Typing 'http://:' Into a Skype Message Trashes the Installation Beyond Repair

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Typing 'http://:' Into a Skype Message Trashes the Installation Beyond Repair

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday June 3, 2015 @01:50AM from the bug-of-the-year dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A thread at the Skype community forums has brought to light a critical bug in Microsoft's Skype clients for Windows, iOS and Android: typing the incorrect URL initiator http://: into a text message on Skype will crash the client so badly that it can only be repaired by installing an older version and awaiting a fix from Microsoft. The bug does not affect OS X or the 'Metro'-style Windows clients — which means, effectively, that Mac users could kill the Skype installations on other platforms just by sending an eight-character message.

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Oh well by 3.5+stripes · 2015-06-03 01:55 · Score: 4, Interesting

It's hardly the only thing that causes Skype to crash, and work intermittently at best, and to be fair, it actually started before Microsoft bought them.

--

He tried to kill me with a forklift!
1. Re:Oh well by gstoddart · 2015-06-03 02:02 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Crashing is one thing.
  Parsing input data sufficiently badly as to require an uninstall? That's pretty epic.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
2. Re:Oh well by penguinoid · 2015-06-03 02:20 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Watch out, everybody! There's a new Windows virus going about. See here for more information http://:
  
  --
  Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
3. Re:Oh well by ArcadeMan · 2015-06-03 02:24 · Score: 0
  
  Since I switched to a Mac I keep on missing all of the fun stuff.
  Damn you, OS X.
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
4. Re:Oh well by Njorthbiatr · 2015-06-03 02:29 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  This. So much this.
  I usually defend MS against people who I believe unfairly attack them, but you've really struck a nerve.
  I don't know what team is responsible for Skype, but they have done such a mind boggling horrible job I'm half convinced they're intentionally trying to kill it, cut it into small pieces, then burn the remains before firing the ashes into the nearest black hole.
  Every single version they push out has been worse than the last, and the last good version was 6.18. I loathe the day when they finally kill this version to force people into their newer, more broken, buggy, and less featured version. And to boot it wasn't enough that they started forcing people to update by patching it through Windows Update. I started my computer one day to find Skype completely uninstalled -- all because of Windows Update (which I now review for all updates after this tragic experience). Somehow it managed to uninstall itself and then couldn't reinstall itself because I replaced the update file with a dummy.
  They keep removing features but *promise* to put them back in... And even years later the features still haven't back in added. But hey that's okay because now Skype can use even larger emoticons. Well fucking thanks for that useless fucking feature. That's all Skype gets nowadays, useless improvements and worse performance. The calls I get with 6.18 are perfect but with any version 7 I may as well just write letters and send them through the mail.
  Oh but wait they changed the UI to be even worse! Now you have chat bubbles for some stupid fucking reason.
  Microsoft we deserve an explanation for this total fucking incompetence. Maybe you should hire actual software developers instead of monkey interns who think smashing their face into a keyboard is an acceptable way to write software.
5. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:33 · Score: 1
  
  You must have missed the IMF / Rootkit issue.. Or ignored it.
6. Re:Oh well by bill_mcgonigle · 2015-06-03 02:34 · Score: 2
  
  Parsing input data sufficiently badly as to require an uninstall? That's pretty epic.
  What do you want from the NSA contractor sent in to write the install code? Did he get a government job because he could make it in industry?
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
7. Re:Oh well by mordejai · 2015-06-03 02:38 · Score: 1
  
  You bastard! I was reading Slashdot from Skype!
  Now I have to throw away my computer and buy a new one.
8. Re:Oh well by CODiNE · 2015-06-03 02:41 · Score: 1
  
  I think you mean
  skype://http://:bye.html
  
  --
  Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
9. Re:Oh well by ArcadeMan · 2015-06-03 02:44 · Score: 2
  
  I missed it, what was that about?
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
10. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  The explanation is, they're not paid to develop a good videochat software. They're paid for the backdoors.
11. Re:Oh well by gestalt_n_pepper · 2015-06-03 02:53 · Score: 2
  
  No, I'm pretty sure it's sheer stupidity. I just tried to turn on .net 3.5 framework, which many different software packages require. At the moment, it's almost impossible to do. Microsoft's own security packages have made .net 3.5 almost impossible to install and use.
  For the record, you *can* do it, if you have original media and can run an obscure set of commands through an elevated cmd prompt. I only burned up 2 or 3 hours of otherwise productive time working around yet another "security" issue.
  Security's motto: Our job's not done until you can't do yours.
  
  --
  Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
12. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:01 · Score: 0
  
  This. So much this.
  I usually defend MS against people who I believe unfairly attack them, but you've really struck a nerve.
  I don't know what team is responsible for Skype, but they have done such a mind boggling horrible job I'm half convinced they're intentionally trying to kill it, cut it into small pieces, then burn the remains before firing the ashes into the nearest black hole.
  Every single version they push out has been worse than the last, and the last good version was 6.18. I loathe the day when they finally kill this version to force people into their newer, more broken, buggy, and less featured version. And to boot it wasn't enough that they started forcing people to update by patching it through Windows Update. I started my computer one day to find Skype completely uninstalled -- all because of Windows Update (which I now review for all updates after this tragic experience). Somehow it managed to uninstall itself and then couldn't reinstall itself because I replaced the update file with a dummy.
  They keep removing features but *promise* to put them back in... And even years later the features still haven't back in added. But hey that's okay because now Skype can use even larger emoticons. Well fucking thanks for that useless fucking feature. That's all Skype gets nowadays, useless improvements and worse performance. The calls I get with 6.18 are perfect but with any version 7 I may as well just write letters and send them through the mail.
  Oh but wait they changed the UI to be even worse! Now you have chat bubbles for some stupid fucking reason.
  Microsoft we deserve an explanation for this total fucking incompetence. Maybe you should hire actual software developers instead of monkey interns who think smashing their face into a keyboard is an acceptable way to write software.
  Sounds like iTunes!
13. Re:Oh well by TheDarkMaster · 2015-06-03 03:01 · Score: 2
  
  The explanation is that the senior developers are retiring and being replaced by brats who think writing a crappy web page is the same thing as writing a desktop application.
  
