News, Events, Milestones

Beta-friendly users have been running Skype 3.8 for Windows since April 2. But with the usual beta imperfections now sanded off, this audio-focused iteration of Skype is ready for public release. If you’re a Windows user, head to the download page to get it.

Continue reading "Skype 3.8 for Windows goes public with audio improvements, other tweaks" »

Most people look forward to Fridays (or their cultural equivalent that promises rest, fun and fresh air). Banishing the ruthless alarm clock until Monday morning which, for a brief moment, appears eons away.

Well, my kind colleagues here at Skype have taken a crack at making the world’s Mondays a bit less blue. Enter Skype’s brand new flat-rate calling subscriptions that were announced this Monday, i.e. today. According to the announcement, the subscriptions “signal the first time Skype has offered a single, monthly flat rate for international calling to landline numbers in 34 countries.”

Continue reading "Going the (long) distance: Skype's new calling subscriptions " »

The Hollywood Reporter has done a nice story on how quick-thinking CNN tech staff in the US helped the network out of an equipment crunch by using Skype to carry a video interview.

This isn’t the first time a major network has done so, as the article also points out. But it could help open the rusty floodgates. We’re all used to seeing journalists in khaki-colored vests filing reports from the world’s distant hotspots over the videophone, and strangely, the choppy quality of these reports does add a layer of raw believability to what is being transmitted. (Similarly, AM broadcasts to me feel more “radio-like” than the squeaky clean FM signals or the kills-bugs-dead sterility of satellite radio)

Continue reading "Skype "a good thing" for CNN" »

Thanks to a lot of generous Skype users who voted for us in the Communications category of CNET’s Webware 100 awards last year, the results gave us reason to smile.

Since then, a lot has happened. Japan, for example, has launched Kizuna, an experimental satellite that will bring low-cost 1.2gbps downloads (and spiffy uploads) to Japan and parts of South-East Asia. Not bad.

But Skype hasn’t sat still either, launching High Quality Video, the 3 Skypephone, squeezing itself into the new Sony Mylo, the Sony PSP Slim & Lite, and is finding other cool ways to land in people’s pockets. And yesterday, we announced the latest feature: a brand new CEO who will join us on March 24.

What I mean to say is this: if you think we’ve still got the mojo after 4.5 years and 100bn Skype-to-Skype minutes, you can now vote for us for Webware 100 in 2008.

Thanks!

Hi, I’m Josh. The new guy. On March 24, I’ll step aboard as CEO to lead the next stage of Skype’s exciting journey.

To say that I’m looking forward to leading this company is an understatement. Skype is one of the defining internet technologies of our era. It’s helping people all over the planet connect with each other like never before. It’s changing the world. You don’t look forward to something like that. You drop what you’re doing and jump aboard.

I’m well aware that it is more than just an ingenious feat of engineering, which has made Skype one of the most rapidly-adopted technologies in human history. It’s a passionate community of users who believe in the power of human connection, in bold innovation and in striving for product excellence which has put us on our path to changing the world. I share your passion, and take very seriously the responsibility of all of us at Skype to be good stewards of the product and the brand.

So what can you expect from me? That I’m serious about wanting to build the greatest products — and the greatest company — on Earth. That doing so means listening well, being willing to think different and take risks. And in everything we do, one thing is certain: we’ll always have the best interests of the Skype community at heart.

I’m the new guy, and have a lot to learn. To really understand Skype’s cultural and technological DNA, my number one priority is to do a lot of listening and learning. With my wife and kids about to begin their adventure in Estonia as well, I have all the support I could ever need. I want to know everything about the technology, the team and the community. And I hope to share some of my observations on this very blog and see what you think, too.

As chief executive, I’m stepping into a flight deck first captained by co-founder Niklas Zennström and latterly interim CEO Michael van Swaaij. Both of whom have done great, meaningful things with this company. I don’t yet have the right to expect your enthusiastic two thumbs up. But as we go further on this journey together, I plan to earn it.

In the meantime, I look forward to meeting and talking with as many of you as possible over the months and years to come.

This post has been a few days coming and the news has already been reported elsewhere. But in keeping with tradition, here’s to confirm that just six weeks after we broke the 11m concurrent-user barrier, we’ve now passed the 12m mark.

I’ll refrain from sharing fun low-calorie factoids about the meaning of 12 million this time. Can’t use that trick too often — it to needs feel fresh the next time around.

