Don't want to use a Cell/Landline??? Use Skype FREE to call any phone.

[Rosco T.]

http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html

SKYPE announces that (at least) till the end of '06

PC to Landline calls are FREE in the US/Canada

[Rosco T.]

1. Hard to tap Skype (at least for now).

[Mr Rabble]

2. SKYPE is great, but this wont stop the snooping.

Using SKYPE, if you call another computer, internet DNS' will have records of your communication.

If you call a landline, not only will your ISP and all DNS' have this in their logs, but the phone company will now have that on their servers as well.

On the other hand SKYPe is great, and if your calls are going to be tracked anyway, might as well be free.

[wtmusic]

6. It will stop them listening to what you have to say, however nt

[Mr Rabble]

8. No it wont.

Its just as easy for them to listen in on 'packets' with SKYPE as with land or cell.

[wtmusic]

9. Yes, it will

All SKYPE communications are encoded with 256-bit encryption. So unless they have a trillion years or so for a brute force attack on your private key, you're safe.

[Touchdown]

10. They don't have to.

You call your Mom who has Bell South, then your call is vulnerable. They don't need to know where your phone is. As long as one end is tappable, it's tapped.

[wtmusic]

12. True, both ends must be VOIP

Gotta get Mom on SKYPE too

[Mr Rabble]

11. You do know that NSA can get through that easily, right?

all commercially available encryption, whatever it may be, including PKI has already been "broken" by the US government.

Even if we cede the SKYPE to SKYPE calls as safe, what happens with an out of network call? Either way, they can still see the traffic on routers and DNS', so the content of the calls might be safe, but not the context.

[wtmusic]

13. Oh stop

All commercially-available encryption has NOT been "broken" by the US government.

Simple math. It's RSA, just like your credit card transactions. Give them a number with two prime factors that has 77 digits -- they have to find the factors. It's not a needle in a haystack, but a needle in a hay field.

Much more dangerous (and likely) is a backdoor or a source at SKYPE turning over private keys. I'll accept that risk.

[Mr Rabble]

15. Thats what I'm saying. Verisign et al have acquiesced.

They don't have to actually hack the protocol. They are given carte blanche to look.

[MADem]

14. Time to talk like mobsters, then

"So, didja give our friend with the big nose the gift?"

"Yeah, I gave it to him...it was a big hit!"


"Bwahahahahahaha!!"

If this crap keeps up, EVERYONE will be a Soprano!!!!!!

[savemefromdumbya]

3. don't worry they can get into that

only if they want to though

[Karenca]

4. it says to click the green button to check your

computer's sound, but the button is not functioning.

[Karenca]

7. Never mind..

it says it's not working with Mac

[Kutjara]

18. Skype on the Mac

Unlike the PC version of Skype, the Mac version doesn't have the convenient button in sound settings that lets you call the automated sound test. Instead, you can dial echo123 manually, and that will connect you to the same test.

[Nomad559]

5. We posted at the same time

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x5155321

:)

[RebelOne]

16. The only problem is that I would have to sit at my computer

to make any phone calls.

[ronnykmarshall]

17. That's kinda cool.

I'll give it a try.