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Well this is scary for Skype users and very embarrassing for Skype developers/owners aka. Microsoft. I sure hope they fix this before they get sued into oblivi
by gitarr 14y ago
Well this is scary for Skype users and very embarrassing for Skype developers/owners aka. Microsoft.
I sure hope they fix this before they get sued into oblivion for this blatant privacy breach.
- alexchamberlain 14y agoFair point, but equally Skype was an independent company when it developed its protocol, and although Microsoft hasn't fixed it, its not really their fault.
- gitarr 14y agoIt might not be their fault, but it sure is their responsibility now.
- sohn 14y agoThis is the most stupid way I have ever seen to blame Microsoft for something. Bet you're a Mac user?
- viraptor 14y agoWhy is that? You get the same thing with emails / IRC / some IM protocols / VoIP. What's so "scary" about someone knowing your current IP? I mean - it's one thing if Skype was advertising itself as a privacy protecting, identity hiding service... but they don't. They provide convenient A/V connections.
- BystanderX 14y agoIt's scary when you think about the context - someone you haven't added to your contact list, meaning anyone at any time, can find your current IP. It's not exactly shocking, but it certainly shouldn't be able to happen until you've approved a person as a contact.
- rhplus 14y agoLet's say A wants to find B's IP address. In the case of email, A would need to trick B into replying to an email (and also use an email service that adds the client IP header). In the case of most IM servces, B would need to accept a friend request federated from a server. If I'm understanding this correctly, with Skype, A merely has to query B's status to get B's IP address.
- daeken 14y agoIn the case of email, the easiest way to get a user's IP is to have them load an external image.
- michaelhart 14y agoNot true if you use a secure/intelligent email client, like Gmail. It will prompt you with a yellow bar above the email before loading any images. It also implies that they'll open the email, which most average people won't do unless they know the sender or are otherwise expecting an email.
- Natsu 14y agoSee that link hanbam put up? This has been known for months already with no patch. Hopefully this pushes them to make an actual fix.
- JohnnyFlash 14y agoI doubt it.. I brought this up on Skype forum and the thread was deleted 5 minutes later... EDIT: I queried the deletion with a moderater. Was informed it had been moved to the forums admin area to be discussed at their next meeting. He said he agreed it looks like a serious problem so they are aware.
- Natsu 14y agoWait until there are major media stories about it. Pass this to Wired or Ars or whoever and then they'll start promising a fix. Interesting to hear that they're deleting it, though.
- Freestyler_3 14y agoNow it is in hands of Microsoft but the problem was created early when skype was created, they never saw this as a big issue I guess. And honestly is it a big issue? I think it isn't worth sewing for, right now it's more of a face issue if anything. Im sure MS can handle this, if they want to/