In the absence of a thirsty cat, a glass of milk quickly goes sour when left on the kitchen table. Thankfully, awards have a longer shelf life and I hope you’ll excuse my travel-driven tardiness in tipping the old blogger’s sombrero to the Global Mobile Awards panel at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Earlier this week, the 3 Skypephone was highly commended for its innovative approach in the Best Mobile Handset or Device category.

As the judges — industry experts, analysts, journalists and academics — put it, “The Skypephone is an innovative partnership between Hutchison 3 and Skype. In addition to the headline Skype service, the phone offers extremely good value for money with a wide range of features not previously seen at this price point.”

Since the 3 Skypephone was announced in late October, it’s been enjoying an excellent ride in the hands of Skype-loving consumers and it sure feels nice to see the industry recognize the innovation that this handset embodies.

Incidentally, the 3 Skypephone was also one of the main attractions among journalists, bloggers and other visitors to the Skype stand at last Sunday’s Showstoppers. Even as you see more and more Skype-enabled mobile and wireless handsets pop up over time, the 3 Skypephone will continue to play a special role in showing people what’s possible — and what to expect.

Apparently, 100 billion humans have walked on this planet through the ages. But don’t quote me on that. (Although I’m sure these guys will know.)

Apparently, the human brain has about 100 billion neurons. But don’t quote me on that. (Although I’m sure if you leaf through The Scientific American Book of the Brain, you’ll find out for certain.)

Apparently, Dr. Evil decided to hold the world ransom for 100 billion dollars. Though he later lost his wits and upgraded his demand to one billion, gagillion, fafillion, shabolubalu million illion yillion… yen. Still, don’t quote me on that. (Instead, get these guys to back it up.)

And now, Skype has served 100 billion minutes worth of Skype-to-Skype calls. Please, do quote me on that.

This figure is so mind-numbingly large that it’s nigh impossible to wrap my head around it. (Even if attempted, the exercise would likely result in a headache of cosmic proportions that no amount of pickle juice can possibly cure.)

But consider this:

• Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls are free
• Skype’s been around for about 4.5 years
• As of the end of 2007, Skype had 276m registered users, adding 30 million in Q4 alone

When mixed together, this cocktail gets explosive. And it becomes obvious that at 100bn minutes, Skype conversations are really getting out of hand. In a good way.

Thanks for getting us where we are, folks. And keep talking. Next stop: one billion, gagillion, fafillion, shabolubalu million illion yillion Skype-to-Skype minutes.

Earlier this month, we said it’d be available later this month.

If you’ve got a Sony PSP Slim & Lite and have been waiting since CES for a system software update so you could make Skype calls, now is the time to act. All you need to do is to upgrade your handheld’s system software to version 3.90.

With the update, foreshadowed in Sony’s PlayStation blog and now also announced by the Sony folks in Europe, PSP Slim & Lite users can make free voice calls to 276m other registered Skype users, see which friends are online and available to talk.

Also, if you have a bit of Skype credit lying around, you can use your PSP to make cheap SkypeOut calls to landlines and mobiles anywhere on the home planet.

To get started with Skype on PSP, it might be worth checking out this video by John Koller, senior marketing manager for PSP at Sony:

From Crackle: Skype on the PSP

As you may have heard, on March 31, Meg Whitman will step down as President and CEO of eBay, Skype’s parent company. She will be succeeded by John Donahoe, who has been President of eBay Marketplaces.

For more on management changes at eBay, please see the eBay press release.

Amid the rushing bodies in the crazy anthill known as CES, we’ve just received the good news that Skype has broken the 11 million concurrent-user barrier. We hit the 10 million mark back in October and it’s immensely gratifying to see that the universe continues to expand as it does. A deep to our users and keep the conversations going!

MySpaceIM with Skype is now live and available to MySpace and Skype users. The new product is available in 20 countries where MySpace has localized communities and adds Skype voice calls to MySpace’s IM client, which has 25 million installed users.

It’s these enlightened millions on MySpace that can now place free Skype calls to their friends on MySpace or Skype. The really, really nice bit is that MySpace users don’t have to download any additional Skype software. And they can now link their MySpace profiles, photos or avatars to their Skype names. (See the MySpaceIM FAQ for more on how to get started.)

Ahead of the public release, more than half a million MySpace users had hooked up to the beta version of MySpaceIM with Skype.

May your conversations be merry!

A few days ago, I wrote about why Skype felt it had no choice but to recall and replace about 8,000 London-based 0207 SkypeIn numbers. Our colleagues in customer support have pulled in extra resources and are totally focused on making the transition as smooth as possible.

