PlayStation®Network

[BFrosty]

Hey, Frosty here with some advice for all you new PS3 owners out there, and perhaps some of you long time owners. Recently there has been a spate of temporary account hijackings, not wide spread mind you but none the less, it has occurred. So, in the spirit of helping you guys protect yourself from this unfortunate happening, I have come up with these bits of advice that you should all at the very least look over. It may save you some heartache down the road.

First of all, when creating your New PSN account, use a sign-in id that has absolutely nothing to do with the PSN screen name you choose for yourself, they should be as different as night and day.

Secondly, make sure you never post your sign-in id anywhere, or it becomes searchable.

Third, and perhaps most obvious, is never ever share your account information, that's just asking for trouble.

Fourth, when choosing your secret question, do not choose one that will have an obvious answer. Also, what ever answer you choose, be careful you do not inadvertently answer it here in a post later on down the line. Example, your secret question is where were you born. It's a common question in the forums, and if you answer it, your secret answer becomes, well, searchable.

Note that once you choose your secret question at the creation of the account, you can not have that question changed at all. Make it a strong one.

Fifth, to avoid becoming a target, avoid posting things such as the PSN downloadable content on your hard drive, or the number of downloadables you have. Also, you should not discuss that with strangers, most definetly when Playstation Home hits our consoles.

Sixth, Sony will never, ever contact you through the Playstation Network messaging system with special offers, or for any other reason. Anytime you recieve one of these, please report the incident here.

So far that is what I have on securing your account. Many of you may be aware of every point I have written down, but for those who are not, I hope this helps.

Now, if you do happen to unfortunately find yourself the victim of a temporary account hijacking, here is what you do to alleviate the situation.

First, go to the online playstation store and sign in, if you can't sign in due to a changed password, use the secret question to recover the account. Then, go in to the account management page, and change your sign-id, as well as your password. That will once again secure your account.

If for some reason you are still unable to recover your account, you must call 1-800-345-7669, they will further assist you..

That's about all I have for now, if any of you have anything to add, please feel free...

~Further tips from your forum friends~

sephiroth_unlimited  adds:

"I think one of the obvious ways to secure an account is to stop looking around for "free" games and to stop "trading" for games with random people you have never seen before. It's annoying enough that peole are doing it, but it's absolultey horrible how people are just giving out their information and not thinking twice about what this does. Especially when it comes to the users who end up leaving valuable information in their account.

I know a lot of people have been tricked with the whole mutual trading scam, and people seriously need to not give in to temptation."

schu70 adds:

"Here is an official SONY link that touches on a few of the items mentioned..."

How can I protect my personal information from malicious and fraudulent individuals?

"Just a few more from the Playstation Knowledge Center"

What can I do if a PLAYSTATION®Network user is acting inappropriately or being abusive?

How do I update my personal information on my PLAYSTATION®Network account?

Ninja_9tails adds:

"About your secret question...if you can possibly remember it try to choose an answer that has nothing to do with the question. For example: What was your first phone number? Answer: Pizza.

This is what I do. That way there is pretty much no chance of anyone guessing the answer."

Message Edited by BFrosty on 06-18-2008 11:58 AM

Message Edited by BFrosty on 06-18-2008 01:58 PM

Message Edited by BFrosty on 06-19-2008 01:28 PM

Message Edited by BFrosty on 06-20-2008 09:27 AM

[Talangar]

As always, thank you for the information.

[Delriach]

I think one of the obvious ways to secure an account is to stop looking around for "free" games and to stop "trading" for games with random people you have never seen before. It's annoying enough that peole are doing it, but it's absolultey horrible how people are just giving out their information and not thinking twice about what this does. Especially when it comes to the users who end up leaving valuable information in their account.

I know a lot of people have been tricked with the whole mutual trading scam, and people seriously need to not give in to temptation.  

[ElectricEnix]

Nice job BFrosty. This thread will be taking a trip under my subscriptions.

[BFrosty]

---

SilverZexion wrote:
Nice job BFrosty. This thread will be taking a trip under my subscriptions.

---

Thank you. I have it floated so when I run across instances where this may help someone, I can have it handy to link to. The more I learn about this subject, you can be sure I will be adding it here...

I don't expect this thread to get a ton of response, but I do see it saving some people some heartache...

[ElectricEnix]

---

BFrosty wrote:

---

SilverZexion wrote:
Nice job BFrosty. This thread will be taking a trip under my subscriptions.

---

Thank you. I have it floated so when I run across instances where this may help someone, I can have it handy to link to. The more I learn about this subject, you can be sure I will be adding it here...

I don't expect this thread to get a ton of response, but I do see it saving some people some heartache...

---

Oh yeah, I forgot about floating threads. Thanks for putting that into my head again because I don't want to hold that many subscribtions.

I hope you are enjoying your new sig until I make your animated one!!!

[Smokey]

Nice job.

Here is an official SONY link that touches on a few of the items you mentioned...not sure if you wanted to add it as reference.

How can I protect my personal information from malicious and fraudulent individuals?

Just a few more from the Playstation Knowledge Center 

What can I do if a PLAYSTATION®Network user is acting inappropriately or being abusive?

How do I update my personal information on my PLAYSTATION®Network account?

[BFrosty]

---

schu70 wrote:

Nice job.

Here is an official SONY link that touches on a few of the items you mentioned...not sure if you wanted to add it as reference.

How can I protect my personal information from malicious and fraudulent individuals?

Just a few more from the Playstation Knowledge Center 

What can I do if a PLAYSTATION®Network user is acting inappropriately or being abusive?

How do I update my personal information on my PLAYSTATION®Network account?

---

Thank you! I sure will be adding them!

[ekul102]

---

sephiroth_unlimited wrote:

I think one of the obvious ways to secure an account is to stop looking around for "free" games and to stop "trading" for games with random people you have never seen before. It's annoying enough that peole are doing it, but it's absolultey horrible how people are just giving out their information and not thinking twice about what this does. Especially when it comes to the users who end up leaving valuable information in their account.

I know a lot of people have been tricked with the whole mutual trading scam, and people seriously need to not give in to temptation.  

---

Why??  Ive traded plenty of games with completly random peopl.  Why not??  Whats the worst that will happen?

[CheckMatey]

hmm what about never give out your password and sign in email.... =\