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{{main|Skype protocol}}
{{main|Skype protocol}}


Skype uses a [[proprietary protocol|proprietary]] Internet telephony ([[VoIP]]) network, called the [[Skype protocol]]. The protocol has not been made publicly available by Skype and official applications using the protocol are [[closed-source]]. Part of the Skype technology relies on the [[Global Index P2P]] protocol, belonging to the [[Joltid]] corporation. The main difference between Skype and standard VoIP clients is that Skype operates on a [[peer-to-peer]] model (originally based on the [[Kazaa]] software<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=988 |title=StreamCast sues Kazaa, Skype: here's my take |publisher=Blogs.zdnet.com |date=2006-03-27 |accessdate=2009-03-31}}</ref>), rather than the more usual [[client–server]] model.
Skype uses a [[proprietary protocol|proprietary]] Internet telephony ([[VoIP]]) network, called the [[Skype protocol]]. The protocol has not been made publicly available by Skype and official applications using the protocol are [[closed-source]]. Part of the Skype technology relies on the [[Global Index P2P]] protocol, belonging to the [[Joltid|Jolt Ltd.]] corporation. The main difference between Skype and standard VoIP clients is that Skype operates on a [[peer-to-peer]] model (originally based on the [[Kazaa]] software<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=988 |title=StreamCast sues Kazaa, Skype: here's my take |publisher=Blogs.zdnet.com |date=2006-03-27 |accessdate=2009-03-31}}</ref>), rather than the more usual [[client–server]] model.


The Skype user directory is sometimes claimed to be entirely decentralized and distributed among the [[node (networking)|nodes]], although this is disputed and does not appear to be technically possible.
The Skype user directory is sometimes claimed to be entirely decentralized and distributed among the [[node (networking)|nodes]], although this is disputed and does not appear to be technically possible.

Revision as of 00:23, 18 July 2010

Skype
Developer(s)Skype Limited
Initial releaseAugust 2003 (2003-08)
Stable release
Windows, UWP15.123.203.0 / 8 July 2024; 25 days ago (2024-07-08)[1]
Windows, desktop8.123.0.203 / 8 July 2024; 25 days ago (2024-07-08)[1]
macOS8.123.0.203 / 8 July 2024; 25 days ago (2024-07-08)[1]
Linux8.123.0.203 / 8 July 2024; 25 days ago (2024-07-08)[1]
Android8.123.0.203 / 8 July 2024; 25 days ago (2024-07-08)[2]
iOS8.123.0.203 / 8 July 2024; 25 days ago (2024-07-08)[2][3] (iPhone and iPad)
Written inCodeGear Delphi / Objective-C (Mac OS X/iPhone) / C++ with Qt4 (Linux)
Operating systemCross-platform
Available inMultilingual
TypeVoice over Internet Protocol / instant messaging / videoconferencing
LicenseFreeware (with some paid features)
Websitewww.skype.com

Skype (Template:Pron-en) is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging, file transfer, and video conferencing.

Skype was developed by Estonian developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn, who had also originally developed the peer-to-peer file sharing software Kazaa.[4]

Skype Limited, the company that operates Skype, was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström, Sweden, and Janus Friis, Denmark, with headquarters in Luxembourg.

eBay acquired Skype Limited in September 2005 and in fall of 2009 sold a majority stake to an investor group.

Features

Registered users of Skype are identified by a unique Skype Name, and may be listed in the Skype directory.[5] Skype allows these registered users to communicate through both instant messaging and voice chat. Voice chat allows calls between pairs of users and conference calling, and uses a proprietary audio codec. Skype's text chat client allows group chats, emoticons, storing chat history, offline messaging and (in recent versions) editing of previous messages. The usual features familiar to instant messaging users—such as user profiles, online status indicators, and so on—are also included.Skype is most famous for its viedo chatting.

The SkypeIn service allows Skype users to receive calls on their computers dialed by regular phone subscribers to a local Skype phone number; local numbers are available for Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[6][7] A Skype user can have local numbers in any of these countries, with calls to the number charged at the same rate as calls to fixed lines in the country.

Video conferencing between two users was introduced in January 2006 for the Windows and Mac OS X platform clients. Skype 2.0 for Linux, released on March 13, 2008, also features support for video conferencing.[8] Version 5 beta 1 for Windows, released 13 May 2010, offers free video conferencing with up to 5 people.[9]

Skype for Windows, starting with version 3.6.0.216, supports "High Quality Video" with quality and features, e.g., full-screen and screen-in-screen modes, similar to those of mid-range videoconferencing systems.[10] Skype audio conferences currently support up to 25 people at a time, including the host.

