[zippy]

So I found this article over on Gizmodo (actual article is on lifehacker, but I found it via Giz) that explains how to put all your Wii games on an external HDD so that you can leave your disks tucked away. It requires a hack known as the "Homebrew" hack before it can be installed, but instructions for the Homebrew hack are also provided.

The only question/hesitation I have with this is the same one I had with jailbreaking my iPhone. I understand the risks associated with bricking, or warranty and I can make a choice about those. But the thing I continue to wonder is how likely, or possible, would it be for someone who is coming up with these hacks to incorporate some kind of backdoor into your system? Or to turn your device into a bot in some kind of bot net?

Of course anything is possible, but would something like that be noticeable enough to the other super code-ninjas that it would be ratted out. After all, I would assume that these other individuals would not want to volunteer their systems up for any kind of intrusion.

Am I being way too paranoid?

[PKIDelirium]

Originally Posted by zippy Am I being way too paranoid?

Yes.

[dmegatool]

Originally Posted by zippy Am I being way too paranoid?

Yes

Edit: So you beat me at it and you even have the time to add a little smiley

[zippy]

Originally Posted by PKIDelirium Yes.

Originally Posted by dmegatool Yes Edit: So you beat me at it and you even have the time to add a little smiley

Alright partially helpful people. Why is it that you think I'm being too paranoid? Honestly.

Is it because that which I question is impossible? Improbable? Too easy to detect by others so it wouldn't pass the smell test?

Do you subscribe to the 'don't worry about it, what could happen that's so bad' attitude? Or do you just inherently trust these types of hackers?

I'm genuinely curious. I believe that there are some really smart individuals out there who can and do provide these types of hacks to the masses in a purely altruistic manner. But doesn't the possibility also exist for such exploits to be used in less honest way? It would just be another example of social engineering: sneaking something undesirable past you while they distract you with something you find worthwhile/valuable.

So how would you know the difference between two such offerings?

[Wyatt]

Improbable. It's open source, so if there was a major backdoor, it would have been exposed.

I "hacked" mine ages ago, and it's pretty darn simple. The only thing to watch out for is that you shouldn't install any firmware updates from Nintendo until a new hack is released - just like having a jailbroken iPhone.

I've not done the DVD rip thing, though. I don't have any spare external drives, so I haven't had a chance to try that part out. I used it to install emulators (and ROMs) on a flash drive.

[zippy]

Originally Posted by Wyatt Improbable. It's open source, so if there was a major backdoor, it would have been exposed. I "hacked" mine ages ago, and it's pretty darn simple. The only thing to watch out for is that you shouldn't install any firmware updates from Nintendo until a new hack is released - just like having a jailbroken iPhone. I've not done the DVD rip thing, though. I don't have any spare external drives, so I haven't had a chance to try that part out. I used it to install emulators (and ROMs) on a flash drive.

Gotcha. Having to be careful about firmware updates would be a pain, though I don't feel the need to keep the wii as up to date as the iPhone. My main interest would be in ripping all the games to an external hdd -along with the Netflix disc. It drives me nuts when the kids don't put games back in the correct cases. Or in any case.

[Wyatt]

The only time firmware updates really matter is when a new game comes out that requires a particular firmware (the only method Nintendo has of forcing people to update). I think new hacks are usually found relatively quickly. I can't be certain, though, since I never play the Wii. I rarely have time for games any more, and when I do, I go straight to my 360.