1) Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;

2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full
and complete investigation into what happened; and

3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our
network infrastructure by rebuilding our system to provide you
with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill
as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and
efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident,
we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following
information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country,
email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login,
and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data,
including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip),
and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may
have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your
dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have
been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit
card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have
provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity,
out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit
card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have
been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email,
telephone and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive
information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email,
asking for your credit card number, social security number or other
personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information,
you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation
Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that
you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation
Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or
accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we
encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and
to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information
for those who wish to consider it:
- U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually
from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report,
visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.

- We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S.
credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus
place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps
to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can
make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however,
that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you,
it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your
identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others
are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a
fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report,
please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division,
P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

- You may wish to visit the website of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at
www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect
yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice
on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or
suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General,
and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be
contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone
(877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney
General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202;
telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this
incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the
clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes
information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that
additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information.
Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is
our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any
additional questions.

Sincerely,

Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment

Killzone 3 Retro Map Pack
Killzone 3 Extra Unlock Points
Gran Turismo 5 - Exclusive Camaro SS Edge Edition
Infamous 2 Sniper Blast Ability (for when the game releases in June)

All you have to do is go to this site:
http://edgeshave.com/default.aspx#!/ps3Giveaway/register
If it didn’t land on the form, just go to PROMOS & OFFERS link on top right.

Enter info(fake if you want), enter one of the following UPC’s

841058005209
841058005261

Choose which DLC you want( just refresh to get them all), enter all fields and the DLC Code will pop up.

Just for kicks, here’s a code for the Retro Map Pack: LT4F-EENP-BEPQ

Credits go to http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=139003 and http://forums.redflagdeals.com/free-dlc-kz3-gt5-infamous-2-a-101…

If for any reason you are not able to access PSN at this time, you can still redeem the code online from your computer: https://store.playstation.com/login.gvm and go to Redeem PlayStation®Network Card or Promotion Code

But George Hotz, one of the hackers at the center of the controversy, told BBC News that he was “comfortable” the action would not succeed. “I am a firm believer in digital rights,” Mr Hotz said. “I would expect a company that prides itself on intellectual property to be well versed in the provisions of the law, so I am disappointed in Sony’s current action. I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony’s action against me doesn’t have any basis.”

The twenty-one-year-old, who rose to prominence for breaking the iPhone’s security, is named in the lawsuit alongside more than 100 people associated with a hacking group known as fail0verflow. “Already, pirate video games are being packaged and distributed with these circumvention devices.”

In the court filing, submitted to the Northern District Court of California, Sony asks for a restraining order that bans Mr Hotz from further hacking and prevents distribution of the software produced as a result.”Working individually and in concert with one another, the defendants recently bypassed effective technological protection measures employed by Sony,” the document states. “Through the internet, defendants are distributing software, tools and instructions that circumvent the [protection measures] and facilitate the counterfeiting of video games. Already, pirate video games are being packaged and distributed with these circumvention devices.”

Secret codes

The controversy centers around a series of secret codes that Sony uses to protect its system from being used for unauthorized purposes. Among them is a number used to “sign” all PS3 games and software as a way of proving that they are genuine. Once the key is known, however, it can be used to sign any software - including unofficial software and, potentially, pirated games. The PlayStation’s protection had remained impenetrable for several years, but members of fail0verflow demonstrated the first breakthrough in December when they presented a security exploit at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.

Mr Hotz then revealed that he had uncovered the secret signing number using a similar method. fail0verflow’s website was taken down overnight, replaced with the message “Sony sued us” and a brief statement. “We have never condoned, supported, approved of or encouraged videogame piracy,” it says. “We have not published any encryption or signing keys. We have not published any Sony code, or code derived from Sony’s code.” The group has said in the past that it is vehemently against games piracy and that it had worked on the hack so that users could install other operating systems and amateur software on the console. Sony had indicated previously that it would try to fix the hack by updating the PS3’s software over the internet.

Console hacking and online copyright infringement is a contentious topic, frequently ending in high-profile court cases as technology companies seek to prevent their systems from being copied or modified. While most cases in recent years have involved music and video file-sharing services like Napster, Grokster and Kazaa, a growing number of cases have involved the hacking of video games consoles.

Last year, a team released a piece of hardware called PSjailbreak that allowed gamers to play homemade and pirated games on the PlayStation 3. Although the company has issued software to block the device and launched legal action, it has not prevented it entirely - with a Spanish court ruling that the gadget is not illegal. In December, meanwhile, federal prosecutors dropped their case against a student accused of pirating games for Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

The case against California resident Matthew Crippen was dropped after the judge said that he had “serious concerns” about the legality of the evidence collected against him.

