Skype...anyone here use it?

[GraphyFotoz]

I thought I'd try it...just wondering if anyone else uses it?
What have ya heard about it?

I just hafta work on a buddy list.
I called a landline in MD tonite with mine.
Person was shocked it was done threw the web and a computer!
Sound quality was like I was next door even tho I'm in NY!!

[Paul Shields]

I use it a little at home, though I don't have too many people in my contact list . The quality is very good as you say. There's also a thread elsewhere on the camel here that has discussed it in the past.

[GraphyFotoz]

Thanx Paul.
I see it has been awhile since it was discussed.
I hope to build a contact list...could be fun?

[cedric_r]

I'm sure Skype is great for users. But there are many many issues with it from the philosophical and technical point of view:
- They use several layers of encryption for the programs to stop you from looking into them.
- The executables are full of anti-desassembly and anti-debugging tricks (I haven't seen anything that bad since some viruses in the mid 90s). Not that I'd be interested in knowing its secrets, but from a sysadmin point of view it makes me itchy when a program tries very hard to stop me from checking for malware.
- They encrypt (most of) the traffic so that you can't know how the protocol works.
- The protocol isn't safe and it's possible to control clients to a certain extent.
- In theory Skype could intercept traffic.
- It's impossible to know what Skype will do with all these clients.

I had to look into this because people wnated to use it at work and my recommendation was to ban it. Thewre isn't much specific data around, but there's some good information here: http://www.blackhat.com/presentation...-biondi-up.pdf

[Paul Shields]

They are reasonable concerns. Skype is from the same source as Kazaa, which was notorious for having malware/spyware embedded within. The creators would argue that it was benign and was simply used to encourage some generation of revenue via ads etc. Personally I think Skype is a bit better behaved than its forebears. We are investing heavily in my company in VOIP, and the Skype technology model has many benefits. It still pays to be wary of course about any technology that offers so much for so little...