Hardest hit were users who had subscribed to the affected SkypeIn numbers for 12 months. (SkypeIn subscriptions are available for 3 or 12 months). We know that small businesses are among them and that their trust and confidence is a precious, fragile thing. It’s with them that we’ll have to work the hardest to win back their confidence.

So here’s where things stand at the moment. Our customer support team has been working round the clock to assist everyone affected. At the moment, they’ve responded to over 75 percent of those who’ve required additional support. And we hope to sort out the remaining inquiries this week. (If there are any outstanding questions, please send an email to sichange@skype.net If you’d like to explore the possibility of retaining your number outside of your Skype account, please contact GCI Telecom on sales@geonum.co.uk).

Everything is being done to keep this from happening in the future. We’re no strangers to crises and major issues like this help us learn as a business. We’ll use the knowledge wisely. Have faith in us.

Just as water vapor turns into ice crystals in Northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere, we’re getting better tools to help get things done without having to leave the house (or office). Skype today released the public version of Skype 3.6 for Windows, with major under-the-hood changes that focus on video. High Quality Video, to be precise*.

There are two ways to describe what we’ve done. You could say the video window on Skype has grown to 640x480 pixels, delivering up to 30 frames per second. Or, if you prefer plain English, you can now begin to enjoy free High Quality Video calls that are sharper, smoother and better than anything you’ve seen on Skype before.

To experience free High Quality Video, this is what both sides of the conversation will need:

* Skype 3.6 for Windows

• a Logitech webcam that has been optimized and certified for High Quality Video (the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks or the Logitech QuickCam Sphere AF (Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF in the U.S.)
• Logitech QuickCam software, version 11.5
• a dual-core PC
• a broadband internet connection (384 kbps and above).

For more, please see the High Quality Video page on the Skype website.

The three webcams are already available worldwide, in retail as well as the Skype web store. In Europe, the Skype shop has a special offer for the webcams. The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 or the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks will normally cost €99.99, but if you head for the Skype webstore, you’ll also get a free headset, free shipping, and SkypeOut credit worth up to three hours of calls to landlines and mobiles. In the US, Skype offers a $20 rebate on either of these products ($99.99 before the rebate).

*If this sounds familiar, it should – the more adventurous among you have been able to play with High Quality Video as part of the beta version of Skype 3.6 for Windows since October 10. You may also have read about Skype’s collaboration with Logitech to help make High Quality Video a reality.

Free video calls have been a feature on Skype since late 2005 and have helped millions of people keep in touch. It’s become so popular that one in four Skype-to-Skype calls today involves video. Like they say in Hollywood – show, don’t tell.

Things are about to get a whole lot bigger, sharper and smoother. Today, Skype and Logitech announced a collaboration to give Skype users the kind of video quality that used to be the privilege of big businesses.

Enter High Quality Video, due in November. (Although, if you’re adventurous enough to play with beta software, you’re welcome to try it out now.) Explaining what it does is a bit like dancing about architecture, because you really need to see it in action. But the video window on Skype has grown to 640x480 pixels, delivering up to 30 frames per second. This produces a level of clarity, detail and fluid motion that is pretty astounding. It’s been immensely satisfying to watch the reactions of people who’ve seen it for the first time. Them jaws, they tend to drop.

To experience free High Quality Video, this is what both sides of the conversation will need:

• Skype 3.6 for Windows (expected to be available in November)
• a Logitech webcam that has been optimized and certified for High Quality Video (the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks or the Logitech QuickCam Sphere AF (Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF in the U.S.)
• Logitech QuickCam software, version 11.5 (expected to be available in November at www.logitech.com/downloads)
• a dual-core PC
• a broadband connection (384 kbps and above).

For more, please see the High Quality Video page on the Skype website.

The three webcams are already available worldwide, in retail as well as the Skype web store. In Europe, the Skype shop has a special offer for the webcams. The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 or the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks will normally cost €99.99, but if you head for the Skype webstore, you’ll also get a free headset, free shipping, and SkypeOut credit worth up to three hours of calls to landlines and mobiles. In the US, Skype offers a $20 rebate on either of these products ($99.99 before the rebate).

One shouldn’t really trust rumors. But we’ve heard plenty of them in recent weeks and in this case, they weren’t too far from the truth. In tandem with the mobile operator 3, Skype has just launched a new mobile phone called 3 Skypephone. One that lets you make free Skype-to-Skype calls and send free Skype instant messages from anywhere. Not just from the desktop, not just from the office. From anywhere.