  --
  Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
14. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:03 · Score: 0
  
  I just verified with one of the network guys in my office that the issue does not affect Skype for Business (formerly known as Lync).
15. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:30 · Score: 0
  
  Really?
  Try typing the following into various apps, and see what happens.
  File:///
  Or perhaps some Arabic characters.
  Silly accolyte believing his god will protect him.
16. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:30 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  This. Skype was once independent and peer-to-peer, making it hard to wiretap. Then Microsoft, presumably at the behest of the NSA, bought it and centralized the networking structure.
17. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:36 · Score: 0
  
  The explanation is that the senior developers are retiring and being replaced by brats who think writing a crappy web page is the same thing as writing a desktop application.
  
  From TFA: "This will work on Windows, where you can easily uninstall version 7.x and install version 6.x. On Android and iOS, however, the platformsâ(TM) respective app stores ensure that you can only install the latest version."
  And that's why if it's mission-critical on a desktop, you can usually keep the old installer file around. On a mobile device with a walled-garden app ecosystem, the only choice is to never upgrade.
  I get what the developer gets out of "evergreen" and "rolling release" software - they don't have to support the version that actually works. I grok what the UXtards and the marketroids get out of it -- you get to rape everyone's eyeballs with your latest design and the marketroids can claim it's more elegant. What I don't get is what's in it for the user.
18. Re:Oh well by Ravaldy · 2015-06-03 03:40 · Score: 1
  
  Actually it makes perfect sense. When the app reloads it tries to parse it again to display the last message.
19. Re:Oh well by AmiMoJo · 2015-06-03 03:51 · Score: 2
  
  It's not as epic as you might think. Skype, like many apps, keeps a message history/log. When it opens it parses that history. Since the bug is in the parser, it crashes when starting up. The only solution is to either remove the log files or go back to an earlier version that doesn't have the buggy parser code.
  It's a not uncommon fault with apps that load data at start-up, which is most of them. For example, I have some industrial logging software made by Picolog that crashes on start-up when you have certain settings, and the only fix is to delete the settings files. I remember games where if you had a corrupt save somewhere it would crash on start-up as it tried to parse available games and display the list.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
20. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:01 · Score: 0
  
  I have a bunch of $50,000 devices that crash on startup if there is a Tab character in the INI file.
21. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  Security motto: "We are not happy, until you are not happy."
22. Re:Oh well by Kaenneth · 2015-06-03 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  " because I replaced the update file with a dummy" ... why?
23. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  I missed it, what was that about?
  it was all about being too dumb to run Linux. or better yet, OpenBSD.
24. Re:Oh well by Gr8Apes · 2015-06-03 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  And displays an incredibly bad error condition handling in the codebase. There's a reason I only used Skype when forced to. Although now I might enjoy it - all MS users send me a message at MSisDaBomb!
  
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
25. Re:Oh well by nospam007 · 2015-06-03 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  "There's a reason I only used Skype when forced to. "
  Forced? You mean when you are to cheap to pay for a phone call.
26. Re: Oh well by spongman · 2015-06-03 04:34 · Score: 1
  
  They already got paid. They're just waiting for their options to vest.
27. Re:Oh well by Gr8Apes · 2015-06-03 04:35 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, there's situations when a group you don't have control of decides to use something as terrible as Skype for their group conversations. If that is work related, you have little choice in the matter.
  
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
28. Re: Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:37 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  They took the indentation war too seriously.
29. Re:Oh well by Grishnakh · 2015-06-03 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  There's an inverse relationship between the cost of software (including software included with hardware, like industrial devices), and the quality of that software.
  "Enterprise" software is widely regarded as crap, but the software on expensive industrial machines is probably even worse.
30. Re:Oh well by Ravaldy · 2015-06-03 04:46 · Score: 1
  
  Skype is a perfectly good product. You can bash it all you want but fact is that many users prefer it over the alternatives which is why it's so popular.
31. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 05:13 · Score: 1
  
  I read through this agreeing with so much of it. I also don't update when told to, so I went to check on my current version of Skype.
  6.16
32. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 05:35 · Score: 0
  
  The incompetence is intentional. Microsoft quite obviously bought Skype to squash it. They have their own "Lync" application that they are continuing to push. The Skype functionality they want will be extracted into some Frankenstein product merging Lync with Skype with limited functionality unless you pay pay pay and probably make it part of Office 365 so you have to pay annually. I shed my tears over it the day the acquisition was announced, kept using skype till the first Microsoft version came out and then quickly deprecated it after that when it became clear that Microsoft wasn't wasting any time scuttling it (they are only maintaining it now while they figure out how to ensnare the existing user base). At this point its been completely abandoned by me. My work has switched to Lync (they drink the full jar of MSFT cool-aid) and use facetime or Google+ for the kids to video conference with grammy and grampa, and more traditional phone conference options for audio conferencing. Other then that, I have mostly gone back to *gasp* email or SMS for quick text communication. Lync will never be what Skype was due to the painful interface, lack of non-paid features, and marriage to other products that many people don't want or need. Skype was cool while it lasted, but it's effectively gone now, time to move on.
33. Re:Oh well by hitmark · 2015-06-03 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds about right. More and more long running software is facing a changing of the guards, and the new ones approach software development as if it is website devops (you know the bottom has been reached when a ever changing site is being talked about as an "app").
  I'm tempted to blame Google and Facebook for this, especially the likes of Zuckerberg's "move fast and break things" slogan.
  
