[quote name='rightangle90']There's a good reason to be paranoid. It was recently found out that Sony transmits CC info in an insecure way through the PSN. Currently, there isn't an easy way to access that info unless a PS3 is both jailbroken and has a custom firmware that does not currently exist. More info here:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...ing-stunning-lack-of-credit-card-security.ars
However, it does make me wonder if someone could just intercept the data through a wireless network or something.
.[/QUOTE]
I know all about that, but that's definitely not something to worry about. There is no way anyone can even get that info from PSN unless they're using a custom FW, and one that's set up as a phishing scam to boot. So in other words, it's irrelevant to this discussion since it in no way contributes to the security of PSN for legit user
I'm not sure if you really read, or understand the article, but I'll just highlight the important part and why that article has no bearing here. If you feel this is reason to become paranoid, then become paranoid about your amazon purchases too:
The PS3's connection to PSN is protected by SSL. As is common to SSL implementations, the identity of the remote server is verified using a list of certificates stored on each PS3. The credit card and other information is sent over this SSL connection. So far so good; this is all safe, and your web browser depends on the same mechanisms for online purchases.
As flaws go, the risks here are not substantial. There is no generalized ability for hackers to grab credit cards from PSN users; only those using specially devised custom firmwares would be at risk.
Look, the PS3 has been out for over 3 years now. I don't see people having their cc info "intercepted" left and right, do you? The transmissions for regular PSN are done over SSL and can't be intercepted so easily. PSN is more than secure enough in my books. If people want to be paranoid and mistrusting of Sony that's fine. I was just passing along the info that that your cc info could be deleted after you make the purchase, in case that person didn't know that, I wasn't trying to make some argument about PSN's safety vs Amazon, etc.. Even factoring in the new ToS that states info about auto-charging, I highly doubt Sony will auto-charge you for anything unless you actually have some sort of auto-renewal box ticked for some subscription. Again, something that's pretty irrelevant and not really worth worrying about. When Sony starts charging people without cause, or misusing everyone's CC info then I'll be up in arms, but until then, I'd say there's nothing to be concerned about.