And it works the other way, too. That is, if your friend in the US runs Skype on her desktop and calls you over Skype, your 3 Skypephone will ring. And the call won’t cost either of you a penny.

What we’re dealing with here is a mobile internet phone with Skype built in. That is, in addition to Skype calls the phone also handles conventional calls and can be used to access 3’s other internet services. We’re dealing with a new breed here, folks. Because this is the first time an operator has offered a mass-market mobile phone purpose-built for free internet calls. In a package that’s easy to use, is easy on the pocketbook and looks so good you may want to chain it to your wrist (lest gravity or someone’s sticky fingers get the better of it).

So, where can you get the thing and what’s the damage? The 3 Skypephone will be available this year in the UK, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden. Skype-to-Skype calls are free from your 3 Skypephone as long as you are on contract or your pay-as-you-go 3 credit is topped up monthly. In the UK the 3 Skypephone is £49.99 on a pay-as-you-go tariff or free on a contract.

The new phone is available from November 2 in 3Stores across the UK and from Skype and 3’s websites in time for Christmas. And it’s available for pre-order in the UK from today.

See the press release for more details.

Whoosh.

Earlier today, Skype announced that it has teamed up with MySpace to create MySpaceIM with Skype, which will add Skype voice calls to the MySpace instant-messaging tool. When we officially welcome MySpace’s 110 million monthly users to the Skype family next month, this collaboration will make the combination of MySpace and Skype into the world’s largest voice-connected community.

And then things got even better.

A few hours following the MySpace announcement, we surpassed 10 million simultaneous online Skype users. For the first time, like, ever. Just three years ago, on October 20, 2004, we were popping Champagne bottles to mark 1 million simultaneous users. Which we thought was unbelievable. And it was only earlier this year that we passed the 9 million mark.

It’s not yeast or baking soda that makes us grow like this. It’s all about the people out there across the ever-shrinking globe, falling for Skype as a way to keep in touch.

And that’s a beautiful thing.

Do you use MySpace? Well, soon it’ll get even better.

Skype has teamed up with MySpace to create MySpaceIM with Skype, which adds Skype voice calls to the MySpace instant messaging tool. The collaboration turns MySpace into the world’s largest voice-connected community.

As a result, MySpace and Skype users will be able to make high quality calls to each other for free, and millions of MySpace users in 20 countries will be able to tap into Skype to make pretty cheap calls to landlines and mobile phones around the world.

In addition, MySpace users will be able to set up a SkypeIn number, voicemail and call forwarding. You also connect your MySpace profile to your Skype account. This makes it easy to share your MySpace profile and avatar with Skype contacts. Of course, Skype users will be able to call MySpace users as well.

So when does all this happen? Soon. By mid-November, you’ll be able to download MySpace IM with Skype. You’ll have drum your fingers until then, but we think it’ll be worth the wait.

For more information, please see the press release.

The JiWire Hotspot Finder is a Skype Extra which lets you find Wi-Fi hotspots anywhere in the world through Skype. It searches over 140,000 hotspots in 134 countries — the most comprehensive database of hotspots in the world.

You can use it to find free and paid hotspots, searching by location, e.g. ‘Mumbai’ or by using a postal or ZIP code — and you can narrow down your search by specifying a keyword, like ‘café’ or by a specific location like ‘Starbucks’. You can also use the ‘Find Me’ button to find hotspots around your current location, which is probably particularly handy when you’re completely lost.

Jim Courtney of Skype Journal was at Skype’s Developer event in San José where JiWire received the cup, and spoke with Kevin McKenzie, JiWire’s CEO, and Nihad Hafiz, the principal developer:

Speaking with Kevin he mentioned that, while there is no business model associated with JiWire Hotspot Finder for Skype, he does see it as providing awareness generation for their services that may lead to both purchase of their WiFi security tool and to use of their ad-supported desktop services. Kevin also mentioned that Nihad had developed the JiWire Hotspot Finder for Skype as a ‘work of passion’ outside his normal responsibilities at JiWire. And that passion certainly came through in my discussion with Nihad.

Andy Abramson describes the JiWire Hotspot Finder as ‘sensational’ — and I’d agree. Download it now and give it a try

On September 22nd, 2007, Skype reached its 20 millionth registered user in North America, doubling from 10 million registered users in just over the last 12 months.

Or think about it this way — nearly 10 percent of the more than 232 million Internet users in North America have now downloaded and tried out Skype.