  --
  comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
34. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 05:49 · Score: 0
  
  Oh, you.
  http://it.slashdot.org/story/15/06/01/061229/macs-vulnerable-to-userland-injected-efi-rootkits
  http://it.slashdot.org/story/15/05/27/1215240/a-text-message-can-crash-an-iphone-and-force-it-to-reboot
35. Re:Oh well by coinreturn · 2015-06-03 06:18 · Score: 2
  
  You must have missed the IMF / Rootkit issue.. Or ignored it.
  Was that the Impossible Mission Force or the International Monetary Fund?
36. Re:Oh well by Njorthbiatr · 2015-06-03 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  Skype's update service became so obnoxious that the more savvy users, to prevent their older client from upgrading without their permission, replaced the updater with a dummy file. That is, an empty file that doesn't do anything.
37. Re:Oh well by arglebargle_xiv · 2015-06-03 06:36 · Score: 1
  
  I'll say. Skype fairly consistently blue-screens my laptops after about an hour of voice chat with it, first the whole system freezes, then after about half a minute it bluescreens, and that's on two different laptops. That's pretty impressive amount of fail for a fscking Internet phone app.
38. Re: Oh well by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:16 · Score: 1
  
  Almost twice as many people died in that war than died in the cola wars - combined! Russia is still refusing to acknowledge their involvement. Oh, the humanity!
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
39. Re:Oh well by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:22 · Score: 2
  
  With Android, a simple checkbox enables you to install applications from a source other than Google's store. Then search for the version you want, uninstall the version you do not want, and install the version you do want. This is not complex.
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
40. Re:Oh well by Rakarra · 2015-06-03 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  Forced? You mean when you are to cheap to pay for a phone call.
  For unknown reasons, Skype seems to be the instant-messenger of choice these days. I use it all the time to talk to friends; never made a voice call with it.
41. Re: Oh well by Rakarra · 2015-06-03 07:27 · Score: 1
  
  Almost twice as many people died in that war than died in the cola wars
  And Tab was involved with both!
  . ..
  Man, Tab tasted terrible.
42. Re:Oh well by Gr8Apes · 2015-06-03 07:27 · Score: 1
  Yep, skype is perfectly good at:
  
  * Keeping records of everyone you talk to
  
  * Keeping records of all your conversations
  
  * Playing at security while exposing everything you do (your encryption is only between you and the server)
  
  * Being a flaky piece of crap that has lock up issues, and requires far too invasive an install when all it is is a network accessing application.
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
43. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 07:30 · Score: 0
  
  I'm glad I never updated to any version brought out by Microsoft.
  Wait, no, at least 1, they fixed a horrible instant BSOD bug with the video frame that remained unfixed since they added that new video UI in Skype 5.
  Skype was always generally shit and buggy though.
  I manually had to remove it once because it corrupted its own install. (likewise with Google Chrome. Stupid shit software)
  Thanks to both of those things, I now no longer install anything outside of sandboxes.
  In fact, we all moved to Mumble now. Friend setup one on his server.
  Never going back.
44. Re:Oh well by orionbelt · 2015-06-03 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  AFAIK Skype is the only VoIP software that offers unlimited subscription rates to landline phones. One can make unlimited calls to landlines in many countries for around €5/month with an annual subscription.
  When the per-minute rate of most other VoIP providers is a couple of cents/minute, it means that it takes on average less than 10 minutes per day to exceed Skype's unlimited offer, and it goes linearly in time from there.
  For someone who averages 30 min per day or more, the savings are quite substantial.
  Now that Skype is owned by Microsoft, i expect it to gradually become more problematic on Linux... I would therefore be extremely happy to hear of another option to make unlimited landline calls to a country for around €5/month.
45. Re:Oh well by mattventura · 2015-06-03 08:43 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget exposing your IP to other users, and not just those you're trying to communicate with.
46. Re: Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 09:12 · Score: 0
  
  In theory, yes. And yet good lucking tracking down a legitimate copy of the APK. I've been lookimg for the previous release of Drive for some time, but everything is fake or repackaged.
47. Re: Oh well by KGIII · 2015-06-03 09:22 · Score: 1
  
  I can not vouch for it being there but I have had good luck at Aptoid.
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
48. Re: Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 10:54 · Score: 0
  
  Right, but you can say that about any instant messenger service. And they don't crash from something somebody could have accidentally typed.
49. Re:Oh well by Blaskowicz · 2015-06-03 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  It's maybe half decent to only ever use it for phone calls. Don't have any friend on it, don't ever use chat or video, don't even call Skype users, only phones.
50. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 11:14 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah! You're right, it does crash it. Cool. Never liked the stoopid program anyway.
51. Re:Oh well by roman_mir · 2015-06-03 11:17 · Score: 1
  
  Ha, you should see what happens in Egypt when you type google into google!
  
  --
  You can't handle the truth.
52. Re:Oh well by Ben+Hutchings · 2015-06-03 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  That's not Skype's fault, that's a bug in a driver (or other kernel component).
53. Re:Oh well by Kyogreex · 2015-06-03 12:07 · Score: 1
  
  On a mobile device with a walled-garden app ecosystem, the only choice is to never upgrade.
  And then they have done forced upgrades in the past, making it so that you can't use the app unless you update, and there are other apps that do the same thing. I really wish Apple and Google would put a stop to it.
54. Re:Oh well by recoiledsnake · 2015-06-03 12:43 · Score: 1
  
  iOS had it too http://arstechnica.com/securit...
  
  --
  This space for rent.
55. Re:Oh well by recoiledsnake · 2015-06-03 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  iOS had it too http://arstechnica.com/securit...
  
  --
  This space for rent.
56. Re:Oh well by recoiledsnake · 2015-06-03 12:47 · Score: 1
  
  iOS had it too http://arstechnica.com/securit...
  
