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Thread ID: 104227	2009-10-20 22:09:00	Skype or alternatives	nofam (9009)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
822494	2009-10-20 22:09:00	I've been asked to look into using Skype as a cost-saving alternative to toll calls for the business, and have a few issues to consider (have never used it myself): - Is it free for commercial use - Does it require big bandwidth for QOS - Is it fiddly to get working behind a proxy - Are there any alternatives that I should consider - What hardware (headphone/mics) is best Cheers!	nofam (9009)
822495	2009-10-20 22:13:00	Look on the skype site. I'm using it with a cam (with mic on it). It works good. I dont use QOS tho.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
822496	2009-10-21 02:39:00	Skype is evil in that you can't run a web server off your machine, since Skype uses (among others) port 80 by default. Probably won't bother you, just thought you should know.	Cato (6936)
822497	2009-10-21 02:46:00	port 80 / 443 is an alternative not the default. 50591 is according to Skype	Speedy Gonzales (78)
822498	2009-10-21 02:57:00	Yes, but it is selected by default and you will find you can't run either Apache or IIS while Skype is running unless it is explicitly disabled. Took me hours to figure out that.	Cato (6936)
822499	2009-10-21 02:59:00	Ok. Well I cant argue, I dont use IIS or Apache. So, dont know	Speedy Gonzales (78)
822500	2009-10-21 03:31:00	Im with Cato, it's evil for many reasons. - Is it free for commercial use Yes, and they've recently tried to "pitch" it as commercial-grade. I'd recommend against it. - Does it require big bandwidth for QOS QoS'ing it can be a PITA at times to be honest, and yes I would *highly* recommend you DO QoS it if you must use it, as you can easily become a supernode and then it'd CHEW through your bandwidth. Here's an interesting article by a company I found a while ago, about Skype: www.btg.co.nz - Is it fiddly to get working behind a proxy Sort of, but not too much ... It needs to be configured on each individual PC. - Are there any alternatives that I should consider VoIP! Definitely consider VoIP! :) See some of the rates here at 2talk.co.nz (www.2talk.co.nz) - What hardware (headphone/mics) is best If you must, get yourself a nice headset. The el-cheapo DSE USB "phones" are horrible :(	Chilling_Silence (9)
822501	2009-10-21 03:35:00	Skype NZ Herald Monday September 03, 2007 By Paul Henry As one of the pioneers in the advent of internet telephony, has risen in popularity over the last few years. Opening Pandora's Box - Skype includes the ability to send and receive files similar to other peer-to-peer (P2P) programs and services. - Because the file transfers are over a proprietary encrypted channel (similar to HTTPS) the inbound file transfers can effectively bypass security mechanisms in the same way P2P networks do. - In this manner, confidential data could potentially be sent out over a Skype encrypted channel. Dousing Firewalls Yet another disturbing aspect of Skype is its ability to tunnel though firewalls without the user ever having to write a single line of code. Some products have begun adopting the use of Skype for its firewall-piercing capability, such as the Timbuktu Pro operating system which uses a Skype tunnel via the Skype API to automatically navigate through firewalls and routers to provide remote access and control to a workstation or home PC. The tunnel is created without the need for an active Skype call. To the hacker, this convenience also creates a myriad of opportunities for abuse. Botnets are a collection of compromised zombie computers running malicious programs under a common command and control infrastructure. - Its firewall piercing capability - With more than 5,000,000 Skype users typically on line at any one time, the traffic from a botnet herder to the individual zombie computer he/she controls via Skype will simply blend in with the other "normal" internet traffic Skype-related Malware Over the past six months, two different worms/Trojans associated with Skype have emerged and been documented. - A variant of the MyTob Trojan (AKA FanBot) disguised as a copy of Skype version 1.4 was being distributed via spam email across the internet. Any email recipient who clicked on the attachment was quickly compromised. - A Skype-specific Trojan, Warezov, appears as a chat message with the text "Check up this". If clicked by the user, additional malware is downloaded to the PC, installing a keylogger and sending the same message to each person in the user's Skype address book. Skype Supernode Skype's official End-User Licence Agreement (EULA) no longer mentions supernodes, but now says merely: "4.1 Permission to utilise your computer. In order to receive the benefits provided by the Skype Software, you hereby grant permission for the Skype Software to utilise the processor and bandwidth of your computer for the limited purpose of facilitating the communication between Skype Software users. " When a computer goes into supernode mode, Skype opens up a great number of network connections over TCP (Transmission Control Protocol, part of the Internet Protocol suite). In a posting on the Skype user forum bulletin board, a user describes how his Linksys router was overwhelmed by over 1,500 TCP connections being opened in supernode mode. So even though the bandwidth needed is quite small, the effect is that internet access grinds to a halt with DNS and web timeouts. US-based web security blogger Paul Henry (MCP+I, MCSE, CCSA, CCSE, CFSA, CFSO, CISSP, CISM, CISA, ISSAP, CIFI)is Vice President of Technology, Secure Computing. Alternatives: http://www.eyeballchat.com/ MSN Yahoo Paltalk GoogleTalk For calling Landlines, use something such as 2talk which is a TRUE VoIP / SIP service. 2talk.co.nz Skype doesnt allow you to call Landlines for free. If you want PC -> PC voice chat, use Google Talk / XMPP / Jabber Bandwidth Usage Skype Steals borrows Your Bandwidth and CPU In his article, Tolly says that a VoIP call over Skype uses up between 24 and 128kbit/s service. This is the same as what Skype itself specifies. However, Tolly found that when a Skype "station" was used as a relay, the bandwidth usage doubled. On average Skype uses 0-0.5 kilobytes/sec while idle Roughly 70 Kbs if you are in a call with one person. This means you will get 500kByte per minute so to be precise: 1 minute call at 70kbps consumes ~ 0,5 MB of bandwidth 10 min ~ 5 MB 100min ~ 50 MB The thing is that there just isn't a definite answer. It all depends on the state of the "Skype cloud" which is under co	pctek (84)
822502	2009-10-21 06:40:00	I have been using Skype for well over 1 year now and no probs whatsoever, but then I am using it on my Macbook. :p LL	lakewoodlady (103)
822503	2009-10-21 07:11:00	I have been using Skype for well over 1 year now and no probs whatsoever, but then I am using it on my Macbook. :p LL Macbook:blush: Is this not a swear word here?	notechyet (4479)
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