Three other facts about ten percent, because it’s Friday:

• We don’t actually use just 10% of our brains, despite popular mythology
• According to Google, 10% of websites are dangerous
• In most parts of Europe, a 10% tip in a restaurant is a way of showing appreciation, believe it or not…

I’m writing this in Prague where Paul Amery, who heads the Skype Developer Program, last night announced the winning entry in Skype’s 2007 Mashup Competition: PamFax from Germany-based PamConsult.

A mashup is a software application or service that combines data from more than one source into an integrated experience. It has parallels in the practice of merging together two or more songs for something entirely new and cool. Think of Christina Aguilera’s vocals from “Genie in a Bottle” merged into the Strokes’ “Hard to Explain”.

Entries to the mashup competition were judged against these criteria: Skypeness, usability, coolness, stability, usefulness, flair and layout. The winner, PamFax, allows you to send a fax to any fax machine in the world and easily pay with your Skype credit. (I realize the previous sentence used the word “fax” three times. Sorry ‘bout that.) Registration is not needed, nor is pre-payment. Optionally, you get fax status notifications via Skype chat, SMS or email. And there’s one more little cool touch: you can look up where the recipient is located, using Google Maps.

The judging panel consisted of Paul Amery, Antoine Bertout, Lester Madden, Damon Williams, Adam Trachtenberg, Phil Wolff, Jim Courtney, John Musser, Jack Dorsey and Julian Bond. (Also see Jim Courtney’s excellent extended mashup competition post on Skype Journal.)

All mashup entries can be found here.

(updated at 16.30 GMT with Symantec reference)

(update at 17.15 GMT: FSecure now calls the virus W32/Skipi.A. Symantec has named it W32.Pykspa.D.)

(update at 9 am GMT on Sep. 11: Our security team is actively engaging with domain owners to shut down malicious websites that are being used to spread the virus.)

The new week has started with a bang. And not the kind of bang we like.

Here’s what Kurt Sauer, Skype’s Chief Security Officer, has to say:

“Skype has learned that a computer virus called “w32/Ramex.A” is affecting users of Skype for Windows. Users whose computers are infected with this virus will send a chat message to other Skype users asking them to click on a web link that can infect the computer of the person who receives the message.

“We would like to encourage our users to ensure that they are running anti-virus software on their computers and to download the latest anti-virus updates in order to provide the best protection against this and other viruses.”

More information can be found at heartbeat.skype.com. Wishing you a virus-free week.

It was about ten weeks ago when we last talked about new SkypeIn countries on this blog. Back then, we hit the sweet eighteen. SkypeIn countries, that is.

Now, we’ve added two more. Mexico and Ireland. The country that gave us Pancho Villa has a population of over 108 million. When the 6 million Irish are added, we have a crowd that packs a punch. And deserves SkypeIn numbers.

Which is exactly what they’ve got now. Enjoy!

For those who think SkypeIn is just an orthographically challenged way of saying things like “Gone Skypin’”, I have this little explainer: When you have a SkypeIn number, your friends who don’t have Skype can call a regular phone number. And you will receive the call on your computer or any other piece of gear that runs Skype.

As Borat would say, “Is nice!”

Four years ago today, the first public beta version of a little piece of software was released upon an unsuspecting world. The screenshots above help beam us back to the late summer of 2003. (The same day the Inuit of Labrador signed a deal with the Canadian government to self-govern Nunatsiavut. Good to know Skype isn’t alone in the Department of Nice Things to Happen That Day.) Skype today looks quite a bit different from what you see above. But don’t be fooled. Inside, its soul is still the same.

This afternoon, Skype employees around the globe will raise a glass to the four-year-old. But here are a few oven-fresh words penned by the man without whom there would be little to celebrate, Skype’s co-founder and CEO Niklas Zennström:

Today, Skype turned four. I can hardly believe it’s been that long. It only seems like yesterday when Janus and I were talking about people being able to use the computer like a phone. But without a phone. And without a phone bill.

Niklas

Hello all,

Yesterday, we posted an explanation of what happened to Skype on August 16. Some reactions to the explanation, however, have reminded us of one of the basic tenets of communication: It’s not what you say. It’s what they hear. We’d therefore like to clear a few misunderstandings that emerged in yesterday’s reactions to our explanation of what transpired last week.

1. Are we blaming Microsoft for what happened?

We don’t blame anyone but ourselves. The Microsoft Update patches were merely a catalyst — a trigger — for a series of events that led to the disruption of Skype, not the root cause of it. And Microsoft has been very helpful and supportive throughout.

