Hey guys, nice to hear that you respond to people, but it is still a bit vague.

http://wirelessisfun.com/2007/02/07/skype-reads-your-bios-and-motherboard-serial-number/

I like the service of Skype.
One thing annoys me greatly: I constantly get requests from strangers, frm everywhere, to establish contact.
Many callers are from China.
I am sitting working on the computer and I need to fend off these callers.
Where did they find my address? How do I stop it?
Elly

1) Go to Options->Privacy and only allow calls as well as chats from people in your contact list.

2) Remove as much personal data from your profile as possible, especially gender! People just search for some specific criteria and start chatting with "fitting" users. Writing in your profile that you are female, blond and 18 might get you the most new contacts .

3) If you are in a public chat chances are that people find you this way as well.

Good luck!

Hey Skype! Why do you lie to your customers? Why haven't you inform about this DRM-Plugin? Now we have to decide if we will use you software in future or not. How can we be sure that there are no more other such Plugins in your client software? We can't believe you anymore, sorry!

Your own commitment/words: http://www.skype.com/download/adwarefree/

Dear Skype,
could you please be a bit more specific about what you mean by "The EasyBits software includes a form of digital rights management functionality intended to protect commercial software". What information is sent were to? Or is no data that is part of or derived from the bios sent anywhere? How can it be that there is a need for DRM management of plugins that apparently are freely distributed (in the same way as Skype).
I would also want to remind you that you/Easy Bit Software violate(s) not only the privacy of the user but also the copyright of the bios manufacturer by sending it or functional units thereof over the internet.

Hello Skype,
Please comment on the above two posts from fox-idl and patbeppo and please answer to *all* their concerns.
Are you aware of the bad reputation that you have earned just because of this story?

Kurt said:

> [..................................................]
> Of course, in line with our Privacy Agreement, Skype
> does not retrieve any of this data. It is only used
> by the EasyBits software to ensure that plug-in use
> complies with the appropriate license token or key.
> [..................................................]

(So I suppose, that data are send to the EasyBits servers. This fact is known only since a few days.)

http://www.skype.com/download/adwarefree/ said
> [..................................................]
> Spyware relates to software that becomes installed
> on computer without the informed consent or
> knowledge of the computer’s owner and covertly
> transmits or receives data to or from a remote host.
> [..................................................]

This two statements are not compatible.

3 days ago I was trying to make a transfer by my bank in Sweden but when trying to confirm the transaction by giving in a codenumber something like this came up on the screen: se +46 1234... Ring - making it impossible to confirm the transaction. Incredible!!!!!

Stenisen

@patbeppo: Not all plug-ins are "free". If you look at the extras gallery here (https://extras.skype.com/114/view) you will see that some are freeware, some shareware, some pay-per-use etc.

@Stenisen: Thats the Skype browser plug-in. You can deactivate it by clicking on the Skype button in your browser (both IE & FF).

@florian_matusek
Your argument in itself: acknowledged.

The argument however neither explains why the bios is read out if no such non-free extention is present, nor does it answer any of the other points. To repeat the above points:
What data is extractly used after the read out?
What is done with that data, specifically where is that data sent to? If data is sent to Skype or third parties what are the agreements to further distribute the data to still others?

sykpe = ebay ... any questions left?
think about it =)

(i like skype... but actions like that, espacially trying to hide the (evil) .com file are making me nervous..)

Please fix the link in your blog post.

Hey, you know that you are lie!
You can't tell us that someone (third-party) can develop spyware into their framework and you implement this into Skype without properly checking it or get the source code for this (here extras manager in Skype..)!

You simply must lie, because reading the whole bios and not just the serial number is done with this dos app (1.com)!

And there are other much more simplier methods to get the bios serial number, there is no need for an dos 16 bit .com application..!

WMI among others..(which work in x64..)

Here is the truth:
http://www.pagetable.com/?p=27

Skype is spying against the user, read the bios info and then submit it encrypted and so it's hard to find it, that is what Skype Limited wants and intended..

Why you lie against your customers and users?!
Why you don't say the truth and tell everyone that The new Skype 3.0 with the Extras use DRM..?!

DRM is bad, DRM is no solution, DRM spies.

It is even bad that you let an external company (third-party) named EasyBits develop this for you and then integrate this shit into your Skype application.
That saying that you cannot code and done this by yourself, so your coders in Skype Limited are too "stupid" and untalented to code an extras-manager by themselves instead of an external company..?!

Lol big shame on you!

Avoid using Skype 3.x, use 2.x instead..

Well, I am sure SKEPY GOING right TO OUT of my computer. If no one think about it two time.

Really people, reading responses in here makes me wonder if some people have some intelligence at all. You must know that most software manufacturers use some kind of reading of system information to set a system license key. You could basically uninstall all software you have!

Skype just does what most other suppliers do. The Easybits software is just to manage license key and no information is send over the internet.

Do all other suppliers explain how they protect their software?

"most software manufacturers use some kind of reading of system information to set a system license key"

Microsoft for example use "advanced" system information for activation system. They read "sensible" data from motherboard BIOS or HDD...

That's why I'm against proprietary closed-source software!

Nobody knows what is going on in/with Skype software and peer-review is not possible..

I uninstalled Skype now and recommend all my friends to do so.

The trust in Skype is over, you're claim to be spyware free, but bios dumping isn't spyware free, so you lie and so you will lose your credibility, authenticity and reputation. Don't trust Skype Limited because they are close and lie.

Skype Limited have to inform all users and customers, that Skype 3.x with the Extras(-manager) uses DRM and that the DRM protection system spies your bios data including the serial number of the motherboard.
Additionally Skype have to inform that you can use Skype Business 3.x, which is coming without the Extras (Plugin-Manager) and thus without DRM..!

I recommend all my friends to uninstall it and avoid using proprietary closed-source software which claims secure, safe and spyware free but spies bios date = SKYPE!

Now I'm using OpenWengo (WengoPhone) http://www.openwengo.org and recommend all my friends to use this great open-source IM, video and voice application.

OpenWengo uses open standards and NO proprietary closed protocols. WengoPhone uses e.g. SIP, RTP, etc.

And with Philip Zimmermann's Zfone, SIP and RTP is secure and encrypted (SIPS/SRTP/ZRTP). See http://zfoneproject.com/

I liked skype very much, but always had some nervous feeling about it. Now I uninstalled skype and told all my business cotnacts to do so, too. I am now using Gizmo (http://gizmoproject.com) v3; which at uses a standard protocol. OK, it's not open source, but I don't trust skype anymore. Skype's GUI is great and I miss the GUI somehow, but enough is enough.

Hi Kurt,

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Alpa