  --
  This space for rent.
57. Re: Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 14:33 · Score: 0
  
  if your android has been rooted, you can backup apk files using Rom Toolbox or Titanium Backup. If not rooted adb pull to copy.
58. Re:Oh well by JThundley · 2015-06-03 15:30 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds to me like Windows Update did you a favor. I feel the same way as you about Skype, therefor I don't install it. Why do you keep torturing yourself like this? You know there's other better software that does the same thing, right?
59. Re:Oh well by arglebargle_xiv · 2015-06-03 19:27 · Score: 1
  
  Across two totally different (Lenovo and Toshiba) laptops, and that's only ever triggered by Skype and nothing else? Sounds a bit unlikely...
60. Re:Oh well by Ben+Hutchings · 2015-06-03 23:22 · Score: 1
  
  There may be a bug in Skype but if an application can crash the whole system that's a kernel bug by definition.
61. Re:Oh well by Njorthbiatr · 2015-06-04 03:14 · Score: 1
  
  Like what? Because I'm fond of the old UI.
  I've looked for other things but haven't found anything.
62. Re:Oh well by Plumpaquatsch · 2015-06-04 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  iOS had it too http://arstechnica.com/securit...
  No matter how many times you repost that - not even remotely the same fucking thing. And that's ignoring the false claim of crashing the phone.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
63. Re:Oh well by angel'o'sphere · 2015-06-04 09:24 · Score: 1
  
  What is the problem with "exposing" your IP? The windows ping of death bug does not exist anymore since decades.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
64. Re:Oh well by JThundley · 2015-06-04 11:04 · Score: 1
  
  I don't do video and voice chat a whole lot, so I mainly have experience with Google chat and Steam which both work great and are easy to use. I know there's other stuff out there though.
65. Re:Oh well by recoiledsnake · 2015-06-04 11:16 · Score: 1
  
  Why is it not the same thing? Source for false claim?
  
  --
  This space for rent.
66. Re:Oh well by Ravaldy · 2015-06-04 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  All I was saying is the public likes the product. Proof is it's popularity and how widely available it is. I could probably name hundreds of products that have been loved by /. users that weren't perfect under the hood. I'd be more concerned if the product didn't improve but based on what I've seen it has some promise.
67. Re:Oh well by Plumpaquatsch · 2015-06-04 20:12 · Score: 1
  
  Are you fucking serious? For one, you don't have to reinstall the app.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
68. Re:Oh well by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-06 11:11 · Score: 0
  
  Inflationary paper fiat theft money?
Just like the iPhone bug... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 01:55 · Score: 0

Seems like turnabout is fair play!
1. Re: Just like the iPhone bug... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:33 · Score: 0
  
  We apparently don't talk about the iPhone bug here on Slashdot.
Wow ... by gstoddart · 2015-06-03 01:56 · Score: 5, Insightful

Good job guys!!
I'm not even sure I've heard of an error condition which required a full uninstall.
I predict many people will be sending that string today. I also predict someone will attempt to charge the people sending it with criminal hacking.
Keep up the good work.

--
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
1. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:06 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I'm not even sure I've heard of an error condition which required a full uninstall.
  I can guess why and I doubt an uninstall would help.
  All you really need to know is that Skype saves conversations and redisplays them when it starts. So you send someone http://:, that triggers the bug, and on restart, it reloads the conversation and crashes again.
  If that's the case, a reinstall won't help, because Skype will just re-download the missed messages and reencounter the bad URL and reenter the crash loop.
  (Presumably the bug is that they see the second ":", decide it's the start of a port, and leave the hostname uninitialized, causing a crash.)
2. Re:Wow ... by _anomaly_ · 2015-06-03 02:16 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Yeah, pretty epic bug.
  We use Skype for communicating with coworkers (we are a very small company, and all telecommute, so to speak), when the conversation doesn't warrant a phone call (on our IP phones).
  But I'm still very tempted to try it. It's like a big red button that says DO NOT PUSH.
  
  --
  "I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
3. Re:Wow ... by The+MAZZTer · 2015-06-03 02:17 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Full uninstall does not fix it. The message crashes Skype just by being in your chat history. Your chat history is stored in the cloud so you can't delete it!
  The only person who can delete it is the sender (assuming they didn't crash themselves). So if it was malicious you're screwed until MS fixes the bug and pushes out an update for the client over Windows Update (at least the good news is they can do this, now).
4. Re:Wow ... by Maritz · 2015-06-03 02:18 · Score: 1
  
  Presumably if you delete the file that the recorded conversation is stored in you stop the crashes.
  
  --
  I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
5. Re:Wow ... by AlanS2002 · 2015-06-03 02:21 · Score: 1
  
  I can confirm that it does crash skype. Gotta say, I'm pretty impressed with the stupidity involved in allowing that bug to survive.
  
  --
  Not all conservatives are stupid,
  but it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
  - Hume
6. Re:Wow ... by JaredOfEuropa · 2015-06-03 02:25 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Isn't the history stored on their server? In that case you're SOL.
  
  --
  If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
7. Re:Wow ... by gstoddart · 2015-06-03 02:26 · Score: 1
  
  LOL ... it gets better and better.
  Of the zillions of places where Microsoft parses URLs, across all their platforms and products, you can completely hose the install of something with 8 characters.
  One wonders if there are any other places which will keel over and die by simply putting that in.
  The mind reels with incredulity and glee.
  Shadenfreude, it's not just for breakfast any more!!
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
8. Re:Wow ... by _xeno_ · 2015-06-03 02:27 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Yep.
  First thing a new installation of Skype does is download every single message you've received for the past several months, I think.
  I haven't tried deleting a history file (they're actually SQLite databases) but I think the same thing happens in that case: Skype sees that it isn't up to date on messages and redownloads them.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
9. Re:Wow ... by ArcadeMan · 2015-06-03 02:28 · Score: 1
  
  http://screenrant.com/wp-conte...
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
10. Re:Wow ... by msauve · 2015-06-03 02:30 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  " It's like a big red button that says DO NOT PUSH."
  
  You know that big button near the door in the data center, the one labeled "Halon?" That's French for "exit," so you push that to unlock the door and get out.
  
