Skype To Take Action Against Reverse-Engineering

Phoronix: Skype To Take Action Against Reverse-Engineering

Yesterday we reported on a freelance researcher reverse-engineering the Skype protocol and beginning to write open-source code that would work with this popular VoIP network. A representative of Skype has now contacted Phoronix to inform us they will be taking "all necessary steps" to stop this effort...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=OTUyNg

If they did care about user experience then the interface would look pretty different! All they care about is prevent independent developers from writing a stable Skype client with a decent interface!

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This unauthorized use of our application for malicious activities like spamming/phishing infringes on Skype's intellectual property.

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:confused:
It's already possible to use the official client to send out spam...

There's also a new Skype client for Linux been released yesterday, but with only two fixes, if anyone cares.

uuhhh.. what a surprise....!
MS taking over and ppl start being greedy...
i should count the days until the phone fees on skype rise...

"Best experience" would be to open source it you bloody ......! Besides there has been spam on skype for ages now!

The djinn is out of the bottle. Information about protocol has already been distributed over the internet and torrents. How can they hide it now?

both the developer and the VP in this situation is wrong and an idiot.

the person who reverse engineered skype was taking a pretty big risk of getting caught. telling people he's made progress is even worse of an idea, especially if he didn't release source code. seriously, what was he thinking? did he honestly think that the skype people were just going to simply not do anything about this?

as for skype, contacting michael is not going to do ANYTHING about this problem - he (probably) doesn't personally know the developer and he isn't developing it himself. all it does is make them look like a bunch of douchebags when michael is just a reporter. as much as i like hearing that they're putting a lot of effort into the experience, michael is right in the fact that maybe if the skype linux client were better, people wouldn't feel a need to hack it. however...

i don't think the purpose of the reverse engineering was intended solely to make up for the lack of features that the windows version has. the linux client isn't nearly as updated but imo, it still has all the important features.

I wish people would wake up. This skype crap needs to die already. There are FAR superior OPEN alternatives to this piece of MS TRASH.

As for their legal threats... well they should just shove it up their a$$es. There is NOTHING illegal about reverse engineering, and they have NO RIGHT to interfere with it.

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Originally Posted by Skype PR

This unauthorized use of our application

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Correct

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Originally Posted by Skype PR

for malicious activities

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it's no more malicious than the actual skype client

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Originally Posted by Skype PR

like spamming/phishing infringes on Skype's intellectual property.

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IP has nothing to do with spamming or phishing, but I'm sure jargon-dumping works well on management when you're working toward a word count.

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Originally Posted by Skype PR

We are taking all necessary steps to prevent/defeat nefarious attempts to subvert Skype's experience.

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Are you speaking on behalf of Skype or the people reverse engineering Skype, because frankly the latter one makes more sense

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Originally Posted by Skype PR

Skype takes its users' safety and security seriously

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CSB

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Originally Posted by Skype PR

and we work tirelessly to ensure each individual has the best possible experience.

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If the Skype Linux client really is the culmination of you're engineers working tirelessly to ensure that each individual has the best possible experience, then give up.

What a bunch of nonsense; do they really expect the typical inhabitants of a site like this to take that as a valid response? Quit acting like the skype client is some pinnacle of software engineering and you're just trying to be some benevolent defenders of it's integrity. Just be honest.

You got lazy from being the de facto; someone figured out how the protocols work; and now you're afraid a better open client will play embrace, extend, extinguish with your network.

I just received another email from them... Thanking me for posting this article and their response... I guess they don't realize Phoronix supports Linux and open-source...