A discontinued feature called "Skypecasting" allowed recordings of Skype voice over IP voice calls and teleconferences to be used as podcasts, which allow audio or video content to be syndicated over the Internet. Skype launched its "Skypecasts Beta" service in 2006. It remained in beta until its end. Skypecasts hosted public conference calls, up to 100 people at a time. Unlike ordinary Skype p2p conference calls, Skypecasts supported moderation features suitable for panel discussions, lectures, and town hall forums. Skype operated a directory of public Skypecasts.

On August 26, 2008, Skype announced that Skypecasts would be discontinued beginning September 1, 2008.[11] Skypecasts were shut down without any concrete explanation on 1 September 2008 at 12:00 UTC. In late 2009 the company Skype for Power Gamers announced that in Q2 2010 it would be releasing both a client and server Skype Add-on that will enable Skype end-users to host their own "Skypecast-like" auto-conference rooms.

Skype does not provide the ability to call emergency numbers such as 911 in the United States and Canada, 111 in New Zealand, 000 in Australia, 112 in Europe, or 999 in the UK.[12] The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ruled that, for the purposes of section 255 of the Telecommunications Act, Skype is not an "interconnected VoIP provider".[13] As a result, the U.S. National Emergency Number Association recommends that all VoIP users have an analog line available as a backup.[14]

Client applications and devices

Skype runs on a number of platforms, and on October 29, 2007, Skype launched its own mobile phone under the brand name 3 Skypephone, which runs a BREW OS.[15] Other platforms officially supported include:

  • Around 50 mobile phones, as of 2008[16]
  • The Nokia N800, N810 and N900 Internet Tablets, which use the Maemo environment
  • Both the Sony mylo COM-1 and COM-2 models
  • The PlayStation Portable Slim and Lite series, though the user needs to purchase a specially-designed microphone peripheral. The PSP-3000 has a built in microphone which allows communication without the Skype peripheral.[17] PSP Go has the ability to use Bluetooth connections with the Skype application, in addition to its built-in microphone.[18]
  • Mobile devices running Windows Mobile;[19] in February 2010, Skype announced its decision to discontinue development Skype for Windows Mobile.[20]In May 2010, Skype announced it would not develop a version of Skype for Windows Phone 7.[21]
  • Symbian; a limited beta was announced on December 10, 2009, and was available for several different Nokia phones[22]
  • The X-Series together with mobile operator 3. However this uses a regular mobile phone call and iSkoot[23] to a Skype gateway, rather than mobile Internet. Other companies produce dedicated Skype phones which connect via WiFi
  • iPhone OS, using an official application released on March 31, 2009. As of version 2.x, the iPhone application is capable of placing voice calls over 3G and EDGE networks. Skype announced it will charge a monthly fee for this feature at the start of 2011.
  • A variety of BlackBerry and Android 3G Smartphones, through Verizon Wireless' Skype mobile service. Skype is ‘always on’, meaning customers can receive Skype calls, instant messages and see friends’ presence any time the phone is on. Skype usage isn't charged against customers’ monthly Verizon Wireless minute allowance when calling another Skype account (Skype-to-Skype). Customers in the US use minutes from their calling plan when calling US land lines or cell phones.[24]

Recently a number of manufactures have launched hardware devices compatible with Skype. These are usually either tethered to a PC, or have a built-in Wi-Fi client to allow calling from Wi-Fi hotspots like the Netgear SPH101 Skype Wi-Fi Phone, the SMC WSKP100 Skype Wi-Fi Phone, the Belkin F1PP000GN-SK Wi-Fi Skype Phone, the Panasonic KX-WP1050 Wi-Fi Phone for Skype Executive Travel Set, the IPEVO So-20 Wi-Fi Phone for Skype and the Linksys CIT200 Wi-Fi Phone. There are also embedded cordless Skype phones based on DECT, which do not need a PC either, like the DUALphone 3088 from RTX. Netgear and SMC's Wi-Fi phones are considered the two major competitors in the market, with reviews of the Wi-Fi phones giving them equal coverage.

