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Sony requiring password changes after 'irregular PSN activity'

L

leatherhat

Member
I had to change my password yesterday, hopefully this is just Sony being extra cautious to avoid an event like the psn outage. Ill be keeping an eye on my credit card either way.
 
N

NHale

Member
mangochutney said:
What has likely happened is that a mass-brute-force attempt to access accounts took place.

There is also the high potential that given the huge number of security breaches (especially in the gaming world) that the hackers are attempting to login with email addresses and rainbow-tabled passwords from previous breaches with other organisations.

As this only affects some accounts it is highly likely that your email address is either publicly available or was leaked in a security breach.

For many people with email addresses like jimmyluvs2bl0w@gmail.com, their password is much more likely to be correctly discovered than the email address itself as people tend to be lazy and use common passwords, but owing to everyone needing a unique email address these are not guessable.

If you have something like Gmail my recommendation to you is to use the '+' feature for everywhere you are signed up to. For example jummyluvs2bl0w+psn@gmail.com, and of course always use a unique password.

If PSN was hacked again they'd only have your PSN email address, and can therefore not get into your PayPal account or whatever they might try.
Click to expand...

It was probably the time for someone to use that huge Adobe usernames/passwords on PSN. It has to be the perfect time considering PS4 means more money on PSN accounts/credit cards associated.
 
cebri.one

cebri.one

Member
Yeap, that happened to me last week. I couldn't log into PSN from my Vita and i had to change the password, no warning or message from Sony. Nice to know, i was kind of scared because is a password i use for some email accounts.
 
F

famousmortimer

Banned
I just assumed it asked me because I've logged in on different devices all over the place.


Is it asking people who only have their PS3/PS4 at home and have never, ever, logged in anywhere else?
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Finally got an email in the last hour:

Dear valued customer,

The Sony Entertainment Network team regularly monitors for any suspicious activity on our network. When we discover suspicious activity, we sometimes reset passwords to protect consumers and their account information. Your account password was recently reset as part of this process and you will need to create a new password the next time you access your account using the "Forgot Your Password" option on the Sign in screen.

We encourage you to create a complex password that isn't the same password as those associated with other online services. As always, we also encourage you to keep a close eye on your account for any unusual activity. Please click here if you need help in changing your password, or to contact us for additional assistance.

Also, remember that Sony will never ask you for your password or any personal or account information in an email. Please use caution if you receive any emails or phone calls from anyone asking for personal information or directing you to a website where you are asked to provide personal information.


Thank you,
The Sony Entertainment Network Team
Click to expand...
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
GoofsterStud said:
Stupid question, but I never got an email. Should I be worried? I changed my password anyway...but it just seems strange.
Click to expand...

Not everyone got reset--my JP account was fine. My main US account appears on the Adobe rainbow tables, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened. Either Sony is being proactive or somebody's trying to brute force it.
 
G

gruenel

Member
famousmortimer said:
I just assumed it asked me because I've logged in on different devices all over the place.


Is it asking people who only have their PS3/PS4 at home and have never, ever, logged in anywhere else?
Click to expand...

I only ever use my own PS3/Vita at home and had to reset my password (EU account).
 
C

CorrisD

badchoiceboobies
Mayyhem said:
How come this type of stuff never happens to XBL?
Click to expand...

It doesn't happen to XBL, or at least you don't hear it happening much, because XBL unlike PSN is a global login for a number of Microsofts services. The people trying to get into your account are trying to get in where they can get the most information from you, that is usually you mail account and such like, and over the years the amount of accounts compromised on say hotmail is probably some crazy number.

mangochutney said:
What has likely happened is that a mass-brute-force attempt to access accounts took place.

There is also the high potential that given the huge number of security breaches (especially in the gaming world) that the hackers are attempting to login with email addresses and rainbow-tabled passwords from previous breaches with other organisations.
Click to expand...

It was no doubt this, it has happened before, about a year ago iirc when Sony asked a bunch of people to change passwords and people freaked out, it turned out to be nothing but Sony being cautious.
 
W

_woLf

Member
Just got the email myself.

I'm betting that it's probably brute force attempts based on credentials from the last major hack that was setting off alarms.

Not really too concerned about it, to be honest.
 
R

razoftblend

Member
I haven't received any e-mails yet. I signed in last night on my Vita to download GTA Liberty City Stories and this morning for Soul Sacrifice. Everything was still good on my end. I live in California if that matters.
 
J

jsip

Banned
I really REALLY wish we had the opportunity to use a unique login ID. Everyone has my damn email and everyone uses it as a login ID. Give me the opportunity to use a unique identifier as a login so there are two fields that need to be correct instead of just 1. This is a basic security measure sadly missing from damn near every website that I have an account on.

Having to guess a combination of 2 fields is much harder than guessing one.
 
A

Aiustis

Member
I should check if I have to change anything,..my ps3 is quite a few updates behind though and I don't relish turning it on.
 
