Author Archives: ZoHa Islands

Second Life Shame?

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” Second Life is not a fart in a crowded elevator; it’s a fun, virtual world. Don’t be afraid to admit that you dig it, even if it can stink sometimes.”

I recently stumbled across a wonderful article about SL written on a hard-core gamer blog called “MMORPG” (that’s a clickable link). Many people, myself included, have considered SL to be the red headed stepchild of the gamer world and something that you admit only in shameful tones.

Several years ago, I needed to upgrade my computer to keep up with the ever-changing and fast-moving developments of Second Life graphics. I was using a laptop at the time (I’ve since gotten smart and switched to a desktop, but that’s another post for another day). I walked into the store, and a sales associate asked me how he could help me. I told him I was looking for a gaming laptop. “Oh, for your son?” said this 12-year-old (not really but geez). My cheeks burning in embarrassment, I said “No…umm… for me.” He looked at me oddly (me being this middle aged woman with grey in her hair) and said, “Oh…of course. What game do you play?”

I cringed. This was the question I’d been dreading. I hung my head. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Second Life” I mumbled.

He craned his neck forward, brow crinkling in concentration as he tried to understand what I’d said. “I’m sorry?” he inquired.

“Not as sorry as me” I mumbled to myself. Cheeks aflame, I looked into this young man’s face and stated, too loudly, “Second Life!”

Several patrons on the other side of the store looked up, startled. The clerk smirked. Then he snickered.

Oh God. I just wanted to die. Will the floor please open up and swallow me? Now? I covered my face with one hand and sighed.

Still smirking, the young man showed me several laptops. I chose one, made the purchase and scurried out of the store as fast as I could, the snickers following me out the door. I could just imagine the chat amongst the 20-something sales associates. “Oh god, look at that pathetic old lady gettin’ her jollies in Second Life” they would guffaw.

Oy.

However, as most SLers know, Second Life is more about just a 3-D sex site. Yes, there’s that too, but the user created content is what keeps Second Life alive and flourishing. The content creators. The musicians, the clubs, the landscapers, the causes that raise thousands of RL dollars from SL events — There is so much more to SL than just sex.

This article in the MMORPG website talks about the bad rep that SL has and how this platform needs to be taken seriously in the world of gaming and 3-D creation.

My favorite quote from the article is this: ” Second Life is not a fart in a crowded elevator; it’s a fun, virtual world. Don’t be afraid to admit that you dig it, even if it can stink sometimes.”

Read the article and see the Drax File episode that Beau Hindman did. Let’s all come out of the virtual closet and quit being ashamed of something that is so amazingly beautiful.

Here’s the link to the article: “There’s No Shame In Playing Second Life.”

Here’s the DRAX file episode:

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Social Media

Frisland in Winter

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I saw a link to this video on Facebook, and decided I needed to post about this beautiful place in SL. This place is exquisite.

Here is some information on Frisland given in the notecard you receive upon landing:

“This is an open place for all ppl [sic] that love to relax in a beautiful environment on a sim where time stands still. Frisland was designed for photographers and explorers based upon the idea of a phantom island in the North Atlantic that appeared on lots of maps during the 16th and 17th centuries. We want to share this place with you but there are a few rules to follow:

1. Frisland is a moderate sim also frequented by kids and families. So please: NO nudity and NO obvious sexual activities. We accept your RP like D/s but we want you to make your leashes invisible and wear proper clothes that are acceptable for a sim like ours.

2. NO rudeness, NO violence, NO weapons. Treat other ppl [sic] on the sim with respect and enjoy a relaxed talk with them as long as they want. Don’t molest or harass them. Some ppl [sic] just come over to enjoy the silence and peace on Frisland.

3. As a member of the Frisland Group you can rez here. This permission is only for rezzing poses or probs to take a pic, NOT for abusing the sim as a playground or sandbox! If you want to build or unpack your purchases, please use the search to find appropriate places. Also, please do not rez cars or motorbikes or any modern stuff that doesn’t fit Frisland.

if you want to join the group, it costs a small fee of 150 L$ that helps us to keep running the sim 🙂 ”

Here is the video I saw that first made me take notice of this beautiful, peaceful place. This is machinima done by a professional; way better than I could ever hope to do. It was well done, and so I thought I’d share with you. Enjoy, and visit this location if you’d like to see it in person.

