Why proprietary code is bad for security
,----[ Quote ]
| Tho Skype is using an encrypted protocol, it’s still their own, non-disclosed
| code and property. So we don’t know what it contains.
|
| [...]
|
| It’s time to stop accepting that *we* are the bad guys, and to stop consuming
| things we just don’t understand (and cannot, because they are proprietary,
| closed-source systems).
|
| Say no to companies, or even governments who treat you like this. Start using
| open sourced products and protocols wherever you can. Even if *you* could
| still never understand the code used in these systems, there are still lots
| of people who can, and who will examine it. The magic word here is “peer
| review” - your friend or buddy or neighbour may be able to understand all
| that, and to help. No, not with Skype or Windows or any black box from Cisco.
`----
http://wolfgang.lonien.de/?p=394
Users: Outage No Reason to Abandon Skype
,----[ Quote ]
| One company, SunRocket, abruptly went out of business last month, leaving
| more than 200,000 customers scrambling for another service. Vonage Holdings
| Corp., an Internet telephony pioneer, is struggling financially and legally.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070824/internet_telephones.html?.v=2
Related:
Beware of Skype
,----[ Quote ]
| The Skype network has been a concern of government intelligence agencies
| since its inception because it provides a worldwide network of encrypted VoIP
| calls to potential “terrorists”. So how coincidental is it that 10 days after
| Bush signs into law a Bill giving the government authority to track foreign
| calls that go through U.S. networks that Skype, for the first time in its
| existence, undergoes a massive worldwide outage?
|
| [...]
|
| But there are FOSS alternatives to Skype people really should start
| considering now. One is the OpenWengo Project. Businesses, and even
| individuals, should also consider setting up their own Asterisk servers with
| encryption.
`----
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/2479
Skype staff play good cop bad cop with Linux users
,----[ Quote ]
| Thank goodness for another staff member, Ryan Hunt, who injected a
| little decorum into the thread, and more than a little honesty, by
| admitting “With 1.4 we're taking it back to basics so we can do it
| right - because that's what you deserve” and stating that “One of
| the features at the heart of 1.4 is the greatly improved audio
| quality and stability.
`----
http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1501.html
WengoPhone 2.1 gives Linux users a solid softphone
,----[ Quote ]
| The OpenWengo project recently released version 2.1 of its WengoPhone VoIP
| softphone. It's a big step forward for Linux users.
|
| [...]
|
| Ekiga has a brilliant configuration druid that can autodetect the
| network address translation settings on your router and configure
| itself appropriately. Which best fits your needs depends on the
| particulars of your usage scenario.
|
| On the other hand, WengoPhone 2.1 is hands-down a better option
| for cross-platform VoIP calls than proprietary applications like
| Skype and Gizmo Project. The Linux build is a big step up from
| the previous 2.0-RC releases. If you need to set up a VoIP call
| to someone on another operating system, give WengoPhone a try.
`----
http://community.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/06/05/1911209&from=rss
Websense: Skype worm on the loose
,----[ Quote ]
| Early reports indicate that the worm sends messages via Skype Chat,
| an instant-messenging tool. The messages ask recipients to download
| and run a file called sp.exe.
|
| Once the file is executed, it installs spyware that can steal
| passwords and other personal information. It also connects to
| a remote server to download additional code.
`----
http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6144756.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
http://tinyurl.com/y6ll2h
SIP vs. Skype: Making the 'Open' Choice
,----[ Final Thoughts... ]
| Today, I have presented a number of options to consider. If you want to
| use Skype, great! But I would definitely consider Gizmo, or even better,
| take the leap into coolness with Ekiga.
|
| Every Linux user is going to have his preferred application, but in thee
| nd, what good is it if the person you are trying to reach is not using
| something that is compatible to accept the call, right?