• a computer that runs Windows
• a digital image editing program
• the “PSP Theme Toolbox”
• a little bit of time

First thing you need to do is download the “PSP Theme Toolbox” zipped file. You can unzip it anywhere, but if you’ll be doing a lot of Themes or want to use the pre-made default while going through this walkthrough, you’ll have to extract it directly to your C:\ drive (C:\PSP Theme Toolbox\).

_____________________

In the “Toolbox”, you’ll find:

• Icons and Wallpaper templates
• “PSP Custom Theme Converter” program
• Default Project saved as a “.txt” file
• “How To” Basics and Advanced Walkthroughs
• Layered PhotoShop template of icons
• Unlike for PS3 Themes, there is an actual program so you won’t have to be worrying about XML code or funky compiler programs.
• Open the program (PSPCustomThemeConverter.exe) and we’ll go though it, tab-by-tab.

NOTE: If you’d like to see a working example of each item, go to “File\Open” and select “PSPTheme_default.txt”. This will only work if you’ve extracted the Toolbox to your C:\ drive because of the way the project file links to the associated images.

The first tab is the “Information” Tab.

• Put the name of your Theme or its description in the “Title” space.
• The “Product ID” is where you assign what the Theme is associated to, e.g. Game, Anime, Movie, etc.
• The “Version” is helpful if you want to do keep track of multiple versions of a Theme, but isn’t necessary either.

The second tab is the “Wallpaper” Tab.

• Wallpapers have to be:
  * 480 x 272 pixels
  * 24-bit Color Image
  * BMP files
• Click on the “Folder” button to browse and select any image that matches the required size and format.
• If the image you select is not useable, an “Error” window will pop-up letting you know what needs to change.
• You can click the “Preview” button to preview your wallpaper once you’ve selected one that is workable.

Next tab is called “Category Icons”, and is for the main XMB Icons.

• These icons need to be:
  * either 64 x 48 pixels or 48 x 48 pixels
  * 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
  * TGA, PNG, or GIM image files

The “First Level Icons” Tab is for the icons that appear within a category on the XMB.

• These are the sub-icons that appear below the category XMB icons.
• Double click on the icon line or click the “Edit” button.
• You’ll see a request for two files: the “Icon Body” and the “Icon Focus”. The “Body” is the actual icon.
• The “Focus” is the glow that pulses around the icon when you highlight that icon. If you’d like to keep things simple, or not worry about having a pulsing glow around your selection, you can either use the default focus image or leave that space blank.
• The icons need to be:
  * 32 x 32 pixels (Body)
  * 48 x 48 pixels (Focus)
  * 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
  * TGA, PNG, or GIM image files

The “Second Level Icons” tab is for the “Settings” Icon. That’s right; the “Settings” wrench gets its very own tab!

• Just like the First Level Icons, these need to be:
  * 32 x 32 pixels
  * 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
  * TGA, PNG, or GIM image files
• Its focus needs to be:
  * 48 x 48 pixels
  * 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
  * TGA, PNG, or GIM image files

The last tab is “Others”.

• The “Preview Icon” is the tiny thumbnail that appears when you choose your Theme, and needs to be:
  * 16 x 16 pixels
  * 8-bit Index (32-bit Color)
  * TGA, PNG, or GIM image files
• The “Preview Image” is the preview for the Theme, and needs to be:
  * 300 x 170
  * 24-bit Color Image
  * BMP
• The final option is “Theme Color”. Here, you can assign a particular highlight colour to your Theme, or have it change monthly automatically.

_____________________

Once you’ve assigned all of the Icons to your images, go to “FILE” and select “EXPORT”.

• Name your file, click “SAVE”, and the program will create your PSP Theme File (.PTF).
• With your PSP connected to your computer in USB Mode or with a compatible Memory Stick connected, place the file into the proper “Theme” folder ( \PSP\THEME ).
• Disconnect your PSP or insert the Memory Stick in to your PSP.
• Under “Settings”, select “Theme Settings”, and then “Theme”.

Your new Theme should appear in the selectable list.

The homebrew application previously called PSP Wardrobe, XMBeditor is now moving along into a fresh direction. Homebrew coder Mr_Shizzy has pimped up his little “pimp my XMB” tool: while it was an XMB theme and mod manager before, it now allows you to go even deeper and manipulate a lot more XMB configurations.

XMBeditor is now actually in its second version. One of the biggest changes is that it’s now fully compatible with the PSP Phat. Other than that, here are the other details listed in the changelog:

• Made process of flashing theme 2 - 3X faster
• Added color selector for XMB date/time
• Added color selector for XMB busy signal
• Added color selector for XMB Battery
• other small bugs fixed

Be sure to take a fine look at the readme as it contains a lot more details about all its features and a full section on how to install the application.

Download: XMBeditor v.2

Animefreak345’s homebrewed coverflow application for the PSP, PS-Coverflow (previous version here), is finally updated and beefed up with quite a lot of new features and fixes. Users can now expect some new visual elements such as a visualizer and progress bar. The option to customize the colors in the PS-Coverflow user interface is now finally available as well.