For the SLurl to the sim, click here: Frisland in Winter

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZI Social Media

Alert! Cryptowall 2 Ransomware Malware Is Out There!!

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Once more, Bob Rankin’s blog “Ask Bob Rankin” alerts us to a recent outbreak of a ransomware malware called “Cryptowall 2.”

Bob goes on to say that “Making regular backups of critical data and keeping your software up to date is more important than ever thanks to the arrival of new, “improved” malware like Cryptowall 2. This update to a well-known ransomware exploit is making life miserable for business and personal computer users worldwide.”

Cryptowall 2 is a variant of the CryptoLocker virus, which was created and launched last summer by cybercriminals, and the authorities were able to successfully shut down that threat. However, this new Cryptowall 2 is out there and is dangerous.

Bob states “Like its predecessor, Cryptowall 2 encrypts everything on an infected hard drive and displays a “ransom note” to the hapless user. The extortion is simple: pay several hundred dollars by a specified deadline or you’ll never get the key that unlocks your encrypted data. The payment method is anything but simple for the typical victim.

“Cryptowall 2 is elaborately designed to avoid detection by security software and to conceal the identities and locations of its masters. Part of this stealth strategy is to require ransom payment in Bitcoin, the virtual crypto-currency. Most citizens and even IT geeks have no clue how to get Bitcoin; even if you know, converting real currency into Bitcoin is not convenient or fast.”

Bob goes on to say that “As if that isn’t enough, a Cryptowall 3 version appeared in recent days. Its only “improvement” seems to be the addition of the Invisible Internet Project (I2P) proxy network to the things that can go wrong with a payment attempt. The payment link provided by Cryptowall runs a victim through several Tor proxies and then hands the connection off to I2P, which has its own ways of failing.”

We cannot emphasize enough how critical it is to back up your data regularly, and to be very cautious about clicking on links or opening emails from unknown sources. The best way to deal with Cryptowall is to avoid it at all costs. That means keeping your defenses up on all fronts. Think before you click on unknown links or email attachments. Keep your operating system and application software up to date with security patches. Use a comprehensive internet security suite that watches for things like Cryptowall in email, Web, external storage devices, and every other vector by which malware can enter your system.

Bob recommends these links to learn how and where you can get free tools to protect your computer:

He also recommends an extra layer of protection using a program called CryptoPrevent, which modifies some Windows settings to prevent infection by Cryptolocker and related malware. Note that there are both Free and Premium versions of CryptoPrevent.

You can see the entire blog post on Bob’s blog here: Ransomware Strikes Again.

I remain respectfully yours,

~ Suzanne Piers, ZI Social Media

Our Blog Year In Review 2014

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WordPress posts a Year in Review at the end of each calendar year that shows different statistics related to blog content, such as most popular post, most viewed pages, referrers, and from where our visitors are coming.

Here is ZoHa Island’s blog year in review for 2014.

Thank you all for being an important part of our Second Life!

Simply click on the link below. Enjoy!

ZoHa Island’s Blog Year in Review 2014

I remain respectfully yours,

~ Suzanne Piers, ZI Social Media

This Is Where The Magic Happens!

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I pulled this from Google Maps. This unassuming building is home to Linden Labs in San Francisco. I thought it would be fun to post it here! Enjoy!

ImageOn another quick note, Linden Labs has put out a Schedued Maintenance report on the Grid Status website. Be aware of this for tomorrow morning:

[Posted 3:27 PM, 27 May 2014] The Second Life Service will be closed for logins for approximately one hour on Wednesday, May 28 beginning at 6am PDT.

Residents in world will not be logged out, but may experience loss of supporting services such as search and inventory. New logins will not be accepted, and Residents in world should not attempt to transfer or manipulate L$ or valuable (no-copy) assets until the ALL CLEAR is given.

See you in world!

I remain respectfully yours,

~Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Social Media Manager

 

 

Fitted Mesh Is Here!

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Today, we’re happy to announce that Fitted Mesh is available in the main Second Life Viewer! Fitted Mesh gives Second Life content creators the power to craft mesh garments that make avatars look their absolute best. We’d like to thank the vibrant community of creators for their thoughtful feedback and help testing this feature.

For more information, check out the video below, then update your Viewer to the latest release and get creative with Fitted Mesh!