  --
  "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
11. Re:Wow ... by Maritz · 2015-06-03 02:42 · Score: 1
  
  Ah. So deleting the local files won't help. lol
  
  --
  I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
12. Re:Wow ... by The+Grim+Reefer · 2015-06-03 02:48 · Score: 2
  
  Can someone confirm this? Every time I've changed computers, the conversation log starts over for me. I always assumed it was kept on my local system.
13. Re: Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  The reason you have to "uninstall and install an older version" is because of the problem being ever present in the current version. It doesn't matter if you delete the logs you cannot ever use it again on this version, thus why the uninstall and install the older version is necessary.
  OP doesn't actually state that it is only one version back, or if it is many versions back, and thus the confusion everyone has.
14. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:14 · Score: 0
  
  I couldn't help it, I pushed the button. I doesn't work which is kindof sad. I was looking forward to having fun with it, maybe I would get the day off while they took my laptop. Tried latest desktop personal edition as well as Skype for business desktop app on win 8.1. Wasn't this an xp sp2 error?
  I WANT MY BIG RED BUTTON!!!!
15. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:40 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe it never replies to the server that it got the message, so the server stores it for next time.
16. Re:Wow ... by HighOrbit · 2015-06-03 03:41 · Score: 1
  
  In that case, can't they just globally fix it server side, by 1) filtering it out of the stored history, and 2) filtering input to prevent it in-bound?
17. Re:Wow ... by MobyDisk · 2015-06-03 03:43 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I don't believe you. You are just trying to lull me into a sense of security to make me do it.
18. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:43 · Score: 0
  
  > First thing a new installation of Skype does is download every single message you've received for the past several months, I think.
  I hated that, so I found that if you go to the settings, you can dial down the # of saved messages to something sane. By default, it was keeping months worth of crap and slowing my system down until it was unusable.
  I set the history to something relatively short (days, maybe a week), then cleared all history. This took almost forever, but Skype was usable again afterwards.
19. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:46 · Score: 0
  
  Yep.
  In which case I think the key part is in the 'install an older version' requirement. They recently started to show previews of any url you sent/received. I bet it's that code that crashes the client on a bad url, so the solution is to return to a version before that feature.
20. Re:Wow ... by AmiMoJo · 2015-06-03 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, same as the bug that hit Apple last month where certain characters in Wifi SSIDs would cause your phone to enter an unrecoverable boot loop until you went out of range. The phone crashes, reboots, sees the same network, crashes, reboots, sees the same network...
  It's a pretty common problem with software that saves any kind of settings or data that is reloaded when it starts up.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
21. Re:Wow ... by IcyWolfy · 2015-06-03 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  I have never had logs persist between installs, or different devices. Is that a new thing?
22. Re:Wow ... by IcyWolfy · 2015-06-03 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  Correction, new version does store and retrieve logs. That's kinda distressing.
23. Re:Wow ... by Gr8Apes · 2015-06-03 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  You likely selected to never store conversations at some point in the past. 99% of Skype users probably don't know that is possible.
  
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
24. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 05:09 · Score: 0
  
  Simon? Is that you?
25. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  That's rather unfunny joke that can kill some idiot who tries to test it ...
26. Re:Wow ... by nadaou · 2015-06-03 05:57 · Score: 1
  
  You guys should really be using Jitsi internally and a local deployment of http://meet.jit.si for communicating with random customers who shouldn't have to install a third party client just to talk to you.
  
  --
  ~.~
  I'm a peripheral visionary.
27. Re:Wow ... by _anomaly_ · 2015-06-03 06:15 · Score: 1
  
  We don't provide any live chat support to our customers. We're not big enough to have a customer service department to handle that kind of support. We only correspond to our customers via phone and email.
  Internally, however, it does look like a nice alternative to Skype; but try telling that to the boss who likes to use the Skype app on his mobile phone for conference calls.
  
  --
  "I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
28. Re:Wow ... by gstoddart · 2015-06-03 06:21 · Score: 1
  
  And yet, there it is ... that big, gleaming red button ... press it ...go ahead ... you know you wanna
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
29. Re:Wow ... by chihowa · 2015-06-03 07:23 · Score: 1
  
  That reminds me of the safety showers that we have in every lab. You know what's going to happen when you pull that loop and you know that there's no drain on the floor and it's going to make a big mess, but damn if it's not tempting...
  (I have to admit that I pulled one for the fun of it and it did make a big mess as expected. Totally worth it. I don't imagine pressing the halon button would go over quite as well.)
  
  --
  If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
30. Re:Wow ... by stooo · 2015-06-03 07:55 · Score: 1
  
  >> Correction, new version does store and retrieve logs. That's kinda distressing.
  Nah, that's surveillance. A happy new year 1984 to you and your family of terrorists... um I mean of citizens.
  
  --
  aaaaaaa
31. Re:Wow ... by TeknoHog · 2015-06-03 08:38 · Score: 1
  
  You know that big button near the door in the data center, the one labeled "Halon?"
  I don't recall seeing buttons that include the question mark, but I guess if I ever saw one, I'd just quietly reply "Halon." in a proper French accent and move on.
  
  --
  Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
32. Re:Wow ... by msauve · 2015-06-03 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  You're right. I had alway remembered the rule to be "punctuation goes inside the quotation marks," but that's actually only true for periods and commas.
  
  --
  "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
33. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 08:50 · Score: 0
  
  "What would happen? Nobody knows....maybe something good...maybe something bad..."
34. Re:Wow ... by recoiledsnake · 2015-06-03 12:48 · Score: 1
  
  iOS had it too http://arstechnica.com/securit...
  
