Opinions wanted.

[Peaches4U]

Well, a friend has discovered this software a replacement for MSN IM & others. I have read the privacy policies and they seem to be okay. What I hesitate about is that the developer of this software developed Kazza. I emailed asking them if they included any other software such as tracking, etc. in it. I got a "dear john" reply but hope maybe a decent one will follow. I guess I am dreaming to think they would actually admit that more is loaded into the software than we expect. Give it a look see and tell me what you think.

www.skype.com

[Q Section]

Hello Peaches

Many people use Yahoo Messenger's voice service for free and find no need for additional software or services as they can talk all over the world. It only necessitates a microphone and speaker on each end.

Best wishes.

[Peaches4U]

I have been using MSN but with XP it requires that I disable my firewall in order for it to work. I have never looked at Yahoo nor has my friend ... will suggest it to him. At any rate, I was curious as to what others thought of the Skype software. Cheers

[Pilli]

Hi Peaches, From their Privacy policy it appears that unless you give explicit permission you are safe from spyware etc. Although it does look as if it will be a pay for service operation eventually

Skype Privacy Policy quote:

No Content of Communications Collected
Skyper does not collect any Contents of Communications such as calls or Instant Messages.

No Extraneous System Information Collected
No information concerning your computing facilities is collected that is not related to providing Skyper Services, including other installed software systems, non-service-related content, or hardware peripherals. No information about your specific computing facilities will be provided to any third party unless required by the Terms of Agreement of a Service with which you've registered.

No Provision of Information to Third Parties Without Your Permission
Skyper will not sell, rent, lease or otherwise provide Active Information to any third party unless required by the terms of Agreement of a Service with which you've registered.

[the Tester]

Hi Peaches.

I agree with Q-Section.
The only IM service that I use is Yahoo Messenger.
You can set up YM so that transferred files are scanned by your antivirus program.
You click on the Login tab, than preferences tab,there is a category for "File transfer".

[bigc73542]

here is a little info skype
http://www.extremetech.com/

Beware Skype's Hype
By Brian Livingston
December 1, 2003


Wouldn't it be great if vendors always got their standards together before shipping products? Sometimes this happens; sometimes it doesn't. When it does, as with USB 1.0 and 2.0, adoption is rapid. You can hardly buy a PC or laptop these days without finding a couple of USB ports.

When it doesn't, it can create a slow-motion train wreck that we can watch but can't prevent.

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Take the case of rewritable DVDs. With their multigigabyte capacities, they can be a handy storage alternative. But contention over DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM and more has delayed mass adoption by individual users and enterprises alike.

Today, the technology that most suffers from this problem—and is already careening off the tracks—is voice over IP. VOIP promises to revolutionize the way we make phone calls. Ultimately, no one will use wired, land-line phones. New mobile phones will use VOIP over corporate or home Wi-Fi connections when in range and seamlessly switch to slower cellular- type networks everywhere else. (VOIP is such a terrible acronym that henceforth I'll call it "Internet calling.")

Internet calling has been possible for years, but only the latest technologies deliver good quality. Compatibility fell into place through the efforts of the Internet Engineering Task Force and its adoption in June 2002 of a detailed standard, Session Initiation Protocol, which allows the integration of Internet calling with Web services, digital video, instant messaging and e-mail. As a result, everything from Microsoft's Windows XP to its Live Communications Server 2003 to IBM's Lotus Instant Messenger supports SIP.

This harmonious bubble was burst 13 weeks ago by a new, free, peer-to-peer Internet calling program. Skype, a made-up name that rhymes with hype, is the creation of the same two young Scandinavian entrepreneurs, Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, who in 2001 released Kazaa, another P2P program that's now a much bigger music-and-file-sharing network than Napster ever was.

People who download the software—perhaps onto your company's network—can make free Internet calls to any other Skype user in the world. Although corporate firewalls often block this kind of traffic, Skype's makers built in clever technical workarounds that they say allow their packets to pass right through.

But Skype isn't compatible with SIP. You could wake up one day to a nightmare in which some of your offices have adopted SIP while others have downloaded Skype. Users couldn't rely on the incompatible services to call one another.

Worse, having unmanaged voice packets zipping through your firewall poses the risk that a malicious hacker could some day find a buffer overrun or other flaw that can exploit Skype software.

Steve Johnson, president of Ingate Systems, which makes SIP-capable firewalls and network appliances, says SIP should be respected. "We believe that having industry standards is the way to go with new technologies," Johnson said. "Skype has many limitations. You can make a point-to-point call between two people who've downloaded the software, but you can't make conference calls and other things that are important for business."

In response, Skype's co-founders told me in a joint e-mail, "We believe in interoperability, we are looking into it, and we are open to discussion with other companies."

Skype's home page states, "Works through all firewalls," but this isn't true. Skype cannot connect through proxies, authenticating firewalls or firewalls that manage outgoing UDP packets.

I advise you, however, not to use this weakness to try to simply block the independent-minded Skype pioneers in your company. Make SIP- compliant Internet calling widely available to your employees instead. SIP calls with good manageability should be just as attractive to users as Skype. And going with SIP-based software might encourage Skype's founders to bring their software into SIP compliance. That would keep your users speaking to one anothe

[Peaches4U]

Thanks all for your input - very much appreciated. Your opinions/recommendations will be passed along. Cookies all around.

[AplusWebMaster]

FYI...one more alternative, if one must have that "chat":

- http://toc.oscar.aol.com/aimexpress/content.html

-

[Peaches4U]

quoting: AplusWebMaster link=board=9;threadid=17603;start=0#msg108896 date=1071031003]
FYI...one more alternative, if one must have that "chat":

- http://toc.oscar.aol.com/aimexpress/content.html

-

Friend needs chat because he has lost the use of his hands due to ALS disease. Altho' his wife can help out, he still wishes to maintain independence as long as possible.

Not a chance as far as AOL goes - I know IM comes with Netscape: Here's why ......

spyAOL 7.0 Commercial Keylogger
Danger Level 6:
spyAOL saves email that is sent or read, instant messages (IM), and chatroom session. ...
http://www.spywareguide.com/product_search.php

[AplusWebMaster]

RE: AIM Express -

- Not the same product, requiring no software download. Simply go to the site referenced above.

- http://www.spywareguide.com/product_search.php
"aim express - Result of your search: Nothing could be found."

-

[Peaches4U]

AIM Express is provided by AOL - is it not? If so, I am not a fan of AOL and assume AIM is somehow connected to them. I don't mean to throw water at your suggestion, but I have had a bad experience and now bad taste about AOl and anything that is part of their offering makes me uneasy. Thanks anyway. Cheers