Hacking Will NXShop Share Freeshop's Fate?

[mranonymous]

I was just reading about the changes to 11.8 on the GBATemp 3DS forum, and how Freeshop will soon be rendered useless on ANY 3DS firmware. I immediately came over to the Switch forum to see if this same thing would be happening to programs like NXShop for the Switch, but couldn't find anything.

Will NXShop and similar apps inevitably be dead soon? TIA

 

[Pluupy]

More like freeshop will join nxshop's fate, tbh.

 

[TheZander]

What happened to 3ds freeshop

 

[Draxzelex]

The Nintendo Switch already implemented the enhanced security found in the 11.8 3DS firmware update when the Switch was launched. The only way to bypass it is by using an unbanned Nintendo Switch certificate, but there are only a finite number of these (even though there are several million units sold, those who hacked their console are a much smaller percentage). However, these tools use CDN downloaders on your computer as opposed to running on your Switch since we do not have a way to swap out console certificates on the Switch.

tl;dr The Switch was already geared towards killing Freeshop

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/759myu/the_eshop_and_cdn_explained_switch_edition/

 

[mranonymous]

More like freeshop will join nxshop's fate, tbh.

Ah yeah that's true, I didn't even think of it that way. It sucks because I finally got a 3DS a few weeks ago, and the clock is now ticking on Freeshop. I can't complain though.

What happened to 3ds freeshop

Nintendo is changing the way downloading works, requiring some kind of ticket to authenticate proper downloads. So Freeshop will break soon for all firmware versions once Nintendo's servers are updated. (Thanks to zacchi4k on the 3DS forums for this info)

The Nintendo Switch already implemented the enhanced security found in the 11.8 3DS firmware update when the Switch was launched. The only way to bypass it is by using an unbanned Nintendo Switch certificate, but there are only a finite number of these (even though there are several million units sold, those who hacked their console are a much smaller percentage). However, these tools use CDN downloaders on your computer as opposed to running on your Switch since we do not have a way to swap out console certificates on the Switch.

tl;dr The Switch was already geared towards killing Freeshop

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/759myu/the_eshop_and_cdn_explained_switch_edition/

Thanks for the info. Damn, that sucks. I heard something about the 3DS Freeshop only having a short while before it's useless (ie, a week or so). Will that be roughly the same lifespan as NXShop?

 

[TheZander]

Ah yeah that's true, I didn't even think of it that way. It sucks because I finally got a 3DS a few weeks ago, and the clock is now ticking on Freeshop. I can't complain though.



Nintendo is changing the way downloading works, requiring some kind of ticket to authenticate proper downloads. So Freeshop will break soon for all firmware versions once Nintendo's servers are updated. (Thanks to zacchi4k on the 3DS forums for this info)



Thanks for the info. Damn, that sucks. I heard something about the 3DS Freeshop only having a short while before it's useless (ie, a week or so). Will that be roughly the same lifespan as NXShop?

Wow, i didn't know Nintendo did any of that. I thought it was just a cdn ban timet, but they are actually changing the download install process

 

[Draxzelex]

Thanks for the info. Damn, that sucks. I heard something about the 3DS Freeshop only having a short while before it's useless (ie, a week or so). Will that be roughly the same lifespan as NXShop?

While using Freeshop on the Switch can get you banned, all hope is not lost. Normal console bans (dauth bans) limit eShop access as well as online play. However you can continue to download stuff using Freeshop since there's another server you can use to download content named Atum which handles game and system updates primarily. Nintendo eventually made a workaround for this though in the form of a superban. In laymen's terms, it bans both dauth and atum meaning you're cut off from all online activity; no eShop, no online play, and no updates. And these bans are tied to your unique console certificate that are burned into the Switch.

CDN tools on the computer have the same issue however unlike the console, you can swap console certificates much easier. This hinges on how many people are willing to donate their console certificate so other users can continue downloading games from Nintendo. These certificates are also at risk of getting superbanned so its a race between the community and Nintendo.

 

[mranonymous]

While using Freeshop on the Switch can get you banned, all hope is not lost. Normal console bans (dauth bans) limit eShop access as well as online play. However you can continue to download stuff using Freeshop since there's another server you can use to download content named Atum which handles game and system updates primarily. Nintendo eventually made a workaround for this though in the form of a superban. In laymen's terms, it bans both dauth and atum meaning you're cut off from all online activity; no eShop, no online play, and no updates. And these bans are tied to your unique console certificate that are burned into the Switch.

CDN tools on the computer have the same issue however unlike the console, you can swap console certificates much easier. This hinges on how many people are willing to donate their console certificate so other users can continue downloading games from Nintendo. These certificates are also at risk of getting superbanned so its a race between the community and Nintendo.

Ah yikes, I see. For some reason, I always thought that one could still use NXShop even if superbanned. I thought the super ban just blocked access from the legit eShop, all online game activity, and all legitimate firmware/game updates (as you mentioned).

So donated console certs aside, if superbanned, the only way to get backups is to download them on your PC and put them on your SD card manually, right?

 

[Draxzelex]

Ah yikes, I see. For some reason, I always thought that one could still use NXShop even if superbanned. I thought the super ban just blocked access from the legit eShop, all online game activity, and all legitimate firmware/game updates (as you mentioned).

So donated console certs aside, if superbanned, the only way to get backups is to download them on your PC and put them on your SD card manually, right?

Correct, even with the bans, as long as people upload the NSPs they download from Nintendo, even a superban does not limit what a hacker can do. The only issue here would be making sure you are downloading a valid NSP as some have been known to damage the Switch, notably the DevMenu NSPs

 

[mranonymous]

Correct, even with the bans, as long as people upload the NSPs they download from Nintendo, even a superban does not limit what a hacker can do. The only issue here would be making sure you are downloading a valid NSP as some have been known to damage the Switch, notably the DevMenu NSPs

Ugh, sounds scary. Are these intentionally malicious NSPs? Thx for all the help btw

 

[Draxzelex]

Ugh, sounds scary. Are these intentionally malicious NSPs? Thx for all the help btw

Yes, as there are non-public tools used to decrypt and then reencrypt the NSP. The reason that DevMenu NSPs are especially dangerous is because there is no standard way to obtain the DevMenu NSP in the first place as opposed to NSPs of everything else. However, since we can install everything using the latest Tinfoil, there is not much purpose left in DevMenu. I believe Tinfoil also prevents malicious NSPs from being installed so if you see an error code, its possible you are using a bad NSP.

 

[XorTroll]

Briefly, while any of this downloaders use built-in system functions to download stuff there will always be ban risk, but when we enable direct cdn downloading, which cdnsp and CIAngel use, we'll be able to use any cert we want for title downloading