Resources: hippoSECURE User Guide

Welcome to hippoSECURE, a powerful yet easy to use security system that can help to keep unwanted visitors from your land. Among its many features:

• Maintain a list of banned avatars (the black list) and friendly people who you’re happy to see (the white list).
  
  
• Four operational modes (off entirely, list nearby avatars, remove anybody on the black list, remove anybody not on the white list).
  
  
• Customise the scan range, scan frequency, the way people are moved, the warning time and many other settings.
  
  
• Network several hippoSECURE units together so that you can control larger areas (Second Life limits mean one prim can only scan a 96m radius).
  
  
• If you own our hippoRENT system, you can connect a hippoSECURE unit to a rental box to allow tenants access or, if you wish, allow them to manage their own white and black lists.

Enough of the features, let’s look at what this document describes for you ...

1. Setting up your hippoSECURE system

2. Managing your white list, black list and managers list

3. Setting other options

4. Connecting multiple hippoSECURE systems together

5. Connecting a hippoSECURE system to a hippoRENT rental box

6. Using a hippoSECURE system on group land

7. Configuring via notecard rather than via menu

8. Logging visitors (v1.5 only)

1. Setting up your hippoSECURE system

Your hippoSECURE folder contains three objects: a hippoSECURE unit, a hippoSECURE Ejector (for use on group land, see below) and an affiliate vendor that lets you resell hippoSECURE for 20% commission.

Begin by rezzing a hippoSECURE unit on the parcel of land that you wish to protect. Click the unit and the main menu will appear.

The buttons on this menu are, from left to right and top to bottom ...

Please note that when you click the hippoSECURE unit it will listen for menu commands for five minutes then stop listening, to cut down on sim lag. Simply click it again to get it listening for menus again.

1.1 Determining an area to protect

To determine the area your hippoSECURE unit protects click it, pick “Options” from the menu, then choose ”Scan Range” and type the range in metres to scan (minimum 1m, maximum 96m (this is a Second Life limit)). Remember that Second Life limits also mean the unit will only detect the 16 closest avatars at any one time. The range you input here will determine the radius that the unit scans.

There are two more advanced ways to determine what area the hippoSECURE unit scans ...

1.1.1 Protecting just the land parcel

To protect just the same parcel as the hippoSECURE unit is sitting on, add -p to the range. So, for example, to scan 50m but just check the current parcel, click the unit, choose “Options” then “Scan Range” and type 50-p then press enter. This is a good way to avoid annoying your neighbours (and getting Abuse Reports filed against you). We recommend you use the -p setting most of the time.

1.1.1 Protecting a rectangular area

By default, hippoSECURE uses the standard Second Life scanning tools which scan a circular area. If you want to be clever, you can scan a rectangular area. This takes a little more work but with practice is very simple ...

• Move your avatar to the bottom left corner of the rectangular area you want to protect and note the x,y,z coordinates of that position (the Second Life menu bar has them, after the current sim name, for example it may read “Hippo Technologies 14, 200, 37 (PG)”. It’s the 14, 200, 37 you would want here.
  
  
• Move your avatar to the top right corner of the rectangular area you want to protect and note those coordinates; let’s for this example use 25, 190, 52.
  
  
• Click the hippoSECURE unit, choose “Options” then “Scan Range” and type <14, 200, 27>|<25, 190, 52> then press enter. (Note the | is the bar character, not a lower case L or capital i.).
  
  
• Clever users may like to know you can combine rectangular scanning and parcel only scanning, so you could use, for example, <14, 200, 27>|<25, 190, 52>-p.
  
  
• Version 1.5 and above of hippoSECURE can use relative coordinates if you prefer. For example, to set up a bounding box that extends 10 metres around and 5 metres above and below a hippoSECURE unit, you'd use <-10, -10, -5>|<+10, +10, +5> ... if a + or - sign occurs before a number, hippoSECURE will take it as a relative value: if there isn't, it will take it as an actual coordinate. You can mix the two coordinate types, e.g. <-10, 190, -15>|145, +15, 530>.