The high number of post-update reboots affected Skype’s network resources. This caused a flood of log-in requests, which, combined with the lack of peer-to-peer network resources at the time, prompted a chain reaction that had a critical impact. The self-healing mechanisms of the P2P network upon which Skype’s software runs have worked well in the past. Simply put, every single time Skype has needed to recover from reboots that naturally accompany a routine Windows Update, there hasn’t been a problem.

Unfortunately, this time, for the first time, Skype was unable to rise to the challenge and the reasons for this were exceptional. In this instance, the day’s Skype traffic patterns, combined with the large number of reboots, revealed a previously unseen fault in the P2P network resource allocation algorithm Skype used. Consequently, the P2P network’s self-healing function didn’t work quickly enough. Skype’s peer-to-peer core was not properly tuned to cope with the load and core size changes that occurred on August 16. The reboots resulting from software patching merely served as a catalyst. This combination of factors created a situation where the self-healing needed outside intervention and assistance by our engineers.

2. What was different about this set of Microsoft update patches?

In short – there was nothing different about this set of Microsoft patches. During a joint call soon after problems were detected, Skype and Microsoft engineers went through the list of patches that had been pushed out. We ruled each one out as a possible cause for Skype’s problems. We also walked through the standard Windows Update process to understand it better and to ensure that nothing in the process had changed from the past (and nothing had). The Microsoft team was fantastic to work with, and after going through the potential causes, it appeared clearer than ever to us that our software’s P2P network management algorithm was not tuned to take into account a combination of high load and supernode rebooting.

3. How come previous Microsoft update patches didn’t cause disruption?

That’s because the update patches were not the cause of the disruption. In previous instances where a large number of supernodes in the P2P network were rebooted, other factors of a “perfect storm” had not been present. That is, there had not been such a combination of high usage load during supernode rebooting. As a result, P2P network resources were allocated efficiently and self-healing worked fast enough to overcome the challenge.

4. Has the bug been fixed? Should Skype users worry about future Microsoft Update patches and reboots?

Yes, the bug has been squashed. The parameters of the P2P network have been tuned to be smarter about how similar situations should be handled. Once we found the algorithmic fix to ensure continued operation in the face of high numbers of client reboots, the efforts focused squarely on stabilising the P2P core. The fix means that we’ve tuned Skype’s P2P core so that it can cope with simultaneous P2P network load and core size changes similar to those that occurred on August 16. We’d like to reassure our users across the globe that we’ve done everything we need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We’ve already introduced a number of improvements to our software to ensure our users will not be similarly affected – in the unlikely possibility of this combination of events recurring.

(Posted at 5:35 AM GMT, updated first two paragraphs at 11:45 AM GMT)

On Thursday, 16th August 2007, the Skype peer-to-peer network became unstable and suffered a critical disruption. The disruption was triggered by a massive restart of our users’ computers across the globe within a very short timeframe as they re-booted after receiving a routine set of patches through Windows Update.

The high number of restarts affected Skype’s network resources. This caused a flood of log-in requests, which, combined with the lack of peer-to-peer network resources, prompted a chain reaction that had a critical impact.

Normally Skype’s peer-to-peer network has an inbuilt ability to self-heal, however, this event revealed a previously unseen software bug within the network resource allocation algorithm which prevented the self-healing function from working quickly. Regrettably, as a result of this disruption, Skype was unavailable to the majority of its users for approximately two days.

The issue has now been identified explicitly within Skype. We can confirm categorically that no malicious activities were attributed or that our users’ security was not, at any point, at risk.

This disruption was unprecedented in terms of its impact and scope. We would like to point out that very few technologies or communications networks today are guaranteed to operate without interruptions.

We are very proud that over the four years of its operation, Skype has provided a technically resilient communications tool to millions of people worldwide. Skype has now identified and already introduced a number of improvements to its software to ensure that our users will not be similarly affected in the unlikely possibility of this combination of events recurring.

The Skype community of users has been incredibly supportive and we are very grateful for all their good wishes.

Hello friends,

Take a deep breath. Skype is back to normal.

On Monday, we’ll provide a more detailed explanation of what happened. Until then, we’d like to apologize and thank you. Precisely in that order. We know how difficult and frustrating the past two days have been. And still, your good wishes kept flowing in. Thank you for the amazing patience, trust and support!

(Posted at 11am GMT)