Nintendo 3DS

[Yasawas]

Mii Squad is rough if you only get 1-2 streetpasses per day.

Oh definitely, I meant more that you could use play coins to hire another few and you're not getting a worse deal for it. I always used to go in with five or six a least. StreetPass Quest, Mansion and maybe other games are a little different in that if you keep passing the same people they get more powerful/useful which is a bit unfair for people who struggle to get passes.

That Mario and Luigi is pretty good, was not convinced by the art style at first but after a couple of hours it's really grown on me.

[Dewar]

Did you guys hear about the thing where people have figured out exploits in the streetpass relay thing? The key thing is that there's nothing actually on-site about how it works, it's all pinging a central Nintendo server that is identifying locations by SSID's and mac addresses.

It's like the item exploit in Animal Crossing New Leaf where you just needed to change your router's SSID to one of the participating retailers to gain access to the exclusive items.

So setup a router SSID with the name of a participating retailer or restaurant, your 3DS will then see that and then try to ping that Nintendo server through that wi-fi point. (Thereby accessing the "Nintendo Zone" thing and the streetpass relay.) Whatever mac address that central server was accessed from is basically then entered in as a potential streetpass relay location to store and distribute streetpasses through.

People are doing this with cloned mac addresses being passed around on the internet to share streetpasses online.

 

It's news like this that prevents me from buying my own 3DS. It's fairly apparent that Nintendo just doesn't understand the internet.

[tabacco]

It's news like this that prevents me from buying my own 3DS. It's fairly apparent that Nintendo just doesn't understand the internet.

 

Why does it mean they don't understand the internet? There's only so much you can do within the confines of the IEEE 802.11 standard, and I think Streetpass is  pretty amazing hack on top of those standards.

 

http://3dbrew.org/wiki/StreetPass

[Dewar]

 

 

^{Why does it mean they don't understand the internet? There's only so much you can do within the confines of the 802.11 standards, and I think Streetpass is  pretty amazing hack on top of those standards.}

 

^{They didn't even attempt any sort of real security on this? It would have taken a few minutes to set up a whitelist on the server. Do you trust a company that's leaving thing this open with your personal information?}

[I Saw Dasein]

Hm, based on enthusiasm in podcast I think I'm going to buy one of these. But I haven't been following it at all so what are the "must have" games? I have pretty broad taste; I'm not that interested in Harvest Moon/Pokemon/Animal Crossing (because I'm a heartless monster) but other than that I'm open.

[tabacco]

 

 

^{They didn't even attempt any sort of real security on this? It would have taken a few minutes to set up a whitelist on the server. Do you trust a company that's leaving thing this open with your personal information?}

 

What do you consider your personal information here? And how do you think it's being compromised?

 

As I understand it, the 3DS sees a known SSID, conencts to it, and relays that APs MAC address to a Nintendo server via the internet connection it provides, along with your Mii information. The Nintendo server comes back and says "yep, I know that MAC address, here's another Mii that you've now streetpassed". The absolute worst case in this scenario is that someone pulls a Man In the Middle attack with a malicious access point and, what, steals your Mii? It's not exactly the most profitable identity theft.

 

And, assuming they're using SSL (or some similar scheme for whatever the actual protocol is) the data would be encrypted for that MITM anyway, as long as Nintendo's private key stays private.

 

Also, there is a whitelist. It's a whitelist of MAC addresses. The problem is that you don't get that much info from an access point you're connected to. MAC addresses are clonable, but MAC authentication is pretty much the best you can do. Whitelisting source IP addresses isn't maintainable at scale, given the wide variety of internet connections some public hotspots use (trust me, this is a thing I know )

[Sno]

Yeah, as i understand it, the streetpass relay exploit does essentially nothing that would put users at any risk, it's just a silly loophole in a system that doesn't really have a better way to work. (Unless you're explicitly entering in private/secure information in places where you shouldn't, an exposed streetpass does not represent a privacy/security risk, since the streetpass being exposed is the entire point of the streetpass system.)