The Skype Wi-Fi Phone is a wireless mobile phone that allows users to make Skype calls, using a wireless Internet connection. The Skype Wi-Fi Phone has an on-screen menu that lets Skype users see who is online and available to talk, similar to what is seen on a PC. It can also be used to talk with non-Skype users. SkypeOut minutes can be used to call any phone for a low price and no monthly fee. The Skype Wi-Fi phone does not contain a web browser and so can not access hotspots, which require web-based login or authentication.[25]

Third-party developers, such as Nimbuzz and Fring, have allowed Skype to run in parallel with several other competing VoIP/IM networks (Nimbuzz has even NimbuzzOut as competing paid service) in any Symbian or Java environment. Nimbuzz has made Skype available to BlackBerry users.

Origin of the name

One of the initial names for the project was "Sky peer-to-peer", which was then abbreviated to "Skyper". However, some of the domain names associated with "Skyper" were already taken. Dropping the final "r" left the current title "Skype", for which domain names were available.[26]

History

In September 2002, Draper Investment Company invested in what was then called Skyper.[27]

In April 2003, Skype.com and Skype.net domain names registered. In August 2003, the first public beta version released.

In September 2005, SkypeOut was banned in South China.[28] In October of the same year, eBay purchased Skype.[29] In December, videotelephony was introduced.[30]

In April 2006, the number of registered users reached 100 million. In October, Skype 2.0 for Mac was released, the first full release of Skype with video for Macintosh, and in December, Skype announces a new pricing structure, with connection fees for all SkypeOut calls. [31] Skype 3.0 for Windows was released.[32]

Throughout 2007 updates (3.1, 3.2 and 3.5) added new features including Skype Find, Skype Prime, Send Money (which allowed users to send money via PayPal from one Skype user to another), video in mood, inclusion of video content in chat, call transfer to another person or a group, and auto-redial. Skype 2.7.0.49 (beta) for Mac OS X released adding availability of contacts in the Mac Address Book to the Skype contact list, auto redial, contact groups, public chat creation, and an in-window volume slider in the call window. In August, Skype users unable to connect to full Skype network in many countries[33] because of a Skype system-wide crash which was the result of exceptional number of logins after a Windows patch reboot ("Patch Tuesday").[34] And in November, there was controversy when it was announced that users having London (020) 7 numbers would lose them.[35]

In 2008, Skype released various updates including versions for the Sony PSP hand-held gaming system, version 2.0 for Linux with support for video-conferencing, version 4 for Windows (with both a full screen[36] and a compact[37] mode), but also discontinued its SkypeCast service, without explanation and added internal monthly and daily usage caps on their SkypeOut subscriptions advertised as "Unlimited". Many users and observers had commented on the high rate of dropped calls, and the difficulty of reconnecting dropped calls. Skype was also used in the seventh season of the U.S. syndicated game show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, for a new Ask the Expert lifeline for video chat. In October, analysis reveals TOM-skype sends content of text messages and encryption keys to monitoring servers.[38]

In 2009, Skype 4 was released[39], their Linux client was updated, and also launched Skype for SIP, a service aimed at business users. At the time of launch around 35% of Skype's users were business users.[40] In April, 2009, eBay announced plans to spin off Skype through an initial public offering in 2010.[41] In August, Joltid filed a motion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking to terminate a licensing agreement with eBay which allows eBay (and therefore Skype) to use the peer-to-peer communications technology on which Skype is based. If successful, this may have caused a shutdown of Skype in its current form.[42] In September, eBay announced the sale of 65% of Skype to a consortium of Index Ventures and Silver Lake Partners. Early in September, Skype had shut down the Extras developer program.[43] In November, eBay completed the sale of 70% of Skype to a consortium comprising Silver Lake Partners, CPPIB, Andreessen Horowitz, and the original founders.

In 2010, a report by TeleGeography Research stated that Skype-to-Skype calls accounted for 13% of all international call minutes in 2009. Out of the 406 billion international call minutes a total of 54 billion were used by Skype calls.[44] In May, Skype 5.0 beta released, with support of group video calls with up to four participants. Also in May, Skype released an updated client for the Apple iPhone which allowed Skype calls to be made over a 3G network. The service is free until end of 2010 when the user will have to subscribe to a mobile subscription plan. No plans have been detailed as of July 05, 2010.