L

lowhighkang_LHK

Member
Yeah, but using your email as a log-in makes it easier for people to reclaim/change their passwords via 'password forgot'

Anyway, I got an email from Sony too asking me to change my password. Is this every PSN user....? Or just a certain few?
 
L

larvi

Member
Omega Rex said:
if they monitor this stuff, why not delete the accounts that haven't been touched since 2007 to free up some names for people?

never understood why there are so many accounts on XBL and PSN with 0GS and no trophies.
Click to expand...

Most of my PSP games are physical but I have a PSN account for a few digital PSP games that I bought from the service so I have 0GS on it but they better not delete it.
 
G

gruenel

Member
jsip said:
I really REALLY wish we had the opportunity to use a unique login ID. Everyone has my damn email and everyone uses it as a login ID. Give me the opportunity to use a unique identifier as a login so there are two fields that need to be correct instead of just 1. This is a basic security measure sadly missing from damn near every website that I have an account on.

Having to guess a combination of 2 fields is much harder than guessing one.
Click to expand...

If you use Gmail you can add a random suffix or dots to your address, like described here: http://gmailblog.blogspot.de/2008/03/2-hidden-ways-to-get-more-from-your.html

With this you can actually use a unique e-mail address for every service, while technically still using only one mail account. You can also easily identify websites that give away your information that way. Very useful.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
Well I went ahead and changed my password manually since I got the email. Figured it was a good idea even though they didn't force me, maybe that's for the better since doing it manually I didn't run into any problems like a lot of people have when Sony did it.

gruenel said:
I don't even own FIFA and had to reset my password.
Click to expand...

Most people who are hit with a Fifa related hack don't have the game from what I've seen. It's the hackers who are using that game's economy as a way to hack people and sell Fifa points or whatever it's called.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Just want to point out that they don't actually require you to select a different password. It's just checking that you went through the reset process.
 
G

gruenel

Member
Derrick01 said:
Most people who are hit with a Fifa related hack don't have the game from what I've seen. It's the hackers who are using that game's economy as a way to hack people and sell Fifa points or whatever it's called.
Click to expand...

I see, thanks...

Didn't notice anything unusual with my CC/PSN account though, so I'm cool.
 
P

Persona7

Banned
gruenel said:
I don't even own FIFA and had to reset my password.
Click to expand...

That has nothing to do with. Accounts on Xbox Live were getting hijacked presumably by filtering through leaked passwords on the internet and seeing if they matched. They then purchased FIFA DLC using the accounts credit cards.

Most people re-use the same password everywhere.
 
Grinchy

Grinchy

Banned
My brother actually told me that I was signed into PSN just the other day when I wasn't actually signed in. The next day I had to reset my password. So there's definitely some weird shit going on.
 
blazeuk

blazeuk

Member
I had to change mine about a week ago, had no idea what was going on at first, so I did a search and found an article about it saying they were making some accounts change passwords because of irregular activity. I recently added a new hard drive to my PS3 and downloaded basically every PS+ title I had got so far and figured it was probably something to do with that, but who knows if it's fairly widespread. I never got anything from Sony themselves though, basically just left to figure it out myself.
 
G

gruenel

Member
Persona7 said:
That has nothing to do with. Accounts on Xbox Live were getting hijacked presumably by filtering through leaked passwords on the internet and seeing if they matched. They then purchased FIFA DLC using the accounts credit cards.

Most people re-use the same password everywhere.
Click to expand...

Hmm, if that's the problem I'm not concerned. I'm using strong, unique passwords for every site and also change them every few months. I'm pretty meticulous about my security.

Still, could have been someone trying to brute force my account or something. Would be nice to have a real reason for this password change, but I guess it would just cause an uproar.

WAR recon zero said:
Any good password mánager you guys recommend?
Click to expand...

I've been using KeePass for years, it's great.
 
J

jsip

Banned
lowhighkang_LHK said:
Yeah, but using your email as a log-in makes it easier for people to reclaim/change their passwords via 'password forgot'
Click to expand...
I dont follow. Using a unique login ID would not interfere with the website/service having your email on record. You just wouldn't be able to use your email to login and in the event you forgot your password, requesting a reset would work the same.
 
R

rhizomatic

Member
I turned on my PS3 a few minutes ago, and everything worked just fine. Should I be worried that I haven't been prompted to reset my password?
 
N

Naudi

Banned
I cant figure out my birthday and the live chat says unavailable even though its within business hours....holding on the phone it is!
 
J

jsip

Banned
gruenel said:
If you use Gmail you can add a random suffix or dots to your address, like described here: http://gmailblog.blogspot.de/2008/03/2-hidden-ways-to-get-more-from-your.html

With this you can actually use a unique e-mail address for every service, while technically still using only one mail account. You can also easily identify websites that give away your information that way. Very useful.
Click to expand...
I did not know this o_O I feel like I just discovered fire. Thanks for the link!
 
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