Firestorm

[ElaLokovin]

Firestorm is free? and is that safe?

[Rolig Loon]

Yes, and yes.

Firestorm has long been one of the most popular viewers for Second Life.  In fact, it may still be the most popular viewer, in terms of the number of users.  They have a particularly helpful in-world user group and a rich collection of support articles in their wiki.  You may learn about its features and download it from their web site at http://www.firestormviewer.org/

EDIT: Beethros offers good advice. Linden Lab very wisely made their viewer's source code available to third-party developers a few years ago.  That made it possible for SL residents to have several choices, rather than being resticted to only one viewer. Each of them has special features.  It would be difficult -- perhaps even foolish -- to say which viewer is "the best one".  It's all comes down to personal choice, just as it does when you are buying a car or a washing machine in RL.  I suggest trying any of the authorized third-party viewers, just as you try the "official" Linden Lab viewer, to see which one you like best.

[beethros Karas]

Hello ElaLokovin and welcome to Secondlife!

Firestorm is an aftermarket Viewer  that is authorized from LL (Linden Lab) and it is free to download and use

It has some more options than the secondlife viewer and its preferable from builders and from other users.

Here you can see all about it and download it as well. http://www.firestormviewer.org/

My suggestion is to use and learn the Secondlife viewer first and then - if there is a need - to download and use firestorm.

Lets compare it with a Mercedes Benz you just bought. Do you really want to put it in the garage and go to buy a BMW to use? Then why you bought the Mercedes Benz? And lets assume that a BMW is better than a Mercedes Benz, but how someone could know it, if they never had use a Mercedes Benz? Thats how i see it. Other people dont see it that way and they strongly recommend to secondlife users to download firestorm from their first week in secondlife!

I Wish you a lot of fun in your secondlife whatever Viewer you are using.

P.S. Except firestorm there are plenty more viewers authorized from SL to provide online services.

Here is a list of them: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory

 

[ElaLokovin]

thanks

[ElaLokovin]

thanks

[Lindal Kidd]

It's free, and although no one can absolutely guarantee the safety of any third party viewer, you may consider the following:

• The source code is downloadable.  If you can read code, you can determine for yourself what's in there and what isn't
• It's on the list of Approvied Third Party viewers.  This does NOT mean that its safety is tested or guaranteed by Linden Lab.  But it does mean that the Firestorm team has agreed to abide by the terms of LL's third party viewer policy.
• A good many thousands of users before you consider it safe enough to use.  I'm one of them myself.  It may very well be the most popular Second Life third party viewer.

Each Second Life viewer is a little different, although they are all based on the same code from LL.  They present different interfaces, options, and functions.  For example, Firestorm has a built in movelock, media filter option, parcel Windlight, RLVa, pose stand, and animation overrider (animations not included.)  Some viewers provide better performance than others, and this may vary, depending on your personal computer setup.  Which viewer to use depends on your personal preferences.

Find out more at http://www.firestormviewer.org/

One final thought on safety:  If a viewer is on the approved TPV list, and it's free to use, in my opinion it's as safe as anything on the internet.  If it's not on the list, or they want you to pay money for it (with the exception of the smartphone type viewer apps), then I would be very cautious.  A few viewers have been put out there for sale by scammers, claiming to offer illegal "cheat" capabilities and charging a hefty fee.  Their use could get you banned from SL, and/or infect your computer or expose you to identity theft.

[beethros Karas]

You are very Welcome!