Where is the 'Brief notice from Linden Labs'?

[Kerena Zhangsun]

Would someone from LL please address this? I'm sick of getting the notices about it inworld and cannot find the 'brief notice from Linden Labs' referenced in all the spam I'm getting.

Quote:

Brief notice from Linden Labs, there is a group called Second Life Shop going around giving away free AO's. After you accept and wear the AO it will steal your avatar ID and would take all your Lindens. Please be careful and don't accept this AO!

Unquote

[Theresa Tennyson]

I'd imagine there wasn't a notice at all then. Sounds a lot like countless RL e-mails whose sole purpose is to get people in a lather and forward the E-mail to everyone they know. Not that it's a good idea to accept an attachment from someone you don't know either, of course.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

Hello Karena,

I doubt you will get an answer from LL. But sometimes they do

Sounds like an object giving you that spam. Open chat history and click on the object name which is probably "Brief notice from Linden Labs" no? Is it chat spam?

 

I have seen some of these spammers have a blank space for a name. which can be difficult to detect.

Message me in world and I can send you a  "who said what hud"

[Innula Zenovka]

In my experience, when LL think there's a security problem that needs drawing to people's attention, they announce it here or in the blog rather than than rely on people spamming groups about it.

As a scripter, I am utterly baffled about how something can "steal your avatar ID".  Yes, it can take all your L$ if (and only if) you click OK on the big request it pops up -- utterly unlike any other request dialog in appearance, so you can't miss it -- to be allowed to take money from your account.   And certainly you should only grant those requests if you're sure about the item that's asking you (normally it's tip jars that pay a commission to the club owner, or affiliate vendors).   

Yeah, if an AO asks to be allowed to take money from your account, it's probably safest not to let it.

But otherwise I'm sceptical about this mysterious AO, I really am.    Anyone else remember that free radar a few years back that was supposed to do much the same?  I think it's from the same rumour factory.

[Rhys Goode]

First, this is a resident forum.  LL rarely, if ever, monitors whats going on, so do not expect to contact them here, it just does not work.

Second, just like out on the internet, just because some unknown person forwards you a notice from Joe Official, that is no guarantee that Joe Official has ever heard about the notice.  In my experience, such warnings are rarely what they claim.

Now, having said that, and allowing that "don't accept candy from strangers", is always good advice, I don''t think is is possible to make something that can drain your money without you explicitly accepting a popup that asks if its OK to take money. 

So, whatever else you do, never, never click a popup that authorizes taking money from your account unless you know exactly where it came from.

[Kerena Zhangsun]

I've not personally received the AO from anyone. What I have received is many many many notices about it, all prefaced with the 'Brief notice from Linden Labs'... and I find it quite odd that said notice isn't to be found ( at least by my efforts ) on their website.

Just seems logical if there was such an alarming threat running rampant in SL, there would be a easily found notice about it on the Second Life website... somewhere.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

Oh then it sounds like the typical panic spam to defame a store lol

 

If this was a problem, Linden Lab would just delete the group, all the accounts with it and the bad objects in questions would be wiped clean from the grid.

[AriannaCarmen]

Here is an article I found with quotes from one of the Lindens. It was written in 2009 which shows how long this particular " brief notice" from LL has been circulating:) http://sl4nowt.wordpress.com/category/psa-life-shop-ao/

LL needs to set the record straight on what can and can't be done with their scripting language by the best hackers in the world because we are all very tired of these panic causing notices filling up the group chats on a regular basis.

I'm not a scripter so I could be completely wrong but it seems logical to think if any of these hacking scams that circulate on almost a monthly basis, were possible, that every single person in SL would have lost their accounts, passwords and every linden they owned plus their bank accounts wiped out many years ago. Don't give anyone your password, don't log into to bogus SL sites believing anyone is really going to give you free lindens, and don't accept candy from strangers. Follow that, and you'll be fine:)

Please, please Linden Lab put out a big in-your-face notice on your front page about what can and can't be done within the constraints of the Linden Lab scripting language and put an end to these stupid and annoying  Danger! Danger! Hackers have found a way to take your password, user ID, every linden you have and every dime you own in RL!!!!! 