The thing that might actually be really bad, people figuring out the encryption on streetpass, hasn't happened.

 

Hm, based on enthusiasm in podcast I think I'm going to buy one of these. But I haven't been following it at all so what are the "must have" games? I have pretty broad taste; I'm not that interested in Harvest Moon/Pokemon/Animal Crossing (because I'm a heartless monster) but other than that I'm open.

 

This question has been answered many, many times, but i'll give it another go -

There are a lot of JRPG's available for the system, the 3DS is filthy with great JRPG's. Etrian Odyssey IV, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and Fire Emblem: Awakening probably stand at the top. (I feel FEA is the one that everybody should check out, it's maybe the best game on the system, and i think the best game i've played this year.)

Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Team just came out too, the demo seemed really awesome.

Beyond that, Kid Icarus: Uprising is something you'll love if it doesn't cramp your wrist. Super Mario 3D Land is a legitimately great Mario game. Mario Kart 7 is one of the better versions of Mario Kart. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is just about exactly what that game needed to be, and it's booming with personality. Resident Evil: Revelations is actually one of the best modern RE games. (Not a high bar, but it's still really good.)

There's really a bunch of other things too.

Then there's the eShop, which is also pretty healthy. The Guild games are the best place to start, probably. An anthology series of concise, experimental games from some really respected names in Japan.

[Dewar]

What do you consider your personal information here? And how do you think it's being compromised?

 

As I understand it, the 3DS sees a known SSID, conencts to it, and relays that APs MAC address to a Nintendo server via the internet connection it provides, along with your Mii information. The Nintendo server comes back and says "yep, I know that MAC address, here's another Mii that you've now streetpassed". The absolute worst case in this scenario is that someone pulls a Man In the Middle attack with a malicious access point and, what, steals your Mii? It's not exactly the most profitable identity theft.

 

And, assuming they're using SSL (or some similar scheme for whatever the actual protocol is) the data would be encrypted for that MITM anyway, as long as Nintendo's private key stays private.

 

Also, there is a whitelist. It's a whitelist of MAC addresses. The problem is that you don't get that much info from an access point you're connected to. MAC addresses are clonable, but MAC authentication is pretty much the best you can do. Whitelisting source IP addresses isn't maintainable at scale, given the wide variety of internet connections some public hotspots use (trust me, this is a thing I know )

 

I'm not trying to say that this particular exploit is a danger. I'm more saying that they don't seem to care about security in any meaningful way, and that worries me from any company. Also, I believe that you can have any MAC address and it will work as long as you have the right SSID. It just seems like shoddy workmanship, that's all.

[Sno]

The advantage in how they've built this system is that it requires literally no setup or cooperation from their "partners", it works on simple assumptions about public wi-fi at various business locations.

That is why it can be so widely accessible, the existence of a silly loophole doesn't really trump that advantage.

[tabacco]

I'm not trying to say that this particular exploit is a danger. I'm more saying that they don't seem to care about security in any meaningful way, and that worries me from any company. Also, I believe that you can have any MAC address and it will work as long as you have the right SSID. It just seems like shoddy workmanship, that's all.

 

Again, how does it show that they don't care about security in any meaningful way? You keep saying that, even though your only example is a relatively minor vulnerability in a non-critical system that contains no personal data. And, given that short of developing their own wireless standard and shipping the hardware with two wireless radios, one for wifi and one for streetpass, there's not much more they can do to "secure" the system, I'm not sure what you think they could have done better, apart from hand-wavingly saying "they should have done something". And again, it's a system that's basically a toy and contains no private information. So who cares in the first place?

[Zeusthecat]

Just bought a blue 3DS XL and Animal Crossing New Leaf!