`----
http://www.madpenguin.org/cms/?m=show&id=7577
Jahshaka 2.0, Open Source DCC Software and Player, Released
,----[ Quote ]
| The Jahshaka Project (www.jahshaka.org), an open source project developing
| the first complete, open-source, real-time editing and visual effects
| application, today announces the release of the final version of Jahshaka
| 2.0 before moving to a new source code.
|
| [..]
|
| Jahshaka is hardware-accelerated using Open GL and operates on
| Microsoft Windows XP, LINUX and Mac OSX
`----
http://www.digitalpostproduction.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=71699
Skype and the GNU Affero GPL
,----[ Quote ]
| If the Skype problem lay not with the server but with client software, the
| value of open source software would be even more evident. Proprietary
| software creates a monoculture. The free software movement tends to create
| multiple tools to do the same thing, which can be confusing for people trying
| to choose the best audio player, PDF viewer, word processor, etc. But the
| diversity allows for a quick switch in case a crippling bug turns up in one
| project.
`----
http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/08/skype_and_the_g.html
New Beta version of Skype 1.4 for Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| Skype 1.4 Beta for Linux was updated recently.
`----
http://liquidat.wordpress.com/2007/08/02/new-beta-version-of-skype-14-for-linux/
New Trojan calls on Skype
,----[ Quote ]
| When users click on the link, they are redirected to a site that is
| hosting a file named file_01.exe. Users are then prompted to run the
| file and if they do, several other files are downloaded and run. The
| downloaded files are other versions of the Waresov/Stration malicious
| code.
`----
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php?id=38328193&rid=-50
First look: Skype for the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet
,----[ Quote ]
| Not only was there an updated version of the Linux-based Internet Tablet OS
| and significantly-improved hardware, but Nokia also promised us a
| fully-functional Skype client for the N800. Nearly six months after the
| tablet's launch, the Skype client has finally arrived.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070711-first-look-skype-for-the-nokia-n800-internet-tablet.html
Patch Tuesday update triggered Skype outage
,----[ Quote ]
| Skype has blamed last week's prolonged outage on the effects of Microsoft's
| Patch Tuesday.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/20/skype_outage_post-mortem/
Don’t use Skype in your business says Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| Pall also sought to reassure people about Microsoft's unified communications
| partnership with Nortel Networks, announced with fanfare last year, in which
| the two companies are doing joint development.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/technology/networking/voip/news/index.cfm?newsid=4769
Skype also affected by supposed "Firefox vulnerability"
,----[ Quote ]
| The ripples from the problematic way special URLs are handled, discovered
| last week, continue to spread.
`----
http://www.heise-security.co.uk/news/93565
Worm Targets Skype VoIP Application
,----[ Quote ]
| A new worm is targeting Skype's VoIP application for Windows,
| harvesting email addresses and directing users to malware sites.
`----
http://news.digitaltrends.com/article12700.html
Warezov worm fiends target Skype
,----[ Quote ]
| Instead of arriving via an email attachment, the latest variant of
| the worm spreads using a bogus Skype chat message asking users to
| click on a link, which points to a hacker-controlled website
| hosting malicious codes.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/28/warezov_skype_im_worm/
Linux dominating VoIP devices?
,----[ Quote ]
| Trolltech says its development framework and software stack for mobile
| devices was selected by Skype as the preferred platform for Skype-certified
| VoIP (voice-over-IP) phones. Additionally, the Qtopia framework/stack has
| been used in about 40 VoIP devices, making it the "dominant Linux
| development platform for VoIP/WiFi devices," according to Trolltech.
`----
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9974606142.html
Alternatives to Skype beginning Jan 1, 2007 : Ubuntu (6.10)
,----[ Quote ]
| My reasons are not the price. Yes, free is appealing and $14.95 /
| year is by no means a large expense to anyone. My main reason is
| that Skype does not use a standard protocol for its communication.
| There are many other SIP options available, most of which use an
| open communication protocol.
|
| What does that mean? This means that whether you use Gizmo, Ekiga
| or Wengo, Linphone, Kphone or gphone you are using a "free"
| open protocol. This does not apply to Skype
`----
http://ubuntu-tutorials.com/2006/12/26/alternatives-to-skype-beginning-jan-1-2007-ubuntu-610/
http://tinyurl.com/yg6fux
Closed Skype wants open networks
,----[ Quote ]
| For Skype is a closed system itself, using a proprietary signalling
| protocol, in contrast to the open SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
| family of industry standards. In addition, the Skype client is closed
| proprietary software - in contrast to the software libre WengoPhone
| project, and in contrast to much of the core infrastructure used by
| VoIP service providers, which is often based on Asterisk, which isa
| vailable under GPL.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/22/skype_fcc_open_up/
Skype for Linux 1.3x Official Release
,----[ Quote ]
| We have finally put up the latest and the greatest and public and 1.3.
