Comments on: Does Skype invite viruses? http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1731 p2pnet.net - reader powered Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:06:27 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1731/comment-page-1#comment-2773 Reader's Write Wed, 23 Jun 2004 02:58:21 +0000 #comment-2773 Peter. I'd really like to see you do a review of Firefly Softphone. www.freshtel.net craig Peter.

I’d really like to see you do a review of Firefly Softphone.

http://www.freshtel.net

craig

]]> By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1731/comment-page-1#comment-2755 Reader's Write Tue, 22 Jun 2004 21:36:03 +0000 #comment-2755 Sadly the Register doesn't allow comments. So here's the email I sent them. Rohan makes some good points but he's still got his head in the sand. Skype "just works" and every SIP client and service I've used "just doesn't work". Until SIP and the SIP client industry understand that, Skype will continue to eat their market. So one day soon, the question will be "When is SIP going to link to the Skype network", not the other way round. With my technical hat on, I'm very interested in the technical issues surrounding NAT, Firewalls, directory routing, potential virus infection paths and so on. But as a private individual I just want the damn thing to work. I don't want to have to involve a sysadmin, especially when the sysadmin is me. The great unwashed really couldn't care less. If Skype works they'll use it, until something better comes along. Sadly the Register doesn’t allow comments. So here’s the email I sent them.

Rohan makes some good points but he’s still got his head in the sand.

Skype “just works” and every SIP client and service I’ve used “just doesn’t work”. Until SIP and the SIP client industry understand that, Skype will continue to eat their market. So one day soon, the question will be “When is SIP going to link to the Skype network”, not the other way round.

With my technical hat on, I’m very interested in the technical issues surrounding NAT, Firewalls, directory routing, potential virus infection paths and so on. But as a private individual I just want the damn thing to work. I don’t want to have to involve a sysadmin, especially when the sysadmin is me. The great unwashed really couldn’t care less. If Skype works they’ll use it, until something better comes along.

]]> By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1731/comment-page-1#comment-2753 Reader's Write Tue, 22 Jun 2004 20:20:59 +0000 #comment-2753 Sounds like Mr White is just jealous because Skype's success is largely down to the fact that it does handle firewalls successfully, where other VoIP apps don't. Can he show us one other freely downloadable application that works out of the box like Skype does, and which doesn't require any special configuration even when you are using it behind a firewall? Of course he can't, because there isn't, and that is why Skype is so successful. The last paragraph is particularly silly, it talks about all the terrible things a virus can do AFTER it has got on your machine. Well duh! Of course viruses can do lots of horrible things once you are infected, the question was whether Skype increases your vulnerability to viruses in the first place. The answer is that Microsoft Outlook is infinitely more dangerous than Skype when it comes to being infected by viruses. Sounds like Mr White is just jealous because Skype’s success is largely down to the fact that it does handle firewalls successfully, where other VoIP apps don’t.

Can he show us one other freely downloadable application that works out of the box like Skype does, and which doesn’t require any special configuration even when you are using it behind a firewall?

Of course he can’t, because there isn’t, and that is why Skype is so successful.

The last paragraph is particularly silly, it talks about all the terrible things a virus can do AFTER it has got on your machine. Well duh! Of course viruses can do lots of horrible things once you are infected, the question was whether Skype increases your vulnerability to viruses in the first place. The answer is that Microsoft Outlook is infinitely more dangerous than Skype when it comes to being infected by viruses.

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