[Yasawas]

I think I'm going to bin Mario & Luigi. I've done about six hours and am starting to get a little bored, according to reports it lasts around forty which has sapped any enthusiasm I had for continuing. I'm not cut out for the series it seems, I had a similar run with Superstar Saga (I think, the GBA one anyway) but I got suckered in by the hype on this one and it was a quiet July release wise. Live and learn.

I've a big pile of 3DS games sitting waiting for their moment and yet i'm thoroughly consumed by Link's Awakening DX. I completed Ocarina back in 1999 and put a good chunk of time into Twilight Princess but those are the only Zelda games I've played. Trying to catch up a bit before the new 3DS one.

[Sno]

I don't think it's available on the 3DS in any capacity, but if you've never played LTTP, that's the game you should be playing in anticipation of the new one.

[Yasawas]

I bought it for the Super Famicom recently but I underestimated how big a deal the language barrier would be and didn't want to play through it with a guide. I was thinking about getting it on Wii VC but the new one using the same overworld (think I heard this somewhere) put me off a bit and all of my friends who've played both cite Awakening as the better game overall so here we are.

[Sno]

The new one being based off the overworld of LTTP is why you should play it, it's so directly referential to that game, it's being pitched as a sequel to LTTP.

Also, personally, i like LTTP a lot more than Awakening, there's plenty of people who would argue for either game.

[shammack]

all of my friends who've played both cite Awakening as the better game overall

 

A lot of people state that preference, but I've never understood why. Everything about Link's Awakening feels ridiculously cramped to me -- the overworld, the amount of stuff you can see on the screen at once, the dialog. Plus those weird incongruous side-scrolling sections with goombas, and the way it's constantly interrupting you to tell you about how the compass has a new feature, and the guardian acorns/pieces of power... it just doesn't do it for me.

[Yasawas]

I might still play it if I'm not burnt out by the end of Awakening. I managed half an hour on the SFC version and it was just ludicrously pretty, sounded great and seemed very appealing but the idea of having to set up the Wii and pay for it again were off putting. I've decided I want to play Majora's Mask sometime soon too though so I'll need to do it for that anyway so aye, maybe.

[tegan]

Just bought a blue 3DS XL and Animal Crossing New Leaf!

 

yessssssssss

[dium]

 I've decided I want to play Majora's Mask sometime soon too though...

 

This is the correct decision. 

[Niyeaux]

I've become super disenchanted with New Leaf. I played about two weeks worth, did a couple house upgrades, built one of the public works projects, that sort of thing. Now it just sort of seems like a grind to the next Bells milestone. Next house expansion, next public works completion, whatever. The gameplay loop has become: go to island, fill box, come home, sell all that crap at Re-tail, dump all that money into house loan/public works donation box, rinse, repeat. Am I missing something, or is this really it?

[Sno]

Treating it like a grind is probably the mistake.

I pretty much just check in once every couple weeks now. Something new and cute happens, i mess around for an hour, and then i'm done.

[juv3nal]

I've become super disenchanted with New Leaf. I played about two weeks worth, did a couple house upgrades, built one of the public works projects, that sort of thing. Now it just sort of seems like a grind to the next Bells milestone. Next house expansion, next public works completion, whatever. The gameplay loop has become: go to island, fill box, come home, sell all that crap at Re-tail, dump all that money into house loan/public works donation box, rinse, repeat. Am I missing something, or is this really it?

It's basically it, if you're a goals driven kind of player. But bells don't mean all that much when you're trying to track down the last piece of a furniture collection or the last bug/fossil you need to finish off the museum.

I played a lot MORE when I was making daily trips to the island to farm bells, but I'm wouldn't say I enjoy the game less now that I don't do that.

I am playing a lot less now that I have other things to play though.

[dibs]

Links awakening was my first video game obsession. I'm on dungeon 5 at the moment. I always got so bored by those mario and luigi games, not sure why. Moo.

Speaking of this wind fish Tegan. *sniff

[tegan]

Speaking of this wind fish Tegan. *sniff

 

Buh?

[miffy495]

Is that a weird way of requesting a drawing?