`----
http://www.gadgetizer.com/2006/10/05/skype-for-linux-13x-official-release/
FBI ducks questions about its remotely installed spyware
,----[ Quote ]
| There are plenty of unanswered questions about the FBI spyware that, as we
| reported earlier this week, can be delivered over the Internet and implanted
| in a suspect's computer remotely.
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9747666-7.html
United States Government Online Watchdogs? Part of the war on terror?
,----[ Quote
| Is there anyone in the abandonia community with a US based connection who is
| experiencing this watchdog behavior? Are any foreign Vista users experiencing
| similar attacks from their own countries ministries and governing agencies?"
`----
http://www.whitedust.net/news/3984/United_States_Government_Online_Watchdogs?_Part_of_the_war_on_terror?.../
Back doors in Windows XP...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlNTEQ0RzM
Mother of all spyware...
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-about-the-WGA-20-Windows-Vista-Features-and-Services-Harvest-User-Data-for-Microsoft-58752.shtml
Police eats your CPU cycles and disk space...
,----[ Quote ]
| Vista—Microsoft’s latest operating system—may prove to be most
| appropriately named, especially for those seeking evidence of how a
| computer was used.
`----
http://www.abanet.org/journal/ereport/jy13tkjasn.html
Will Microsoft Put The Colonel in the Kernel?
,----[ Quote ]
| "The kernel meets The Colonel in a just-published Microsoft patent
| application for an Advertising Services Architecture, which delivers targeted
| advertising as 'part of the OS.'
`----
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/14/043200
Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems
,----[ Quote ]
| The adware framework would leave almost no data untouched in its quest to
| sell you stuff. It would inspect "user document files, user e-mail files,
| user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, computer status
| messages (e.g., a low memory status or low printer ink)," and more. How could
| we have been so blind as to not see the marketing value in computer status
| messages?
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems.html
German government admits it is already conducting online searches
,----[ Quote ]
| Piltz called on the German government to block funding for the
| programming of software used in online searches; she also said it
| was urgent that the government "discontinue these searches until
| the German Supreme Court has reached a ruling on the matter."
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/88895/from/rss09
"Trusted" Computing
,----[ Quote ]
| Do you imagine that any US Linux distributor would say no to the
| US government if they were requested (politely, of course) to add
| a back-door to the binary Linux images shipped as part of their
| products ? Who amongst us actually uses the source code so helpfully
| given to us on the extra CDs to compile our own version ? With
| Windows of course there are already so many back-doors known and
| unknown that the US government might not have even bothered to
| ask Microsoft, they may have just found their own, ready to
| exploit at will. What about Intel or AMD and the microcode on
| the processor itself ?
`----
http://tuxdeluxe.org/node/164
,----[ Quote ]
| In relation to the issue of sharing technical API and protocol
| information used throughout Microsoft products, which the
| states were seeking, Allchin alleged that releasing this
| information would increase the security risk to consumers.
|
| "It is no exaggeration to say that the national security is
| also implicated by the efforts of hackers to break into
| computing networks. Computers, including many running Windows
| operating systems, are used throughout the United States
| Department of Defense and by the armed forces of the United
| States in Afghanistan and elsewhere."
`----
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Allchin
How NSA access was built into Windows
,----[ Quote ]
| A careless mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that
| special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency
| have been secretly built into Windows.
|
| [...]
|
| The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two years
| ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren. But it was only a
| few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the access
| system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.
`----
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/5/5263/1.html
NSA Builds Security Access Into Windows
,----[ Quote ]
| A careless mistake by Microsoft programmers has shown that special access
| codes for use by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) have been secretly
| built into all versions of the Windows operating system.
`----
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990903S0014
|
|
