Game Consoles

[PaulB]

My grandson just received a Wii game console. He has joined it to his wireless network. Are there any known security concerns with such a setup?

[Argus]

I know nothing about game consoles (modern), just went for a little search at some different places.

Well known computer security specialist Bruce Schneier commented some years ago some information about the, then new, console from Nintendo; the WiiConnect24 feature. That off actually meant always in standby. I don't know if that one has lead to any security related problems, over heating in early consoles perhaps?

But that was very early comments, more or less the day after, in May 2006. And nowadays we have a lot of things running in standby, but it shouldn't be called off if it actually connects to the net. And I'm almost sure there were ways to turn off different features, even if the console was in some sort of standby. So, not much there I think.

Perhaps this is worth reading, if it's related to his console, and you haven't looked at it.
Wii Network Service Privacy Policy
There is probably more information out there, but I'm off for some now.

[PaulB]

Thanks, and enjoy your coffee, Argus. I started reading the links you provided. Makes me a little worried. I'll pass them along to my grandson and son-in-law and let them decide whether or not to deactivate Internet access.