverb, "an Apple a day keeps the doctor away" -- he wouldn't even try to cure it. And what was Sony's slogan for a while, "it's not a trick, it's a Sony" -- as in "if you don't believe it, you're probably right."  >:D

[Art Blade]

Here is a little text we could sell to Sony, in case they don't know what to tell their customers:

"Dear customer,

we experienced a minor technical issue over the last few days. You have no idea
how sorry we are about the financial loss we suffered. To make up for that, we're
going to charge a small amount for our service, calculated on a fixed rate plus
another small amount based on your excessive use of our network, on a daily
basis. We took the liberty, knowing you already agreed (see small print), and
withdrew a reasonable amount from your bank account thanks to the credit card
information you provided. For an extra amount we offer a security package, in
case you are worrying about your data stored on our and third parties networks.

It's not a trick, it's yours sincerely,

<signature>"

>:D

[PZ]

You know, that's not far off the mark for reality according to Sony.  Sony still requires you to use their "wallet" which you populate with money in $5 increments.  Of course, any money left over after your purchase stays in "your" wallet, which actually probably collectively represents millions of dollars earning interest for Sony.

That company has a lot of nerve, and if I didn't love my PS3 so much, I'd never purchase anything from them again.

[spaceboy]

You know, that's not far off the mark for reality according to Sony.  Sony still requires you to use their "wallet" which you populate with money in $5 increments.  Of course, any money left over after your purchase stays in "your" wallet, which actually probably collectively represents millions of dollars earning interest for Sony.

That's not exactly true.  The minimum is $5 but if you buy something for over $5 then you get charged only the amount of the download leaving $0 in your wallet.

[PZ]

Perhaps I'm not understanding how the store works - whenever I've tried to purchase something that costs more than I have in my wallet, the request is denied, indicating that there are insufficient funds.  Let's say that I am 20 cents short - I add $5 so I can make the purchase, which leaves me with $4.80 remaining in my wallet unspent.

How are they charging you without enough money in the wallet?  (maybe I'm doing something wrong) ????

[Art Blade]

if they leave him with $0 then maybe in his case it's like this:

Whenever he's tried to purchase something that costs more than he has in his wallet, the request is granted, indicating that there are sufficient funds.  Let's say that he is 20 cents short - they  add $5 so he can make the purchase, and since he only expressed his will to spend 20 cents on that product, and to avoid confusion, they sack those $4.80 that would otherwise be remaining in his wallet unspent, which leaves him with $0.00 just as he expected.

:-D

[Binnatics]

I saw Sony in the news today:

***   :bow    :bow    :bow   ***

That was, in portal terms speeking, a good gesture  ;)

[Art Blade]

Hmmm..

now I see..

there is something missing..

they  add $5 from his account

Better. The text, I mean, not the gesture :-D

[spaceboy]

In PZ's instance if he was 20 cents short, the minimum funding being $5 will leave him with $4.80 in his PSN "wallet".

Whether you start with $0 or any other amount if you want to buy something and your balance is insufficient, the minimum funding is $5.  But any higher funding required than $5 should be exact to the need of the purchase leaving you with $0 in your "wallet".