A little snippet from the new TOS agreement

Hardware Identification
The Privacy Policy now points out that if you install Second Life software we'll be collecting information about your computer. The point here is to allow us to verify a unique identity and therefore better contain griefing by multiple accounts from one system. This information will not be available to non-Linden employees, and will only be available to Linden employees in an encrypted ("hashed" format.

found: http://secondlife.blogs.com/change/2006/06/update_open_reg.html#more

Now I have to ask, what is LL looking for and wheres the line here? are you logging motherboards? hard drives? videocards? or is your "hardware" identification really software identification? Are you planning to start logging peoples cd keys? registry files? I'd really like to know what your doing in my computer taking information.

I can understand companies taking annonomus hardware statistic for research issues, according to this your planning to log my computer and my account. So, wheres the line?

They're probably using something like the system Microsoft uses for their activation.. they read your HD, motherboard, video card, etc, and generate a hash from the info.

But seeing as how this is an online game, i can also see them reading up mac addresses. How many lame-o greifers do you think are using crappy integrated motherboards with integrated network adapters? Probably most of em. How many griefers do you think have throwaway network cards ready to swap in incase of bannination? Not many.

MAC addresses can easily be changed/spoofed to foil this, so it is useless if it is based in any way on MAC addresses.

There is already a 9 pages thread about this not far. Read it. Join the debate.

Wendel

Exactly. This will be a good thing to fight griefers. It's not a privacy invasion IMO but a tool to build road blocks to a majority of the griefers. Yes there might be some ways to get around it eventually but I think most griefers will be stopped by this system and too lazy to figure out ways around it. At least its something in the right direction for once.

I'm not well versed in how these hashes are generated, but whats to keep two identical computers from having the same hash? Gateway, Dell, Emachines, all carbon copy pc makers, so would they all have the same hash?

No.

This thread is good if you don't want to slog through that whole thing.

I do wonder just how easy it is to spoof this new system. Like whether running SL in wine will give an accurate hardware readout...

Don`t you know we are someone(s) PH.D final research paper? The ethics of collection data is so fall off and goes beypond the guildlines of collecting info its not funy anymore. Personaliy i don`t care anymore myselve. Because LLabs seems to distance itself for any relibily from person actions of the users its sad. And place its deadly directly on the users themselves.Have you noitced the screwball last names LLabs added? Another indiction that LLabs is trying to lower its respouniblity as a company in a whole Pons ( meaning sauce type in japanese, Pan meaning bread in japanense hashi etc etc et......These are just common every day japanese terms. What the hell is LLabs doing these days? They are causing the quility of the game to a low level and expect the content providers to dish out more and more Linden $, without any support from llabs themselves? A self content envor is the goal of Philip Linden...BULL SH@T................ I call its lessing the control the eco factor and telling us in the game ( YOU PAY FOR IT ) We only provide the VR world. YOU GIVE THE POOR AND UNSKILLED alts work lindens skins shoes etc............

they are created from what the pc has equiped as well as the seriel number and any other identifyable marks of each specific type of hardware in the machines.
so on 2 systems that are identical it will come down to serial numbers mainly (or equivlent).

*blinks and sighs* Well... that's typical. It's still a case of locking the barn door after you've burned down the barn!

I don't know much about mac address spoofing, but if i remember right, that's done via router or dsl/cable modem. LL's reading the one in your computer, straight from the hardware. Doesnt sound easily hackable, from here.

And about the invasion of privacy thing, we go right back down to the unique mac address that your machine is sending with every tcp/ip packet. It identifies the adapter, nothing more.

Those of you that will whinge about invasion of privacy, see also the above. If you still feel unfarily invaded, then by all means cancel your SL accounts. See you later. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[/semi-rant]


Each component will still have different serial numbers.

Sure. It will just end up repeating the same things though.

Wendel

was this not the plan from the outset?
when i first started the impression i was given was that EVERYTHING was user created.
i agree that their methods of stopping griefers is somewhat strange, add computer identity then remove report abuse? intresting concept there i must say.
an entire economy has been built up from nothing and as it grows the stuff that got it started will be removed or replaced for the better or worse depending on how its looked at, it happens in real life too. (thats for another thread though)
but back to the main point on this thread about the hardware identification, i have never liked or agreed with this sort of identification in any way ever since microsoft incorperated iit into its mainstream piracy policy.
this is far to much information that i believe they do not need to know in my opinion but we all know we will accept it as if we did not we would not be using our PC's that have windoze operating systems right now.

These days it shows LLabs no longer cares about its oldies, its shows all thurout SL. LLAbs is nolonger supporting the content providers and or giving them support in deal with stealing, grietfing ec................ A self content envor was the plan of Philip Linden for a long time. BUT some where along the way the chnaged their plans and are totally screwing the content providers and forcing them to payout of their own pocketrs Lindens money and freebie outfits, shoes, skins etc............ A well created self content envor contest of..............support future growth ( yea abuse of non supportive, non productive unskilled money tree pros taking monies and cashing out .not to speak of griefters etc) a valve of trade (linden monies in this case) safety ( which linden is doing less and less of )...........................a self contented envor is failing so bad that the inworld lindens don`t know what to do anymore. I really real sorry for them these day because they are over worked.

No, they're derived in a way that means such machines wouldn't have the same hash.

This isn't some whacky new idea that LL have dreamt up themselves - a lot of other companies already enforce bans using this technology. It's a proven technique.