  --
  This space for rent.
35. Re:Wow ... by josecanuc · 2015-06-03 14:09 · Score: 1
  
  I've been impressed with talky.io for quick video chats. Can even do screensharing on Chrome and Firefox. http://talky.io/
  Also work in a small company with lots of traveling to and fro, and it works well without any software install required.
36. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 17:52 · Score: 0
  
  "What do you mean 'you've never done a desk pop'?"
37. Re:Wow ... by aiht · 2015-06-03 17:57 · Score: 1
  
  In that case, can't they just globally fix it server side, by 1) filtering it out of the stored history, and 2) filtering input to prevent it in-bound?
  Yes, this would be a good immediate mitigation.
  It wouldn't fix bricked installs, but it would avoid breaking new ones - except for the people who send the string.
38. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 21:12 · Score: 0
  
  Do not work on Skype for Business. =(
39. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 23:55 · Score: 0
  
  Unloading a safety shower doesn't put anyone's lives at risk, at least if there is another one at hand.
  Activating a halon system WILL trigger a fire alarm, WILL put people at risk of suffocation, WILL kill the power to all the servers in the room, and WILL get you fired. You might also face criminal charges, for the same reason as if you triggered any other fire alarm when there wasn't a fire.
40. Re:Wow ... by Jastiv · 2015-06-04 06:31 · Score: 1
  
  I'm a Jitsi fan myself, they did some recent updates so it works with more webcams.
41. Re:Wow ... by TeknoHog · 2015-06-04 06:49 · Score: 1
  
  This being Slashdot, I was mainly following the logical/programmatical convention where quotes are supposed to include the phrase you actually want to quote, and nothing more or less. I understand the aesthetics behind certain conventions, such as not doing "this", where the comma would be left dangling in empty space. Nevertheless, I don't see why programming geeks should be the only ones striving for precision in their communication.
  
  --
  Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
42. Re:Wow ... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-04 11:56 · Score: 0
  
  I always thought that was the RPE button (Resume Producing Event)
What? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 01:56 · Score: 0

How does this happen? I mean, is it a parsing issue, bad programming, careless testing? How the heck does this happen?
1. Re:What? by halivar · 2015-06-03 01:59 · Score: 1
  
  Well, my guess would be that they tokenize by the port separator ':' before doing validation of the URL, and end up performing network operations on empty strings. How in the world that break the installation, I have no clue. It may be that it caches the convo, and on trying to read the cache again it breaks? Maybe not.
2. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:33 · Score: 0
  
  > How in the world that break the installation
  Maybe Windows Defender is phoning the URL home?
Skype is for luddites. by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 01:58 · Score: 0

Modern app appers app apps with apps, not luddite trash!

Apps!
How do you fix this? by gnasher719 · 2015-06-03 01:59 · Score: 0

How do you install an older version on iOS? I don't think you can. At least I have no idea how you would do it. Unless Apple removes the latest version from the App Store.
1. Re:How do you fix this? by halivar · 2015-06-03 02:02 · Score: 1
  
  There's a new version up that fixes the bug, so the point is moot.
2. Re:How do you fix this? by Z00L00K · 2015-06-03 02:40 · Score: 1
  
  No, moot has left 4chan.
  
  --
  If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
FIXED by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:00 · Score: 5, Informative

http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows-desktop-client/Skype-Fix-for-crashes-caused-by-bad-URL/td-p/3997463
Really? by TWX · 2015-06-03 02:00 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's been fifteen years since I as a very, very junior quality assurance engineer had to calmly walk over to the software developers that were working on communications protocols and explain to them that while their protocols (POP3 and SMTP in this case) only truly needed to meet current RFC as far as their list of implemented commands and features was concerned, they had to be able to gracefully handle any and all non-RFC data that they received, even if only to cleanly reject it with an error or to terminate the connection. Instead the implementations would crash hard, requiring the system manager on the platform to detect that they'd gone down in a ball of flames and restart them. They couldn't understand how non-RFC stuff would be sent, even to the point of not understanding how deprecated commands from previous RFCs might stil be in-practice, let alone all of the various possible reasons that either accidental garbage or intentional sending of garbage to try to break-in could be the case.

That such problems as basic as incorrectly typed URLs could break Skype is beyond understanding. This should have been sanity-checked as part of the regular process of handling a URL, and in this particular case probably simply autocorrected and attributed to user ignorance.

--
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
1. Re:Really? by halivar · 2015-06-03 02:15 · Score: 1
  
  This isn't so bad as you make out; there is no telling how long this bug has been there, but did not appear until now, and with limited impact, and a fix was released in a matter of hours.
  As for sanity checking, there is no guarantee that would have caught this bug; the malformed URL has a deceptive proximity to correctness, to wit, that all the characters belong in a URL and are presented in the correct order. The essential missing piece, the hostname, is explicitly defined as ambiguous in RFC 3986 because it can take multiple forms. The port number is, in fact, optional entirely (though the RFC says you "should" omit the ":" in such cases ["should" is significantly more ambiguous in RFC parlance than "must"]).
  Trying to write sanity checks for all such cases would be exhaustive. How many different kinds of almost-correct URL's do you need to check? The combinations could run into the thousands, and each one parsed differently than the other.
2. Re:Really? by gstoddart · 2015-06-03 02:16 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  That such problems as basic as incorrectly typed URLs could break Skype is beyond understanding.
  
