Skype in control.

A while ago, equipped my country house with a box that allows me to control
some important stuff by sending SMS messages. In fact, SMS messages are the
only way to access this gizmo. As a security measure, the box only accepts
SMS messages from pre-defined phone numbers.

With Skype 2.5, SMS message sending from Skype is made possible. All I
needed to do was to configure Skype to include phone number, instead of my
Skype name, which is default. To do that, you go to Options->SMS messages,
and tick "Show my mobile number in SMS messages I send out". Enter your
phone number, wait for verification code to arrive as SMS message, type in
the code from SMS and click Submit. There, you are all done. You can now
send messages from Skype and the receiver will not be able to tell if you
sent it from your phone or Skype.

I just turned on the floor heating of the house for weekend, and I am
pretty happy about being able to use Skype to talk not just to people, but
to machines as well!

Comments

Whauuu.. That sounds cool.. What is the name of that box? (very interested...)

That's great ! Now anyone who knows your cellphone number and you're country house number can change the settings of your heater.

I like the fact that in the same message you say that allowing only SMSs from selected numbers was a "security mesure" and that Skype now allows anyone to choose youyr number (our whatever number) as the sender's number of any SMS...

Olivier

Olivier, if you read his message carefully, you'd noticed, that in order to use a particular cellphone number as sender-id from Skype, you must be able to receive a text-message with an authentification code on that number.

So, come on, get Mast's phone to receive the auth code and then turn his home into a sauna. But, when you'll already have his cellphone, why do you need Skype to do that?

(Okay, maybe you just borrow his phone secretely to receive the auth-code and then give it back while his sleeping. Now, you're able to send anyone messages prentending to be Mast. Well, that's an issue, he probably wouldn't even recognize it. So, guys, watch out for your phone...)

BTW: Why isn't it possible to select one of my SkypeIn-Numbers as Sender-ID when I'm making a SkypeOut-call?)

You're right, I should have read it more carrefully. I missed the security code part. Sorry about that. I find the idea of sending an SMS from Skype very good. I'm just not sure behing able to fake the sender phone number is a very good idea. Using the SkypeOut number would make much more sens to me.

If only all this could come to the Mac some day... One can dream right ?

bentpetersen1979,
I'm fairly sure that Mast is using the Oskando HomeKeeper: http://www.oskando.ee/eng/products/homekeeper

But from Skype SMS point of view, any other home/car/sailboat controller that accepts SMS-based commands, would work.

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Last Thursday evening I was at the Saïd Business School to hear Saul Klein (blog), Vice-President of Marketing at Skype. An eye-opening talk. When eBay bought Skype for $2.6bn last September, with an additional $1.5bn dependent upon performance targets, [Read More]

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