required download??

Why am I the only one able to run the Windlight viewer without a single problem??

Graphics cranked up to MAX, 30-70FPS usually.
19-20FPS in a busy sim. Lowest I ever saw it go was 10.

All on a system built for under $800 about one or two years ago

It all comes down to the idea of "I'm not important enough to be noticed", which is what they're hoping on.

Same with folks not running anti-virus, using Firewalls, etc.

And since these forums are now open to ALL residents, do you feel like letting some broke-ass Free Account script kiddie taking a shot at it??

How did this go from a minor, unlikely to be exploited issue, to 'huge' inside of a week and a half?

We may have to hit him with this:

still running 1.19 without the forced update.
use -channel "blah blah" in your shortcut and you wont need to upgrade.

Great. Make me one. I can send you 10 bucks a week.

Unlikely it may be... No one's called it "Minor".

Emergency updates
Extra, unannounced rolling restarts
No information allowed to be posted
Posts deleted
Rolling restarts on the weekend
New client
Days later ANOTHER new client, REQUIRED.

Doesn't sound "Minor" to me.

The fact is, that exploit X was a "stealing your session" exploit, that could allow a hacker to pretend to be you, through spoofing your IP address, while you were online. That's right, they could do things like "make you pay them all your money"... minor things like that.

LL responded by encrypting the session communications, and offering an "optional, but you really ought to" update.

Then LL issued a "ZOMG nevermind you all HAVE to update to this now!" update.. I imagine that it's probably a little more severe than the first one.

And this sounds fairly minor to me.

not the same exploit

the other one was the ability to possible take your L's

this one can allow someone with the right knowledge to access files ON your PC
not SL files in SL
but stuff on your PC

that means anyone with the know how, can access your PC and if you use it to shop on line, or check your bank, they can find a lot of info sitting on your PC waiting to be discovered

IF they know how

and now that LL has announced that the ability to do so is there in the older versions, you know that there will be folks out there wanting to try

and if they visit here, and see so and so is still using an old, unsupported, unsecure version of the viewer, that person will become a target

I would rather play it safe than sorry

I feel for those who can not use the newest viewers and I agree, I strongly suspect an older version will soon be updated to support the new security features

there is also a very small chance a person would be hit by lightening, however I don't plan to stand out in a storm holding a metal rod anytime soon



do you?

WoW it is then.

Can I have your stuff? In case they steal mine.

Doesn't sound very minor to me *shrugs*

LL thinks an update to stop people TAKING YOUR MONEY is "optional".. you call it "minor".. I call it pretty serious.


LL thinks this is wirth forcing EVERYONE to update immediately, you call it "minor" because it's difficult for a hacker to do.

Together, this seems like a fairly HUGE update to me, in terms of security.. over 1.18

Hmmmmmm........... Cake...or Death........

The passage you quoted has nothing to do with me...I only connect to the main grid.


No, I called it minor because the tone of the information I've seen up until now sounds rather like, "Well, this *might* happen, so it's probably a good idea to install this just in case, but we're not all that concerned." I've seen the risk referred to and both very low and very, very low and, as you'll no doubt recall, the original update wasn't required. None of that suggests a serious issue to me.

Maybe they've discovered some new information which pushed the update to mandatory, but I still can't play on the 1.20 viewer. I downloaded the new update and tried it, adjusting the settings as low as I could go and still have any quality of experience, and, sure enough, after about ten minutes, I could smell my computer heating up.

I should mention, with the exception of my graphics card, which only meets the requirements, my computer meets or exceeds all of the SL recommendations. I feel really bad for the people who are only meeting requirements across the board.

..it's...just an update?

Did I miss something.

I know an update to fix a security hole should be mandatory, so I don't complain abuot that.

But what I hate about the mandatory updates is that they often change my settings and alter the interface in a way that always seems unfailingly uglier and more difficult to use than the previous interface.

The new IM windows, with the poor contrast of midnight blue (for names) over charcoal gray, hurts my eyes. How do I change that (if I am able?)

Edit: On second look (shiver), it looks like it's not even a shade of blue, it's deep purple over charcoal gray. Geez, I hope the interface designers' mothers still help them get dressed in the morning, because they can't match colors.

Apparently there's a serious security issue.

And LL doesn't care enough about their Residents with lower end systems to provide a solution for us.

That seriously shouldn't be up to 3rd party providers.

Try the "Silver" skin.. under "Preferences > Skins"

Oooooh No! I tried that once for someone.

BTW- the last time I priced a newer build, it came in around $500-$600. What jacks up the price is when folks insist on 'bleeding edge' stuff.

I even know of an SL Resident who's building a Quad-Core system, with top-of-the-line ATI card. Funny thing is, all he does is play games. Few Games take advantage of Dual-Core CPU's let alone Quad-Core. Funny thing is, he works at Walmart, so he's buying 1 part a month.

Keep in mind, many banks, companies, and even Goverments thought that no one would notice the small flaws in their systems. Those got noticed immediately (usually).

Now- take "joe schmoe" who does all their banking & paying bills online. Would that person notice right away that something is amiss with their finances??

And yes, even if you DO notice it, odds are good that person is in some foreign country out of your reach.

I'm no "haxxor" but I know where to find what I need to cause mischief.

It's not hard to find the stuff you need to do this. Trust me

Been nice knowin' Ya then.

I put a security advise on my blog for the users of Cool Viewer. CV does not (!) require you to do the mandatory update. It will be patched as soon as the sources become available. For the time being please connect only to SL or trusted OpenSim sites as Prospero suggested and disable all media streams.

Yeah, just with the exploit still available til Nick does his next patch for it.