  I don't think it's beyond understanding. Not even a little.
  Microsoft has always been pioneers of the "let's try to embed 'smarts' in stuff to make it cooler and friendlier to use" kind of thing.
  Autorun on media, for instance has caused a lot of problems with things like viruses and rootkits.
  Hell, Microsoft pioneered the technology which meant you could get a virus without opening the attachment of an email -- and up until then people had been saying "no, you can't get a virus simply from clicking on the email unless you run the attachment". Then Microsoft went straight to running the attachment and proved them wrong.
  Microsoft tries so hard to coat the world in eye candy and do things for the user that they often go straight to the "well, you clearly want me to run that".
  So in this case it probably went "ZOMG, teh URL" and jumped to running some code.
  I have found over the years Microsoft's zeal to have dynamic, flashy content often means they create things which make for terrible robustness.
  Like their widgets and live desktop stuff they've now had to deprecate on no less than three different platforms that I'm aware of because it was a giant security hole.
  They put in a feature which says "wow, we'll just run this stuff because it's awesome", only to run smack into the wall of "but it's also dangerous".
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
3. Re:Really? by scamper_22 · 2015-06-03 02:27 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  It's often not even ignorance. Sometimes there is a mentality of correctness over keeping it running.
  Never is this more of a debate that in exception handling.
  I've worked in places where it was against the gods if you simply had a catch( Exception e). You had to *know* which exceptions you are catching and then catch each one separately.
  The keep it running in me is annoyed because there's always some possibility of a runtime Exception or that we miss something and then it crashes instead of just failing that one operation.
  The reason given was it is better for us to find out the exception and then fix the code, than to mask it with a catch all.
  To each his own, but it's definitely not as simple as ignorance.
  I've fought a lot of battles writing the software. I can tell its often the case of correctness versus keep it running.
4. Re:Really? by gstoddart · 2015-06-03 02:36 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I would argue that a failure to catch an un-enumerated exception is neither correctness, nor keeping it running.
  However, I've heard the argument about the elegance and beauty of letting it crash because it's a real defect which should be identified ... I just disagree that an ungraceful failure is the way to do it.
  I hope the people writing self-driving cars don't have the idiotic mindset that if they haven't enumerated the error it should be allowed to fail spectacularly.
  The reality is, in the real world when software doesn't fail gracefully, some smug idiot of a developer who said you shouldn't catch things you didn't anticipate isn't there to clean up his mess. So his damned "correctness" becomes an aesthetic thing which is useless.
  That's just defective by design, because either your design is 100% perfect and infallible, or it's pretty and elegant but is a crash waiting to happen.
  Reality seldom conforms to the pre-planned expectations of the guys who built the product.
  "Correctness" isn't correct if it can't account for incomplete correctness. It's lazy and ideological.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
5. Re:Really? by Z00L00K · 2015-06-03 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  Add to it that in Microsoft world you don't have to declare the exceptions that can be thrown so if a new library version throws a new exception you won't know it until you test a failure instead of seeing it at compile time.
  
  --
  If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
6. Re:Really? by ComputerGeek01 · 2015-06-03 02:57 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  As a Sys Admin, and therefore your consumer, I couldn't care less if you fail hard or try to recover. But LOG THE GOD DAMN ERROR FOR WHAT IT IS FIRST! There is nothing more mind bogglingly useless then some dip-shit programmer who things "Duh, the user should just keep trying until it works. I don't need to prompt them with anything more then 'ERROR: An Error Has Occurred'". Or even worse is the crowd of useless knuckle draggers who think that catching an exception and doing absolutely nothing in the interest of 'keeping things running' is the right course of action everytime. I don't need to see your code, I already know it sucks. Otherwise it would have been too expensive for my employers to want to purchase. But at least tell us where it is failing.
7. Re:Really? by Aristos+Mazer · 2015-06-03 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  You don't want to autocorrect it unless you also provide a way for the user to say, "No, I really meant to type that." After all, what if this were a bug on a different service, say, Facebook, and you wanted to spread the word about it on Twitter? If autocorrect prevents you from typing certain strings, that's a potential problem when coincidentally there's a need to discuss that string. The correct thing is to decide it isn't a URL and just let it go.
8. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 03:50 · Score: 0
  
  Ummm, did you know you could just pass the string to a library to validate it? and catch the exception if one is thrown? e.g. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/z6c2z492%28v=vs.80%29.aspx -- it's been there since 2.0 (Nov 2005)
9. Re:Really? by TWX · 2015-06-03 04:28 · Score: 1
  
  In other circumstances I would agree with you, but the protocol portion of the URL is something that we already auto-correct when it's omitted entirely, and I can't tell you the number of times I've had to coach people on "aich tea tea pea colon slash slash, no the other slash, the one that's the same key as the question mark. You know, the one down in the lower right corner next to the shift key?"
  
  I'm a little surprised that, given the ubiquity of the web over other protocols, we haven't had some shift to hide the protocol part entirely.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
10. Re:Really? by TWX · 2015-06-03 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  Quite frankly, all of this stuff should have been tested at QA or in beta, before it reached release, and even more importantly this kind of thing shouldn't break the software to the point that it has to be expunged from the system to fix it.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
11. Re:Really? by Dog-Cow · 2015-06-03 07:04 · Score: 1
  
  That really depends on your environment. Apple's policy with Cocoa is to only throw exceptions for programmer errors. Additionally, the state of the SDK is undefined after an exception is thrown. That may affect only the class instance that threw the exception, but there are no promises either way. Continuing after an exception may lead to data corruption.
  I am a big fan of this approach, because programmers are lazy. If the program doesn't crash on trivial programmer errors, the bugs won't be addressed.
12. Re:Really? by Twinbee · 2015-06-03 07:05 · Score: 1
  
  What you say is a fair point, but I also despise the opposite direction where everything is locked down. I'm impressed Windows allows you a program to change the colour of the screen for instance, or tinker with basic window moving/resize functionality.
  
  --
  Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
13. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 07:26 · Score: 0
  
