25 replies to this topic

[chrissy72]

Hello there. I am glad to see that WTT now has a gaming forum as I am new to online gaming and have a few questions to ask. I have tried other gaming forums in the past and unfortunately have never recieved a response Id firstly like to know, what are the chances of picking up viruses that would affect my PS3 console by playing online, and what are (if any) the best ways of protecting my system. Secondly, we have been having a lot of trouble getting disconnected from servers whilst in the middle of game play, mostly on Battlefield Bad Company 2. Is there a known problem with thier servers, and do you know or have any suggestions as to a way of stopping this happening or at least cutting down on the disconnections? On a bad day it happens about every 10 minutes of game play, a good day about once an hour. Im guessing its not a problem from our end as all the people we have spoken to on the game are being cut off at the same time. Thankyou, any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated Chrissy

[terry1966]

can a ps3 get a virus, technically yes any hardware that needs software to run could, but the way things stand at the moment no not really, and is nothing i'd be worrying about, same as i don't worry about my linux pc getting any. as for your other query sorry can't help you there.

[inzanity]

Hi chrissy72,

As terry1966 said, there are always a chance that your PS3 can get infected, by how great the chance? This I can't say for sure because it depends on someone who has the time and all that effort to create and distribute his malware specifically designed to attack PS3.

Trend Micro has released a free for a limited time AV for PS3 web browser. Haven't tested this one on mine while it was still working though. link

Like with other OS, PS3's operating system also needs to be updated for patches, added features, etc. Here is a list of updates from wiki: http://en.wikipedia....system_software .

Haven't played Battlefield Bad Company 2 or 1 but it seems that many if not most disconnection issues are from EA's server. Can't get info from their site ATM as it is under maintenance.

Try disabling UPnP on your router if the disconnection issues are not due to EA, see if that helps.

[chrissy72]

Hello Terry1966 and inzanity and thankyou both for your replies. I have been keeping the system updated through auto updating on the playstation network. My modem also has a double firewall so I would hope that would be ok. I just became concerned when my son was playing Saints Row 2 and the game went "crazy" suddenly, freezing up except for what looked like money flashing across the screen?? Was very weird, he thought somebody must have hacked into the game but, although he would like to think he knows everything lol (at 15), i think he was just guessing thats what happened. Seems to all be working fine now though. As for EA servers, if thats the case, you would think such a large company would be able to fix those problems, its extremely annoying to the point that we are seriously considering steering clear of buying EA games in the future. Thankyou once again Chrissy

[Doug]

Hi Chrissy72, Do you pay a fee to access EA servers to join games, clans and such. I remember when my kids did (I think it was Blizzard), and even then they had occasional connection down time.

[chrissy72]

Hello Doug No I didnt even know you could pay to be connected through specific servers, shows how much I know about these things lol. We have just been joining games and I guess its pot luck as to what server we get?? Im still a bit sketchy as to how it all works lol. But if theres still connection problems even when you pay, I guess its not really worth it anyway. What do you think? And if you think it may be worth looking into, how would I go about it? Thankyou, I was a bit reluctant to post due to my past experiences with forums, but Im now glad I did. . I have been doing a lot of reading here and have picked up so much interesting and highly useful information, WTT is the best!.

[Doug]

Hi again Chrissy72, It's good to hear that you are enjoying and benefiting from being a Member here at WTT Forums. As to subscriptions to gaming sites... Some games such as World of Warcraft I think, require a monthly subscription. Others don't.

[Astabi]

Hello Chrissy72, How do you connect your PS3 to the internet, can you describe the connection setup? I'm interested to know if you're connected wireless or not. Also, what do you mean by a double firewall? Thanks, Astabi

[chrissy72]

Hello Astabi, I have a wireless modem from bigpond, but both my pc and ps3 i have connected directly via ethernet cords. I did have the playstation connected wireless but we found that sometimes when the phone rang, the ps would get disconnected lol??? Not sure if it was pure coincidence or if I had my modem too close to the phone at the time or what the story was, but it stopped happening once I connected it thru ethernet. But we still have the consistant dropouts from ea games. As for the firewalls, all I know is, when speaking to the technician from telstra bigpond before getting my new wireless modem, he said that this particular model has a double firewall inbuilt??? The only reason that got mentioned was because we were a bit concerned about going wireless from a security point of view. At the time there was a lot of stories in the news of people being able to tap into wireless networks just by driving past your house. As to how true that is I am not sure, but he said they would have to break through both firewalls if that was the case. I have no idea how true any of that is, but I figured most people are wireless these days so it cant be all that bad. lol. Sorry Im a bit nieve when it comes to modern technology, but Im learning thanks to a lot of reading lol. Chrissy

[Doug]

Regardless of modem fire-wall, double or not.... Change the username of your router, and select a strong password, plus use at least WPA encryption. Yes, people can and do drive by to find and exploit "open" systems (modem routers with default username and password and no encryption)

[chrissy72]

Ok thankyou Doug, shall do that asap. If I have any trouble figuring it out, I will yell out for help!! lol I am glad u mentioned that because I copped a lot of flack from people when I questioned the security aspect of wireless lol. I dont feel like such a paranoid idiot now lol.

[Doug]

Hi Chrissy72, I am not familiar with hardware and internet access services in Australia, but fortunately we have several wonderful WTT helpers who reside in your fair island continent nation.

[Tomk]

Completely off topic...

sometimes when the phone rang, the ps would get disconnected lol???

I've seen that before.. not specifically with game consoles but laptops... and what appears to have happened is that the cordless phones being used were 2.5 Ghz and so was the wireless signal. It never happened with older 900Mhz phones and I believe that the newer 5.8 Ghz phones should cause less problems also.

Ok... that concludes this public service anouncment. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Doug]

Completely off topic...

sometimes when the phone rang, the ps would get disconnected lol???

I've seen that before.. not specifically with game consoles but laptops... and what appears to have happened is that the cordless phones being used were 2.5 Ghz and so was the wireless signal. It never happened with older 900Mhz phones and I believe that the newer 5.8 Ghz phones should cause less problems also.

Ok... that concludes this public service anouncment. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Ok... that concludes this public service anouncment. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Oh, but wait, wait....

I can definitely confirm the common occurrence of of the above type interference in the 2.5Ghz range.
Plus it is well documented on the Web.

The problem may intermittently occur if the phone hand-set user is close to the effected wireless receiving computer.
But the biggest problem occurs if the base station unit of the cordless telephone is located near the home-networks wireless Router.
Yep. Mine is.
I rarely think about it, since I generally connect my computer(s) via ethernet, which is not effected.
But on weekends when my Son is home with his wireless laptop he has to keep reminding me to not use the cordless hand-set.
Thankfully, I use the cordless hand-set mostly during the week, so it is not a frequent problem in our household.

[chrissy72]

Hey again guys, slightly off topic but was wondering if any of you know much about wireless headsets for the PS3? I bought the official ps3 bluetooth headset, the one that sits over one ear, but my hubby didnt stop complaining about how uncomfortable it was, so I have just bought a SX-923 (not sure as to the brand) off ebay which has the full headband, the problem with this one is it doesnt seem to stay paired to the ps, once the ps switches off i have to fiddle again to get it to reconnect, which he is now also complaining about so has gone back to using the original one I bought grrrrrr. The instructions that came with the SX-923 are in broken english and dont really explain anything at all so it has been a case of trial and error as to how to use it, with more error than anything. Now he is looking at a turtle beach set PX21, but at over $100, I wouldnt mind getting some opinions before outlaying so much cash AGAIN! lol. Thanks guys, you are the best

Edited by chrissy72, 31 October 2010 - 07:38 PM.