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Thread ID: 98451	2009-03-25 08:45:00	Is there a downside to Skype?	Billy T (70)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
759443	2009-03-25 21:32:00	I use skype without problems. I quit the program if I'm not talking to anyone so my comptuer doesn't act as a supernode. A good firewall (not windows firewall), if configured to block everything coming in (and more importantly) going out unless you give it permission, will protect you from 'most'* things. *If you are using a web application in firefox and you have given firefox permission to access the network, the web application can do anything it wants - including wreaking havoc.	utopian201 (6245)
759444	2009-03-25 23:42:00	Runescape? I give my 10 yr old son a months subscription to runescape if he has done something good.	prefect (6291)
759445	2009-03-26 00:31:00	Runescape? yep thats the one :thumbs:	wainuitech (129)
759446	2009-03-26 02:00:00	I wouldn't use it. en.wikipedia.org	Agent_24 (57)
759447	2009-03-26 02:13:00	*If you are using a web application in firefox and you have given firefox permission to access the network, the web application can do anything it wants - including wreaking havoc. Same goes for Skype, you have to give it permission, so it can really do whatever the heck it likes while its running ...	Chilling_Silence (9)
759448	2009-03-26 02:18:00	My son wants to start using Skype to talk to his friends overseas . Are there security or data through-put issues? Skype 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.jajah.com/ JAJAH is made for people who ... * want to call anyone, anywhere in the world at anytime for free, or at super-low rates * like to use their existing phone (mobile or landline) to make their calls * don't want to be tied to their computer via a headset JAJAH Free Global Calling ... applies to landline and mobile calls to and within the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore; and it applies to landline calls to and within Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and most other European nations. It applies when both call participants are registered JAJAH users. If someone is calling a non-JAJAH member, calls are simply subject to JAJAH's super-low rates.	pctek (84)
759449	2009-03-26 04:33:00	Same goes for Skype, you have to give it permission, so it can really do whatever the heck it likes while its running ... True, but skype will always only be skype; firefox is firefox, but firefox can also run all sorts of web apps. This means web apps can get network access by piggybacking off firefox or any other web browser. My main point was that a firewall will keep you safe in terms of internet access for programs. But it cant protect you from programs -within- those programs (web apps). :) Well if you are dead keen on blocking portions of a program, your firewall can do that too; I've used mine so MSN messenger doesn't display ads because while I allow MSN to access the internet, it is not allowed to access the advertising webservers. Skype - Its firewall piercing capability Skype cannot 'pierce' a firewall :) - it can open connections and receive connections -if and only if- the user allows it on their firewall. What that article refers to is NAT piercing. This means you do not need to open up ports on a router to start receiving calls. NAT increases security, but it is not a replacement for a firewall precisely because NAT can be tunneled.	utopian201 (6245)
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