Clear Cache or Clean Install?

[itslindsay]

I screwed up and clicked on a link someone gave me in a black box on the upper right screen.  It said something like allow this person to animate you.  So the next day I logged in and found my inventory folder open and it was very wide looking.  I aslo noticed this person added a new location onto my landmarks.  Lets just say it was very unflattering and insulting.  So I don't understand how they got in by me clicking a link?  Are my other accounts at risk now?  Do I clear cache or clean install to fix this?

[Alwin Alcott]

just clicking things for animating, does not open your inventory or give landmarks...

most likely the landmark was given to you somehow and you accepted.

 

Clearing cache and re install goes change nothing .

Look of there are unknown objects in your inventory and delete those, nothing more is needed

And don't giver permissions to things you don't know, now it only was a animation, next time it's perhaps payment.

[Qie Niangao]

I'm a little worried about inconsistencies in this description, specifically the business about "clicking a link". If that's just a weird way of saying you approved a permissions request to animate your avatar, then Alwin is right and there's nothing to worry about. But if that dialog box was something else, not merely asking for permission to animate your avatar but to load a web page in your browser, then sure: If that's what happened you may have "clicked a link" to a malware site. That would have all the same effects as doing that while surfing the web, nothing to do with SL, and whatever the damage, it couldn't be helped by clearing cache nor a clean install.

[itslindsay]

Ok thank you.  I did notice that my avi is wearing items I never put on so I will be taking those off now.  Thanks for all your help.

[Nalates Urriah]

Read all of this before starting anyactions.

To change what your avatar is wearing is a bit more complicated. I can only think of two ways that is possible. One, they managed to get your account password. If you "clicked" and landed on a malware site, you may well have a Trojan or other matware. Time to have your Anti-virus program run a scan. If it finds nothing download the free version of Malwarebytes and run that. Delete whatever they find.

Once you are confident your computer is clean, change your Windows login password. Next change your email password. Once those are changed change your SL account password. The order of these changes is important.

You should be secure again.

Open your viewer, inventory and then click the RECENT tab and set the date for the day you got bitten. Examine the things entering inventory that day. If there are things you do not recognize, delete them.

SECOND: You either accepted an Experience or an RLV permission request. So, check your experiences an revoke permissions for any experience you do not recognize. If you use RLV, use the SL Linden made viewer to preform ALL these steps. Examine you RLV folders and delete any items you do not recognize. Make sure your avatar has no attachments you do not recognize. If you don't use an RLV capable viewer (like the Linden made viewer) these last steps are not needed.

[itslindsay]

Thank you Nalates.  I am going to follow your instructions because when I logged on this morning my avi was dressed in a white top and pants.  I did not do this. I don't give out my password.  I already ran malwarebytes but I will follow your instructions and change my passwords in the order you said.  I am not good with technology so thanks for posting those instructions.  Rlv in prefrences is already unchecked but i do notice sometimes my avi will have like these sparkly little balls circling around me.  I know it sounds weird and looks weird.  No more clicking links people give me.  Ok time to get busy with your instructions. Thank you!!!

[arabellajones]

One possinle awkwardness over a Clean Install is that there might be stuff you didn't want to lose, things like conversation logs.

My conversation logs are in /firestorm/arabellajones_resident/ and are .txt files. Simplest is just to copy all the stuff in .firestorm except the cache into another place. (It won't be .firestorm under Windows, but it will be a "hidden" folder, I expect.) I'm not sure how any bad stuff could do anything, not anything that has been delivered from Second Life, but I expect tedious detail from the usual suspects.

Point is, "Clean Install" doesn't mean you have to delete everything. The Viewer install process will look for those files, and if it doesn't see them where it expects, will create a new set with default settings.

The cache can be huge. Don't bother with keeping a copy of that.