Usage and traffic

Date Total user accounts
(in millions)[45][46][47][48][49][50]
Active users — daily presence
(in millions)[51]
Skype to Skype minutes
(in billions)
SkypeOut minutes
(in billions)
Revenue USD
(in millions)
Q4 2005 74.7 10.8 N/A N/A N/A
Q1 2006 94.6 15.2 6.9 0.7 35
Q2 2006 113.1 16.6 7.1 0.8 44
Q3 2006 135.9 18.7 6.6 1.1 50
Q4 2006 171.2 21.2 7.6 1.5 66
Q1 2007 195.5 23.2 7.7 1.3 79
Q2 2007 219.6 23.9 7.1 1.3 90
Q3 2007 245.7 24.2 6.1 1.4 98
Q4 2007 276.3 27.0 11.9 1.6 115
Q1 2008 309.3 31.3 14.2 1.7 126
Q2 2008 338.2 32.0 14.8 1.9 136
Q3 2008 370 33.7 16 2.2 143
Q4 2008 405 36.5 20.5 2.6 145
Q1 2009 443 42.2 23.6 2.9 153
Q2 2009 483 25.5 3.0 170
Q3 2009 521 27.7 3.1 185

Users may have more than one account, and it is not possible to identify users with multiple accounts.

The volume of international traffic routed via Skype is significant. It has become the largest international voice carrier.[52] Computer-to-computer traffic between Skype users in 2005 was 2.9% of international carrier traffic in 2005 and about 4.4% of the total international traffic of 264 billion minutes in 2006.[53] In 2008, about 8% of cross-border calls were carried by Skype.[52] Skype incorporates some features which tend to hide its traffic, but it is not specifically designed to thwart traffic analysis and therefore does not provide anonymous communication. Some researchers have been able to watermark the traffic so that it is identifiable even after passing through an anonymizing network.[54]

SkypeNOW! is a service that Skype offers in South Africa to customers with Vodafone mobile service, which can enable Vodafone users to engage in Skype international voice calls wirelessly.

System and software

Skype uses a proprietary Internet telephony (VoIP) network, called the Skype protocol. The protocol has not been made publicly available by Skype and official applications using the protocol are closed-source. Part of the Skype technology relies on the Global Index P2P protocol, belonging to the Jolt Ltd. corporation. The main difference between Skype and standard VoIP clients is that Skype operates on a peer-to-peer model (originally based on the Kazaa software[55]), rather than the more usual client–server model.

The Skype user directory is sometimes claimed to be entirely decentralized and distributed among the nodes, although this is disputed and does not appear to be technically possible.

Skype offers no interoperability with SIP-based VoIP networks.[citation needed]

Many networking and security companies[who?] claim to detect and control Skype's protocol for enterprise and carrier applications. While the specific detection methods used by these companies are often private, Pearson's chi-square test and Naive Bayes classification are two approaches that were published in 2007.[56]

Skype uses an array of different audio compression methods including G.729 and SVOPC. Skype added a Skype-created codec called SILK to Skype for Windows 4 and other Skype clients. SILK is intended to be "lightweight and embeddable".[57]

Skype is a secure communication; encryption cannot be disabled, and is invisible to the user. Skype reportedly uses non-proprietary, widely trusted encryption techniques: RSA for key negotiation and the Advanced Encryption Standard to encrypt conversations.[58] Skype provides an uncontrolled registration system for users with no proof of identity. Instead, a free choice of nicknames permits users to use the system without revealing their identity to other users. It is trivial to set up an account using any name; the displayed caller's name is no guarantee of authenticity. A third party paper analyzing the security and methodology of Skype was presented at Black Hat Europe 2006. It analyzed Skype and found a number of security issues with the current security model.[59]

There are versions for Linux, Linux-based Maemo, Symbian S60, Mac OS X (Intel and PPC), iOS (iPhone and iPod Touch), Android, Microsoft Windows (2000, XP, Vista, 7, Mobile), Sony PSP and also in 2010 TV models from Panasonic, Samsung and LG, but requires a special webcam built for those TVs .[60]