1.2 Setting the scan rate

To determine how frequently your hippoSECURE unit scans for avatars click it, pick “Options” from the menu, then choose ”Scan Rate” and type the frequency in metres to scan (minimum 1 second, maximum 3600 (one hour)). The more frequently your unit scans, the greater the sim resources it will use; we’d recommend between 3 and 5 seconds.

1.3 Determining how people are removed

If you click on the “Removal Button” in the options menu, you will see that a hippoSECURE unit offers four ways to remove people from your land.

1.4 Turn your unit on

Finally, click your hippoSECURE unit then choose “Mode” and pick the mode you wish the unit to operate in (see above for a list of what the four modes do).

2. Managing your white list, black list and managers list

Your hippoSECURE unit can hold three lists inside it; up to 500 people on the white list (people who you consider friendly and wish to have access to the land); up to 500 on your black list (nasty folks who you want to remove on sight); and up to 100 managers, people who can control your security system. (Note: for versions of hippoSECURE earlier than 1.5, these limits are 80 for the white list, 80 for the black list, and 14 for the managers list).

To add somebody to the white list, click your hippoSECURE unit and choose “White List” from the menu. Then click “Add” and their name (or several names, separated by commas). The name must be their exact Second Life name. A hippoSECURE unit is case-sensitive, so “Kermit Frog” is not considered the same as “kermit frog”. The unit will report that each name has been added.

Once you have done that, you could explore the other “White List” menu settings. You can remove people in much the same way from a list, wipe the list entirely clean or click “Group” and “Allow” to allow anybody wearing the same group tag as the group tag on the unit (assigning prims to a group is a Second Life topic, beyond the scope of these notes) to have access.

Managing the black list and the managers list is almost identical and very simple.

3. Setting other options

There are some other useful options in your hippoSECURE unit’s options menu that are worth exploring. To control what information the unit displays above it, click “Options” then “Hovertext” — then “Status” to determine whether the unit’s operational mode is displayed above it and “Names” to decide whether to show the list of avatars it has scanned above it in every mode (they are always displayed in ”Scan Only” mode.

The “Update” button will check to see if there are any updates available for your hippoSECURE system. Hippo Technologies offers free updates, for life, on all of our products. If you join the Hippo Technologies Users Group inworld you will also get announcements when products or updates are available.

4. Connecting multiple hippoSECURE systems together

Second Life limitations mean that one hippoSECURE unit cannot scan more than 96 metres away from itself (so the maximum scan area is a circle, with a 96m radius). However, you can network two or more hippoSECURE units to cover a wide area. Networking means that the connected hippoSECURE units will share their white lists, black lists and manager lists. Hence you can easily protect a wide area by rezzing multiple units, configuring their scan ranges and ejection types, then connecting them together.

The process is very simple. On your first hippoSECURE unit, click it and choosse “Networking” from the menu and then “Security”.

Click “Channel” and then type in chat a channel number for the boxes to communicate on. We recommend a large negative number, for example -57361. (It does not matter if other objects in the sim are communicating on the same channel, as data sent between hippoSECURE units is encrypted).

Now choose “Start’” from the menu.

Finally, rez a second hippoSECURE unit and repeat the procedure (pick the same channel number, then “Start”).

Once both units have networking turned on and the same channel number set, any changes you make to a black list, white list, or manager list on one unit will be copied to the other.

You can network any number of hippoSECURE units but networking will only work within sims, not across sim borders.

5. Connecting a hippoSECURE system to a hippoRENT rental box

If you use the hippoRENT rental system, you can connect a hippoSECURE unit (or several units) to a rental box. This allows several possibilities ...

• Tenants and their partners will automatically be allowed safe passage by the hippoSECURE unit.
  
  
• Rental box managers will be able to control the hippoSECURE unit and will also not be removed.
  
  
• If you wish, you can allow tenants and partners to control some aspects of the hippoSECURE unit’s functionality; for example, you might let them add or remove friends to the white list.

