Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Skype Goes After Reverse-Engineering

Posted by Soulskill on from the trade-secret-my-son dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It appears Microsoft's Skype Division is cracking down on reverse-engineering of the Skype client. Skype recently rolled out a new set of APIs for integration into other desktop applications, but they have issued multiple DMCA takedown notices to a researcher publishing open-source code to send Skype messages."

7 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Interoperability by Bert64 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Doesn't the DMCA have exceptions for interoperability purposes? Surely these would come into play for a communications tool...

    --
    http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    1. Re:Interoperability by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's why you use philosophical groups like the EFF, with sane business practices. Like, even if you are fighting for your beliefs, a civil rights victory is not enough: make those bastards pay the ENTIRE cost of your legal fees. The EFF operates on a philosophical basis where they would like to take on cases such as this, but in order to survive they must be selective; however, if they do take on a case, it is well and proper that they not only set society straight on the issue, but also demand compensation for their time and resources from those who are abusive and guilty of using the legal system as a high entry barrier battleground that they can gain an automatic victory in by virtue of being bigger, rather than correct.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
  2. RIP Skype by denis-The-menace · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To all those people asking "Why do you hate MS so much?"
    This is why.

    When MS bought Skype I told people that Skype would die soon *because* MS bought it. Didn't know how or when but soon.
    Now, MS will kill all the various clients that made Skype ubiquitous and useful. The new Skype will not run on as many platforms and (in true MS EEE fashion) will not work with previous versions either

    Like Metalica, and Hurt Locker, Skype will now be shunned.
    A new *open* protocol will take over.

    --
    Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
    1. Re:RIP Skype by ca111a · · Score: 5, Informative

      Skype was like this long before Microsoft. Fring supported video calls to Skype clients for several months, then Skype blocked it: http://blog.fring.com/en/?p=2322

  3. Hiding Something by Zaphod+The+42nd · · Score: 5, Interesting

    An engineer buddy of mine was doing reverse-engineering work on the Skype protocol for a job he had a few years back, he would come to me with shock and tell me about how dumb and insecure the Skype clients are and how trivially easy it is to get any Skype client to work as an invisible proxy for you without that person's knowledge by just using the skype protocol.

    If they're making such a huge deal about it, you have to wonder why. They've got some problems and they'd rather have security through obscurity. *sigh*

    Does the DMCA really prevent cleanroom / chinese wall reverse-engineering? Damnit politicians just have no clue...

    --
    GCS/MU/P d- s:- a-- C++++$ UL++ P+ L++ E+ W++ N o K- w--- O M+ V- PS+++ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5- X R++ tv+ b++ DI++ D++ G+ e++ h-
  4. Re:Good by gparent · · Score: 4, Insightful

    SIP, a brilliant protocol that likes to negotiate a random port between 10000 and 20000 to open your RTP stream. Why not IAX2, which is a hundred times better and not gay as fuck like SIP to handle.

  5. Re:Know what would be hillarious? by Solandri · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Won't happen. SIP and IAX are out there, all free and decentralized, but all the proprietary junk continues to be adopted by the technologically-challenged masses.

    This is why proprietary junk like Skype continues to flourish. You blame the users for the problem. The real reason is that the developers who advocate open protocols like SIP or IAX shun the technologically-challenged masses. They revel in complexity and flexibility, while most users just want something simple that works, no fuss, no muss. When users come to them with problems or questions, they're frequently met with scorn, ridicule, and non-answers like "it's open source, fix the bug yourself." Some developers even see themselves as gods, with the users as minions whose purpose is to worship them and be eternally grateful for their code.

    In a successful product, the relationship works the other way around. The users needs and wants are paramount, and the developers work to fulfill them. Put out a SIP or IAX-based product which is free, and as simple and friendly to use as Skype. Then you'll start to whittle down its market share. You can keep all the complexity and flexibility that you like, but it has to be hidden behind a simple veneer whose defaults just work for the typical neophyte user. The problem isn't that technologically-challenged users adopt proprietary junk; the problem is that OSS developers write software which is difficult for technologically-challenged users to use.