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Skype backdoor confirmation

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Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#91

Post by OldSchool »

Nothing else explains why Microsoft would pay US $8 Billion for Skype. Profit margins are either exactly zero or near-zero for every call; this is not 1995 when telco call termination was 20x more expensive.

The simplest explanation is that reliable incumbent Microsoft was hired in some way to conveniently consolidate Skype. With as many channels through which Microsoft does business with the US government, favorable contract terms here and elsewhere could easily make the whole package worthwhile.

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#92

Post by mtgx »

OldSchool wrote: post #91

Nothing else explains why Microsoft would pay US $8 Billion for Skype. Profit margins are either exactly zero or near-zero for every call; this is not 1995 when telco call termination was 20x more expensive. The simplest explanation is that reliable incumbent Microsoft was hired in some way to conveniently consolidate Skype. With as many channels through which Microsoft does business with the US government, favorable…

NSA was already ready to pay billions of dollars for a Skype eavesdropping solution [1]. One could wonder if that's one way Microsoft wanted to recover some of the cost of their investment, and why they were so willing to pay twice as much as Google wanted to pay. I mean what company outbids another by 2x/$4 billion for a company with not that much revenue and profit?

[1] - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/12/nsa_offers_billions_...

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#93

Post by DannyBee »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #83

Why is everybody so worried that Skype is visiting URLs you posted in their chat box? They're probably just checking them for Malware was my first thought and is still my only.

Because they are sending urls you type in back to MS and MS is storing them?

They also claim it's a secure communciations platform. If it was actually secure, why would microsoft be able to see it?

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#94

Post by DannyBee »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #83

Why is everybody so worried that Skype is visiting URLs you posted in their chat box? They're probably just checking them for Malware was my first thought and is still my only.

Because they are sending urls you type in back to MS and MS is storing them?

They also claim it's a secure communciations platform. If it was actually secure, why would microsoft be able to see it?

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#95

Post by anonymfus »

freewizard wrote: post #73

Not surprising at all. Skype has been saving chat logs for its China expansion since a few years ago. It's an existing function of their network and probably just a simple switch on their server.

No, it was reported that Chinese version of Skype spies on client site. If somebody would get international version of Skype in China, it would not spy.

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#96

Post by teamonkey »

OldSchool wrote: post #91

Nothing else explains why Microsoft would pay US $8 Billion for Skype. Profit margins are either exactly zero or near-zero for every call; this is not 1995 when telco call termination was 20x more expensive. The simplest explanation is that reliable incumbent Microsoft was hired in some way to conveniently consolidate Skype. With as many channels through which Microsoft does business with the US government, favorable…

> Nothing else explains why Microsoft would pay US $8 Billion for Skype.

Really? Nothing else explains why Microsoft wanted to buy talented development staff and software that was becoming the defacto name brand for video communication in homes and businesses, and which was taking market share away from Microsoft's own suite of communications solutions?

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#97

Post by jlgreco »

mtgx wrote: post #29
nr0mx wrote: post #19

This is the company currently running ads positioning itself as a company that holds privacy dear. "At Microsoft, we take our responsibilities for protecting your privacy very seriously. It’s a priority across all our businesses, and an area where we continue to work closely with others throughout academia, government and industry." http://blogs.windows.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2013/04/22/consumer... "Your Privacy is Our…

That's the most annoying thing about Microsoft's campaigns. Sure they may be slightly better in some areas than Google, but overall they are just as bad, or worse than Google when it comes to privacy. Maybe I'd get it if those campaigns came from Mozilla or DuckDuckGo (even though they are still done in poor taste, and resemble too much negative political campaigns), but Microsoft? I just can't take them seriously in…

> resemble too much negative political campaigns

Seriously, outside of politics they are the most negative ads I've ever seen. Even rival dishsoap or gym ads never get that extreme; nothing else compares. Did they actually hire a political advertising team or something?

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#98

Post by jlgreco »

buster wrote: post #90
claudius wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they use this method, I at the very least know that they’re using it and that my data is compromised.

If you wouldn't be drugged :(

Enough alcohol will leave me unable to recall several of my longer passwords. I find it hard to believe that they have a drug that will 1) not trigger that, 2) not leave a hangover of any sorts, 3) render me entirely unable to remember the incident, 4) make me inclined to tell them the password.

That would basically be a wonder drug, the ultimate truth serum.

Re: Skype backdoor confirmation

#100

Post by X4 »

sparkie wrote: post #81
X4 wrote: post #36

* Can you please recommend a cross-platform alternative? I only know of Gnome-Empathy/KDE-Telepathy and Pidgin that utilize XMPP's voice and video features. I've found this: http://octro.com/octrotalk.php which lacks a linux client, but appears to be solid and has a web-client too.

https://jitsi.org/

I've tried jitsi for some time, but it crashes from time to time. It stores your passwords in cleartext just like pidgin does.
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