5.1 Connecting a rental box

The procedure is straightforward. Begin by adding the ‘PLUGIN_security’ script that can be found in your hippoSECURE folder to the rental box. (Right click the rental box, choose “Edit” from the Second Life menu, then More>>> if it is showing, then click on the contents tab, then drag the script to the box’s inventory.) Double click on the script in the box’s inventory to edit it (it comes with full permissions) and change the network_channel and passphrase variables at the top to a channel number of your choice (a large negative number is good) and a passphrase to protect communications (I use a random jumble of letters myself). So, for example:

Save the script and ensure that “Running” is checked at the bottom of the script window before you close it.

If everything is okay, the rental box will say “Plugin Active” when you save it.

Once you’ve done that, click on the hippoSECURE unit, pick “Networking” from the menu and then “Boxes”. Pick “Channel” and type in chat the same channel number you used in the box script, then do the same for the passphrase. Finally you can click “Turn On” to start box networking. It is probably then a good idea to either reset the box (or use the PING SERVER voice command) to force it to send an initial update to the hippoSECURE unit. If the box has tenants, you’ll see their names listed when you use the hippoSECURE unit’s status command from the main menu.

Once you have successfully set this up, any changes made to the rental box (tenants renting or leaving) will be transmitted to the hippoSECURE unit.

5.2 Determining what functions a tenant can control

The hippoSECURE system allows you to quite carefully control what a tenant can do with any hippoSECURE unit connected to a box that they are renting. This is done using the “Permissions” menu option (under “Networking” -> “Boxes”). Pick that command and you will be asked to type the permissions you wish to assign. Use the codes below, separated by commas if you wish to assign more than one.

So, for example, to let a tenant manage the white list and hovertext settings only, you would use w+, w-, h .

6. Using a hippoSECURE system unit on group land

The hippoSECURE unit can be used easily on group owned land, using the included hippoSECURE Ejector unit. The Ejector unit will be deeded to your group (it comes with both copy and transfer rights) so that it has the necessary permissions to eject, teleport home or ban people.

The steps are very simple:

• Turn on networking on your hippoSECURE unit and make a note of the channel number you choose. More information on this can be found above.
  
  
• Rez a hippoSECURE Ejector Unit on the piece of group land you’re securing; next to the hippoSECURE unit itself is probably easiest, but an Ejector can be anywhere in the same sim as the secure unit.
  
  
• Right-click the Ejector unit and choose Edit (and then More>>> if only the mini Second Life build dialog window has opened).
  
  
• Click on the ‘Contents’ tab, then double-click the ‘_config’ notecard to open it. Change CHANNEL: 0 to the networking channel you are using (e.g. CHANNEL: -3420) and close and save the notecard. The Ejector unit will reload it and report readiness.
  
  
• Once you’re happy, tick ‘Share with Group’ and then click ‘Deed’. Please note, once you've done this, you will not be able to edit the _config notecard again. So ensure the channel is set correctly. (Although you can always simple rez a new Ejector unit at any time and start again).
  
  
  
  
• That’s it. Anytime the hippoSECURE unit needs to eject somebody from the land, it will contact the Ejector unit which, because it is group-deeded, will be able to eject, teleport home or ban them.

7. Configuring via Notecard Rather Than Menu

Finally, it is possible to configure your hippoSECURE unit using a configuration notecard, if you prefer. This can be useful if you wish to use the same settings in several units, for example.

To do this, replace the “_config” notecard in your hippoSECURE unit with the one you’ll find in your hippoSECURE inventory folder. Then open the hippoSECURE unit’s inventory and double-click on the notecard to edit it and make any changes that you wish.. After making any changes, click your hippoSECURE unit and choose "Reset" from the menu that appears to load the “_config” notecard. (Older versions of hippoSECURE will load any changes as soon as you save the notecard).

** IMPORTANT NOTE -> If turning on networking (either between units or between a unit and a rental box) in the _config card, please ensure the command to turn networking on comes after you’ve defined the channel and any passphrase.

Do remember that if you deed your hippoSECURE unit to a group, you may not be able to edit any _config notecard inside it afterwards, so do be careful. Even with a _config notecard inside, you can still use the menus to make configuration changes in the normal way.

There are some special advanced settings you can add to a “_config” notecard ...