 

[Kerena Zhangsun]

PLEASE BE AWARE
Thu, Apr 05 2012 9:36:01 PM PDT

There is a new message being passed around claiming to be from Linden Lab re: a free AO from a group called "Second Life Shop". This is a false rumor. I spoke with Linden Lab this evening to confirm. If you are asked about it, please reassure residents and use this as a chance to remind them that it is always a good idea to use caution when accepting anything from people you do not know. I know I don't say this often enough, but thank you all for your hard work and dedication. You all are amazing.

Tender Skytower, Rockcliffe University Administration

 

[Dresden Ceriano]

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Kerena Zhangsun wrote:

Would someone from LL please address this? I'm sick of getting the notices about it inworld and cannot find the 'brief notice from Linden Labs' referenced in all the spam I'm getting.

Quote:

Brief notice from Linden Labs, there is a group called Second Life Shop going around giving away free AO's. After you accept and wear the AO it will steal your avatar ID and would take all your Lindens. Please be careful and don't accept this AO!

Unquote

---

I'm not worried at all... I don't wear briefs.

...Dres

[Nova Convair]

Some comments:

- I don't need an object to get your uuid I can look into your profile for that.
- An object can only get your Lindens if you click yes on the popup that asks you for permission to take your Lindens.
- Your login data is safe as long as you don't type that into a website that you opened by clicking on a link.
- Don't wear free stuff  - clothes ok but no scripted objects.
- If you get a message from an unknown source claiming to be a Linden message - why do you believe that? Everyone can produce such a message.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

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Dresden Ceriano wrote

I'm not worried at all... I don't wear briefs.

...Dres

---

LOL :smileyvery-happy:

[Cerise Sorbet]

Life Shop AO went around a few years ago. Back then it was not really harmful, just an incredibly bad idea. It really was just a freebie AO, but it offered a copy of itself to anybody nearby, so it was like somewhere between a chain leter and spam.

I see they are making the rounds again but I have not taken a good look at the latest, to see if it is the same or not. I can already tell you that it does not take your money without permission, or steal your account, because sripted objects can't take your money without asking first and LSL doesn't have a way to steal an account unless you do something silly like type your password in chat.

I can guarantee that the "brief notice" didn't come from LL, and the claims it makes are intended to scare people away from using the AO so that the spam will go away. I guess that the message originator though people wouldn't care about spam, but would jump to action if there was some kind of money and account stealing thing involved. Lame.

If LL had a real concern about naughty objects, they have the tools to delete them from the grid and would not need to send warnings out.

[Perrie Juran]

Someone spammed a group I am in last night with this garbage too and several of us gave the spammer a rough go about it.  He claimed the info came from Dakota Linden but when we asked him to show us the goods he couldn't get his prim attachment up to save his life.

Just on principle I would never shop a store or go to a club that spammed a group. 

And it is also just smart computing to never accept gifts from strangers.

There is no question that real phishing schemes happen in SL.  There's some good info here:

 

Ok, Jokes over.. now something serious..

 

Phishing scams in Second Life    http://phoenixviewer.blogspot.com/

People need to practice safe / smart computing.  The funny thing about false alarms is that they tend to be counterproductive and result in the Boy Who Cried Wolf Syndrome.

 

 

[Mikki Miles]

I bet my a** it's a HOAX

[Marianne McCann]

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Kerena Zhangsun wrote:

Would someone from LL please address this? I'm sick of getting the notices about it inworld and cannot find the 'brief notice from Linden Labs' referenced in all the spam I'm getting.

Quote:

Brief notice from Linden Labs, there is a group called Second Life Shop going around giving away free AO's. After you accept and wear the AO it will steal your avatar ID and would take all your Lindens. Please be careful and don't accept this AO!

Unquote

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Oh, that old thing? Perhaps they also have a Nieman Marcus cookie receipe.

To be fair, there is a free Lifeshop AO that does spam itself out to everyone around you when you wear it. It does not steal your Linden Dollars not steal your UUID. *However,* one should be way of any items given freely in the usual newbiw haunts, particularly those that request you to grant debit powers (the big yellow warning box).