An image viewer is also added, letting PSP users preview picture files using PS-Coverflow. Check out the rest of the updates from the following changelog:

• GRAPHICS
  • changed a bit
  • cleaned up side menu some
  • Visualizer
  • progress bar
  • customizable config file that can customize just about everything that has a color to it.
  • or use internal theme/config generator under settings
  • battery percent instead of bar
  • several psp style system messages have been added. makes it look cool.
• CODE
  • recoded it all and compacted it =]
  • faster loading speeds for everything!!!
  • almost 3000 total lines of code
• MUSIC
  • CoverFLow slightly improved
  • music browser has directory support
  • SMART next/previous song switcher (music browser)
  • supports /MUSIC folder and /PSP/MUSIC folders
  • ID3 support under music browser now, appears only while mp3 playing.
  • timer and song time
  • visualizer
  • progress bar
  • if you press select under the coverflow media player switches music info modes (its pretty cool)
  • shuffle mode can be activated by square and play the next song with r (not in the coverflow player mode)
• PHOTO
  • its finally implemented.
  • if image too large it will tell you ( so use resize to 480*272 mode, press triangle.)
  • if image displayed press select to exit the image
• FILE BROWSER
  • with music and photo support.
  • launch lua files
  • will add launching of pbp,iso,psx soon.
• USB
  • added that mode
  • mem stick, UMD, flash1-3
  • if no umd switches to memstick
  • flash support disable. (dont want you bricking ;p) will enable soon for you.
• SETTINGS
  • system info
  • displays your psp information
  • theme/config generator, customize and make themes.
• and a LOT more i cant remember or forgot to list.

As for installation, better follow these instructions provided by animefreak345, which goes, “Copy all contents of the .rar archive into the ms_root. the game has to be in ms0:/PSP/GAME or else it will not work properly.”

Download: PS-CoverFLow 3.0

Here’s a recap for the first-time readers: FuSa is a plugin that will enable users to play their handheld’s games on any TV regardless of the video cable (composite, component, svideo, d-terminal) hooked up to their Slim. Below is the changelog for FuSa’s latest build (quoting the developers’ site):

• UMD compatibility improved
• Every game now works fine while plugin is disabled
• Fullscreen mode # 1 added (Tested with SAMSUNG LCD 16:9 - works fin:) )
• No more crash on exit

Further details regarding FuSa build 41 are available via the file bundle’s readme. Those interested in checking this plugin’s game compatibility will want to visit the dev’s site, via the source link below.

Download: FuSa v1.0 build 41

Instructions:
- Hook up your PSP to your PC and connect via USB
- Open the SAVEDATA folder and create a new folder called BLUS30057_102484349275785718476 (dragging the unzipped folder only saves it in the temp files, you must create the folder on your PSP for this to work)
- Unzip the files and copy them into the PSP/SAVEDATA/BLUS30057_102484349275785718476 folder you have just created

Download Army of Two Game Save 4 files, 153KB

PSP-Homepage.Net will continue to provide Game Saves for the top requested games. You can leave comments or email the webmaster at psp-homepage.net if you have a particular game you would like a game save for.

Instructions:
- Hook up your PSP to your PC and connect via USB
- Open the SAVEDATA folder and create a new folder called BLUS30089-ACSAVE (dragging the unzipped folder only saves it in the temp files, you must create the folder on your PSP for this to work)
- Unzip the files and copy them into the PSP/SAVEDATA/BLUS30089-ACSAVE folder you have just created

Download Assassins Creed Game Save 8 files, 2.16MB

Over the next few weeks, PSP-Homepage.Net will continue to provide Game Saves for the top requested games. You can leave comments or email the webmaster at psp-homepage.net if you have a particular game you would like a game save for.

This is a port of Heretic by bjohnson. A game from the very early days of First Person Shooter games. It’s based on the Doom engine but you play a magician in a medieval dungeon. definitely download this if you have Doom! FOR 1.5 FIRMWARE PSP ONLY!!!!

important facts from the readme. you can report bugs on a thread at ps2nfo.com

Features
—————-
-Classic Medievil Action Now for the PSP!
-Analog stick for movement
-CHEAT CODES!
-Sound Supported tho it isn’t that great
-Shareware and Commercial version Supported!
-Shareware wad is included
-Save/load works!

Controls
—————–
ATTACK - X
RUN - Circle
ACTION - Square
USE ITEM - Triangle
ITEM SELECT - LEFT/RIGHT
WEAPON SELECT - UP/DOWN
ENTER - START
ESCAPE - SELECT

Cheats!
——————
Just tap the keys in this order

God Mode - Circle, Left
All Weapons - Circle, Right
No Clip - Circle, Circle, Left Shoulder
All Keys - Circle, Circle, Right Shoulder