• MODE WHEN OWNER IS IN RANGE: <off/black list/all/scan only> (Version 1.5 and higher only)
  e.g. MODE WHEN OWNER IS IN RANGE: Scan Only
  If you include this command in your hippoSECURE unit’s “_config” notecard, then when you are in scan range of the unit, it will switch from its normal mode to whatever you specify here. This can be very useful — for example, you might choose to use a combination of MODE: All and MODE WHEN OWNER IS IN RANGE: Black List to eject everybody when you’re away from home and only named enemies when you’re back at home.
  
  
• RESET AND RELOAD WHEN TENANT LEAVES: <Yes/No>
  e.g. RESET AND RELOAD WHEN TENANT LEAVES: No
  If you’re using your hippoSECURE system in conjunction with a hippoRENT box and have given your tenants full access over the system, you may wish your hippoSECURE unit to reset and reload its _config card settings when a tenant leaves. To do this, turn use RESET AND RELOAD WHEN TENANT LEAVES: Yes. Any settings that the tenant has changed (including white and black lists) will be wiped and the defaults you have specified in the _config card reloaded.
  
  
• SENSOR TYPE: <SensorRepeat/Timer>
  e.g. SENSOR TYPE: SensorRepeat
  This advanced setting governs how your hippoSECURE unit scans. By default, it will use the Second Life llSensorRepeat() command. However, there is a known bug in this Second Life function if the scan area crosses a sim border. Should you find problems on a sim border (e.g. the unit reporting non-existent avatars, or people wildly outside the scan range), use SENSOR TYPE: Timer instead (which, for those who like to know about these things, simply uses llSensor() along with a timer() event to perform its scanning.)
  
  
• GENERAL WARNING: <message> (Version 1.5 and higher only)
  e.g. GENERAL WARNING: Sorry, <NAME>, but <SIM> <COORDINATES> is a restricted area. Please leave!
  Allows you to customize the contents of the warning dialog box shown to people who stray into a protected area. You can use “smart tags” as part of your messages ...
  
  
  • <NAME> will be replaced with the trespasser’s name
  • <SIM> with the name of the sim
  • <PARCEL NAME> with the name of the land parcel
  • <COORDINATES> with the Second Life map coordinates of the hippoSECURE unit
  • <WARNING TIME> with the number of seconds before they are ejected
    
    
• BLACKLIST WARNING: <message> (Version 1.5 and higher only)
  e.g. BLACKLIST WARNING: <NAME>, you are banned from <SIM> <COORDINATES> and have therefore been removed!
  Similar to the above, this command allows you to customize the warning dialog box shown to people on your black list when they are removed from your land.

8. Logging Visitors

If you’re using version 1.5 or higher of hippoSECURE you can turn on visitor logging. This will cause your unit to record every unique visitor, along with what action was taken — were they permitted to pass or removed? Were they on the white list or black list? Visitor logging is turned off by default, as if you’re in a high traffic area and scanning very rapidly, it can be quite laggy. To turn it on, add the following command to your hippoSECURE unit’s “_config” notecard ...

LOG VISITORS: Yes

... then reset the unit. You can now use the “Logs” menu (click your unit, choose “Logs”) to see the contents of your visitor log (as well as to erase it at any point if you wish).

Useful things to note ...

• Your log can hold up to 100 entries. Then earlier records will begin to be deleted.
  
  
• If somebody visits more than once on the same day, only one log entry will be recorded for them. If they were permitted to pass, the first time they visited that day will be reported; if they were removed, the latest removal time will be logged.
  
  
• Your own visits won’t be recorded in your log. (If you can’t remember when you visited your own land, that needs more caffeine, not a scripted gadget).

We hope that you enjoy using your hippoSECURE unit and it helps you manage your land security better, whether you’re a private individual or a landlord. Should you encounter any problemsor have any questions that reading this document cannot solve, please IM one of our technical support team (see Andy Enfield’s profile in Second Life for the names of current Hippo Technologies support staff). We usually try to respond to queries within 48 hours. You can also try our growing collection of Knowledge Base articles.

We recommend to all customers that they join the Hippo Technologies Users Group in Second Life (search for it, the group is open enrollment). It’s a friendly community and lots of advice, tips and support can often be found by asking nicely!

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