Sony takes action against PSP hacks

CNET News reports that the company is preparing another update to the PSP firmware to fix a recently disclosed bug that lets hackers downgrade the PSP system software and run their own, so-called homebrew code on the device. Soon after Sony released the PSP earlier this year, hackers started hunting for bugs in the software that runs the device. Flaws were found and used to run homegrown applications, such as a PDF reader and an FTP client, on the device. The bugs were not used to attack PSP users. Full CNET News report

An admitted counterfeiter has agreed to pay Microsoft and Symantec $1.1m in restitution, a victory in the software industry\'s fight against software piracy. CNET News reports that the award is part of a plea agreement in a criminal software piracy case in Houston. The case came to court after a year-long investigation by the Houston police and the FBI into the activities of Li Chen, who was found to have 5 100 copies of counterfeit Symantec software at his Houston business. Chen pleaded guilty to one count of trademark infringement and agreed to pay Symantec $1 005 000 in restitution. Microsoft is to get $95 000, according to a copy of the agreement. Law enforcement officials searched Chen\'s business, Microsource International, last year. In addition to the pirated software, they found documents showing that Chen had sold counterfeit Symantec products with a retail value of more than $9.9m, Symantec said. ‘This guy was one of the largest distributors of pirated software. He had direct ties to China, where the counterfeit product was being produced,’ said Cris Paden, a Symantec spokesman. Full CNET News report

China has expelled one of two Americans convicted of selling pirated DVDs on the Internet and handed him over to US police. A US embassy spokesperson confirmed that Randolph Guthrie was put on a plane to be repatriated to the US, but said she did not have further details. AustralianIT reports that Guthrie (38) was one of two Americans convicted in April in Shanghai. He was sentenced to up to two-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to pay a 500 000 yuan ($60 000) fine. China and the US lauded the bust as an exemplary case of Sino-American co-operation in the fight against piracy. The operation marked the first time US-China joint anti-piracy efforts resulted in arrests. Full AustralianIT report

In other crime-related news, the Australian public has been warned to be wary of a telephone phishing scam offering a free holiday in America. NSW Fair Trading Minister Diane Beamer said people had received phone calls suggesting they had won a cruise or a bus holiday in the US. AustralianIT reports that they were then asked to enter a number which put them through to a US-based call centre, where their credit card and other personal details were sought. Fair Trading investigators believed it could be a ‘phishing’ scam, where the real purpose is to obtain a person\'s personal information. ‘Consumers should never provide account or credit card details to unsolicited callers,’ Beamer said. Full AustralianIT report