BREAKING NEWS: Copybot is Back!

Back in November 2006, Second Life was in uproar for a whole week. And I mean complete mass panic. Businesses were leaving SL, protests were there, it made Real Life news, it was announced that it would be the end of Second Life. Fact was that Libsecondlife created a tool, a piece of software outside the standard viewer, that was designed for backup purposes with all good intentions. It duplicated any object in SL and made it full permissions.

Of course it was only a matter of time before people started using this to their own advantage. When that happened and was discovered, all hell broke loose. The CopyBot, as it was called, was dealt with in a swift and secure manner by Linden Lab, and the civil unrest came to an end.

Nowadays, people tend to think that if they create content in SL, that it is safe from copyright infringement. But rumours and accusations have been starting to fly around again, about expensive skins (up to L$ 5000 a piece) being copied and resold for a lot less by thieves. We reported on this just over a month ago.

Yesterday, I received a freebie skin saying "I'd rather go naked than wear stolen skin", created by Laynie Link. Ms. Link is a clothing shop owner and I bet she has a passion for protecting her content. But not only that, she must have a good reason for it. Ms. Link was unavailable for comments, but this made me research the issue again.

I talked to a scripter, and he claimed that he was able to do it within 10 minutes. And you know what? I'm not a scripter, but after I fllowed a false lead and ended up on a dead-end street, I followed another lead and managed to do it myself within 10 minutes !!!

So, for me it is confirmed, it is true. CopyBot II is here !!!

Now, what can this thing do? It can copy any texture in Second Life. When I tested it, I had access to any texture that my virtual eyes could see, starting with the moon and ban line pictures in Second Life, but also including complete skins, eyes, clothing, the sand that I was standing on ... EVERYTHING!

The fact is that it's not too hard to build things in SL. The true art lies in texturizing it properly. And with the arrival of Scuplties in May 2007, this has been taken to a whole different level. Well, this thing can also copy complete sculpties.

Imagine that you have created a true work of art. You're a sculptie artist and have created something that you have been working on for many many hours. Imagine that you're Light Waves (or Starax, as he's commonly known), and that you have created the best art there is in SL and that you're selling it for up to L$ 25,000. And then imagine that someone just copied your blood, sweat and tears and is selling it inworld for only a fraction of that price.

Would you leave SL over it? Well, I bet you would, if you know that just about anyone can do this, and that Linden Lab is unable or unwilling to do anything about it. And I bet that you would feel the same if you were a skin creator like Naughty Designs, X2 or RaC, or if you were a successful clothing designer like Blaze Columbia or Nicky Ree. This thing could put you out of business. Or imagine that you are a RL photographer and are selling your art in a gallery, and that anyone would be able to grab your photos without having to pay for them. What would be the point of having a gallery anymore.

Linden Lab has been made aware of this in several ways, amongst others on the JIRA, the SL bug reporting system for residents. The number of votes on this particular issue has sky-rocketed and will continue to do so, up to the moment where Linden Lab will take action.

LL has dealt with the original CopyBot in a quick and decisive manner. They haven't done so with this one. Knowing what I know about this issue, it is now not as simple as with the CopyBot. Just for the record, if you are wondering if this is actually a legal way to copy textures ... it's not. There is a very specific USA law that applies to these cases, and LL has claimed that it is in compliance with those laws. Well, it seems that they are not.

Now, I have solid proof that it works, that Linden Lab has been aware of this security breach from early 2006 and that they have not taken any action against it. And they probably will not, unless this issue causes widespread panic and anger amongst residents, as it did with the original CopyBot. And it seems that now the time has come for that panic.

The protest skin is available for free from SL Exchange, so please all wear it, and go to the JIRA article to vote for the topic. Not only is it the right thing to do morally, taking action now will also protect your content.

For the record, I have deleted any stolen content that I retrieved in this way. I will also not provide proof here, because it might lead to revealing this security breach. Just know that anyone with a few basic computer skills has access to this.

SL Newspaper will continue to follow this story. Please look forward to more news about this as the story develops.