Privacy

In an interview with Kurt Sauer, Chief Security Officer Skype, he said, "We provide a safe communication option. I will not tell you whether we can listen or not."[61] Skype's client uses an undocumented and proprietary protocol. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is concerned by user privacy issues arising from using proprietary software and protocols and has made replacement for Skype one of their high priority projects.[62] Security researchers Biondi and Desclaux have speculated that Skype may have a back door, since Skype sends traffic even when it is turned off and because Skype has taken extreme measures to obfuscate their traffic and functioning of their program.[63] Several media sources have reported that at a meeting about the "Lawful interception of IP based services" held on 25 June 2008, high-ranking but not named officials at the Austrian interior ministry said that they could listen in on Skype conversations without problem. Austrian public broadcasting service ORF, citing minutes from the meeting, have reported that "the Austrian police are able to listen in on Skype connections".[64][65] Skype declined to comment on the reports.[66]

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has interpreted the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) as requiring digital phone networks to allow wiretapping if authorized by an FBI warrant, in the same way as other phone services. In February 2009 Skype said that, not being a telephone company owning phone lines, it is exempt from CALEA and similar laws which regulate US phone companies, and in fact it is not clear whether Skype could support wiretapping even if it wanted to.[67] According to the ACLU, the Act is inconsistent with the original intent of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution;[68] more recently, the ACLU has expressed the concern that the FCC interpretation of the Act is incorrect.[69][70]

On 20 February 2009 the European Union's Eurojust agency announced that the Italian Desk at Eurojust would "play a key role in the coordination and cooperation of the investigations on the use of internet telephony systems (VoIP), such as 'Skype'. ... The purpose of Eurojust’s coordination role is to overcome the technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of internet telephony systems, taking into account the various data protection rules and civil rights"[71]

Service in People's Republic of China

Since September 2007, users in China trying to download the Skype software have been redirected to the site of TOM, a joint venture between a Chinese wireless operator and Skype, from which a modified Chinese version can be downloaded.[72] The TOM client participates in China's system of Internet censorship, monitoring text messages between Skype users in China as well as messages exchanged with users outside the country.[73][74] Niklas Zennström, then chief executive of Skype, told reporters that TOM "had implemented a text filter, which is what everyone else in that market is doing. Those are the regulations." He also stated: "One thing that’s certain is that those things are in no way jeopardising the privacy or the security of any of the users."[75] In October 2008, it was reported that TOM had been saving the full message contents of some Skype text conversations on its servers, apparently focusing on conversations containing political issues such as Tibet, Falun Gong, Taiwan independence, and Chinese Communist Party. The saved messages contain personally identifiable information about the messages' senders and recipients, including IP addresses, usernames, land line phone numbers, and the entire content of the text messages, including the time and date of each message. Information about Skype users outside China who were communicating with a TOM-Skype user was also saved. A server misconfiguration made these log files accessible to the public for a time.[74][76][77]

Customer service

There have been complaints about Skype's poor customer support.[78][79] As of May 2010, Skype does not provide any official means to contact customer support, apart from indirect assistance through its web portal only and contact email addresses.

There is no e-mail or phone number to contact where one can complain about wrong billing charges. It is not clear, in case a dispute occurs, in which country would be the jurisdiction for the resolution of the conflict.

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b "Release Notes for Skype on Mobile". Skype Support. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  3. ^ "Skype for iPhone". App Store. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  4. ^ "Skype — A Baltic Success Story". credit-suisse.com. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  5. ^ "Usernames, aliases and nicknames – your Skype passport". Retrieved August 27, 2009. (official site)
  6. ^ Villu Arak. "Four new SkypeIn countries". Skype Blogs. Retrieved 2007-08-13. (official site)
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  69. ^ "CALEA feature page". ACLU. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
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  71. ^ Press release: Eurojust coordinates internet telephony
  72. ^ "Dynamic Internet Technology Inc. Alleges Skype Redirects Users in China to Censorware Version — Ten Days After Users Are Able To Download Freegate Software Through Skype". Archived from the original on 2008-01-15., TMCnet, September 24, 2007
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  74. ^ a b "Skype Defends VoIP IM Monitoring In China", by Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek, October 2, 2008
  75. ^ "Skype says texts are censored by China". FT.com. Financial Times. April 18, 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2008-01-10 suggested (help)
  76. ^ "Evidence Suggests China's SkypeIs Monitoring Internet Messages", by Jason Dean, Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2008
  77. ^ Huge System for Web Surveillance Discovered in China – NYTimes.com, by John Markoff, Published: October 1, 2008
  78. ^ Ben Charny. "Skype callers: 'Customer service, please?'".
  79. ^ "skype poor customer service". Blog.tmcnet.com. Retrieved 2009-03-31.