Know what SKYPE is? You should...

unless you believe the government listening to everything you say is sorta cool.

"Hello. We’re Skype and we’ve got something we would like to share with you. What we’ve got is a simple bit of software we want to give you. It’ll let you make free calls to your friends all over the world. And we don’t want any money for it. It’s free."

<>

"Our software’s quick and easy to get started with. Download, register, install, plug in your headset, speakers or USB phone and start calling your friends. The calls have excellent sound quality and are highly secure with end-to-end encryption. You don’t even need to configure your firewall or router or any other networking gear. It just, you know...works."

http://www.skype.com/products/

onedit: had to add this bit from the website

“I knew it was over when I downloaded Skype,” Michael Powell, chairman, Federal Communications Commission, explained. “When the inventors of KaZaA are distributing for free a little program that you can use to talk to anybody else, and the quality is fantastic, and it’s free – it’s over. The world will change now inevitably.”

I sure the hell hope so.

I keep hearing about it but not from anybody I can ask or who uses it. Can you tell me more?

computer-to-phone dialing services (SkypeOut)
Phone-to-computer dialing (SkypeIn)
Voicemail

...and a couple of other things. I used SkypeOut to stay in touch with my family during a recent trip abroad - International dialing for .02/min - you can't beat that with the proverbial stick. Of course, computer-to-computer dialing is free, and works great!

1. Develop software with a wide-ranging or critical application potential
2. Release it for free
3. After general public acceptance charge for:
a) software updates
b) advertising in a variety of formats
c) consulting
d) integration with existing systems

This model has been extremely successful.

and several people signed up.. One afternoon I talked with a few DUers on it.. It's cool.. But you have to be sure the person you want to talk to is online..You can message while you talk too :)

:hi:

heard many good things about it, and am downloading it as we, er, speak...

Just be aware that there is no such thing as totally secure communications. Internet based telephony is particularly vulnerable to man in the middle attacks. Also, the government is increasingly attempting to gain the same listening privileges they have with conventional telephony. See article <5> here: http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_12.22.html

VOIP leads to other concerns: http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/19295

But... the big thing about VOIP is that it allows us to further decentralize our communications (which is why the government is so concerned).

the $billions in e-commerce transacted every day?

Because Skype uses central computers (if they do not use a central computer and it is peer to pear I am sorry in advance for the following misinformation) they are treated as a Telephone company and the computers must have a backdoor so that the FBI can eavesdrop on any conversation.

There are many peer to peer telephone via computer software packages that the FBI can not touch because the software is not on a central computer provided by an ISP, but I do not recall Skype being on the list of FBI proof computer telephone systems.

and was founded by the creator of KaZaa.

Paupau was right in that regard.

You are right in that it is peer-to-peer, but it also relies upon a central server for directory information and interfacing with the regular telephone network.

It is not any more vulnerable than any other internet technology (to respond to your prior post). I did not mean to imply that. All I was saying is that VOIP is not totally secure. No internet based technology is. Also, new technologies mean that there are new vulnerabilities. It's just the way it is. Nothing is perfect. Nothing is 100% secure. We need to be aware of that when making choices. And, of course, Skype is not the only choice out there for VOIP. It is however a pretty good one which I use.

Like I said, VOIP is great because it allows us to further decentralize our communications. The more decentralized they become, the harder it becomes for governments to listen in.

I just want people to look at things in more complex terms.

but phone calls encrypted with 128-bit encryption is about as secure as it gets. A successful brute force attack on your private key is logistically impossible, as is interception/decryption of your key in transit, because they are transmitted using SSL.

IMO the most vulnerable link would be someone inside the company leaking keys to the government. Entirely possible. Of course, nothing I have to say would be worth the trouble... :-)

but a lot of the hysteria (such as we're seeing right in this thread) is caused by people being uninformed about the technologies, how they work and exactly what "secure" means in a technical sense.

Like I said, I love Skype! I inherited this old 1980s two-line business phone from the former tenant of my office space and I have it connected via a little USB box to my computer. It's such a hoot to pick up the handset and have the Skype window pop up on my computer. The fact that I can even dial out from this phone, or use my speed-dial numbers amuses me even further. The fact that I can have an incoming phone number anywhere in the U.S. for about $10 for three months is another bonus.

The FBI is hanging its right to spy on internet telephone being the same as Telco if there is a central computer one goes through - in any way.

If Skype is true peer to peer in the sense of being FBI proof, then Skype would not know who is using its software and have no way to know to collect a charge.

Are the calls routed through FISA?

... looks interesting, it's very cheap to make a call to a regular phone - I have to get a microphone though to test it out.

This is what I'm using: http://www.voipuser.org/review_12.html

It works great. I can dial with a regular phone, and the regular phone rings when I get an incoming call (whether from another regular phone, a cell or another computer user).

A little more expensive than a decent cheap mic. I paid about $40. And to be clear, this is not an ATA. It works only with Skype.

MSN Messenger..