  What you say is a fair point, but I also despise the opposite direction where everything is locked down. I'm impressed Windows allows you a program to change the colour of the screen for instance, or tinker with basic window moving/resize functionality.
  I could even change the window decorations on the fly for decades, but I am feeling that the flexibility is dropped for fewer, but far more flashy things, instead. Sometimes it wouldbe nice if people understood 'old' tech to improve upon instead of writing a new alternative from scratch and hit every road bump again.
14. Re:Really? by Rakarra · 2015-06-03 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  That such problems as basic as incorrectly typed URLs could break Skype is beyond understanding
  It's not that odd, and it's not that unusual for this to happen to programs that pass data to external libraries. I deal with Thunderbird under Gnome2 in Linux quite a bit, and have noticed a bug with URI parsing as well. It doesn't lead to crashes, just annoying and incorrect error messages when opening emails. Why does it happen? Thunderbird scans emails (including headers) for URIs that are handled by external programs so it can create clickable links that open those programs when you click them. It does that by taking any string that matches STRING1:STRING2. STRING1 (which is usually "http" or "ftp" or "gopher" or "itunes" or something like that) then gets passed to Gconf, and it checks to see if the gconf key "/desktop/gnome/url-handlers/STRING1/command" exists. If it does, then it creates a clickable link. If it doesn't exist, then Thunderbird leaves the string alone.
  The problem comes when STRING1 includes the + character. IE, just having the word "one+two:three" in the message will trigger this. Thunderbird asks Gconf if "/desktop/gnome/url-handlers/one+two/command" exists. That causes GConf to flip out, because + is not allowed as a character in a gconf key. It doesn't say that key doesn't exists, it gives an "invalid query" that gets passed back to the application.
  This gets triggered often now when certain mail clients (usually apple) send the timezone portion of a Date string with the format GMT+01:00.
  So should Thunderbird not pass through strings that contain the + character? Possibly.. is the + character forbidden by the URI spec? If it's not, then the bug comes with storing URI values as GConf keys in the first place, and it's difficult to tell where the fault really lies. Thunderbird can't totally validate whether something is a URI, as it cannot know (and should not try) all the possible protocols one might use.
  So this thing is not as strange as it might sound. It's not uncommon when passing user data to third-party libraries.
15. Re:Really? by bored · 2015-06-03 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  Uh, sort of a bad example. The old control over every portion of the window decoration from the appearance tab on the display properties dialog got gimped with windows 8 (or was it 7). MS still lets you change the color, but all the fine grained controls a gone.
  There are a number of howto's about creating a "classic" windows theme for 8, but its just not the same. The result isn't classic mode anymore than the win98 mode in kde looks anything at all like windows98.
16. Re:Really? by strikethree · 2015-06-03 20:51 · Score: 1
  
  Microsoft tries so hard to coat the world in eye candy and do things for the user that they often go straight to the "well, you clearly want me to run that".
  That is because from Microsoft's point of view, you are not supposed to be in control of your computing experience. The programmer, the website developer, the business whose advertisements your are viewing, Microsoft itself, etc. Those are the people in control of your experience. You purchased a ticket to go along for the ride, not to decide what your destination will be.
  Which is why I used to love Linux. SystemD (groan, not this shit again), while solving some problems, removes that sense of fine-grained (binary logging, changed commands, untraceable errors, etc.) control that I have enjoyed in the past.
  
  --
  "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
17. Re:Really? by strikethree · 2015-06-03 21:01 · Score: 1
  
  I've worked in places where it was against the gods if you simply had a catch( Exception e). You had to *know* which exceptions you are catching and then catch each one separately.
  I would argue that you are doing it wrong. The point of view should be: I do not care about anything other than correct input.
  There are an infinite number of things that could be wrong. Why worry about them? Worry about what you are trying to do and ignore or discard the rest.
  Ping packet not at the expected size? Who cares? Parse only until you reach the maximum expected size. Drop it otherwise.
  Malformed URL? Who cares? Stop parsing at the first invalid character.
  We keep getting bitten by this stupid shit all the time. We can not know everything and we can not handle everything. Handle what we know and let the rest fall into /nev/dull.
  
  --
  "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
18. Re:Really? by gnasher719 · 2015-06-03 23:12 · Score: 1
  
  I hope the people writing self-driving cars don't have the idiotic mindset that if they haven't enumerated the error it should be allowed to fail spectacularly.
  There are cars in computers already, controlling your brakes, for example. What they have to do apart from being written in the most secure way possible is to detect that there is a problem with the software, and reboot very, very quickly to recover. If it is a hardware problem, they put your car into a "limp" mode where you can limp home or to the nearest garage at low speed.
  
  Self-driving cars will have to be able to reboot at an amazing speed.
little Bobby Tables strikes back by dunkelfalke · 2015-06-03 02:02 · Score: 4, Funny

Nuff said

--
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
1. Re:little Bobby Tables strikes back by TWX · 2015-06-03 02:10 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I showed that strip to a friend of mine that maintains the DB for a school district's enrollment system. She laughed. Then she got into the system and checked how that was coded...
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Does it affect the Linux client? by kervin · 2015-06-03 02:05 · Score: 3, Insightful

Is this still Slashdot? Do we still like, or report on Linux anymore?
1. Re:Does it affect the Linux client? by suso · 2015-06-03 02:10 · Score: 2
  
  Well of course it doesn't affect the archaic version of Skype provided for Linux as a courtesy by Microsoft.
  Seriously though, just tested it, it doesn't seem to be affected. The nice thing about how it works in Linux is that you can just backup your .Skype folder beforehand and restore it if there is a problem.
2. Re:Does it affect the Linux client? by coastwalker · 2015-06-03 02:14 · Score: 1
  
  Not unless it runs on a mobile phone. The whole of the tech industry is only interested in selling stuff to mobile users because the only growth industry is selling mobiles to developing countries. Linux is history because the fight for the desktop is over, all the money is in mobiles not desktops so screw desktops. Skype probably did not do any input checking because mobile users do not type in addresses, so who cares?
  
  --
  Facts are history now plebs have politics for religion on social media.
3. Re:Does it affect the Linux client? by Yosho · 2015-06-03 02:20 · Score: 1
  
  Ctrl-F on the main page, "Linux"... yep, still reporting on Linux.
  But Slashdot doesn't report exclusively about Linux-related issues and never has.
  
  --
  Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
4. Re:Does it affect the Linux client? by everythingistaken · 2015-06-03 02:28 · Score: 1
  
  Could you set your motd or status to http : // : ? (spaces added because of slashcode)
5. Re:Does it affect the Linux client? by pmontra · 2015-06-03 02:29 · Score: 1
  
  http://mrpogson.com/2015/03/02...
2011 + Skype + OxygenXML = crash by jblues · 2015-06-03 02:05 · Score: 1

Around about 2011 I was using the Oxygen XML Editor, and noticed that every time I performed a certain function (I don't recall which, schema validation or something) that Skype would crash. This was on OSX, prior to the current version with the dressed up UI.

--
If it acquires resources on instantiation like a duck, then its a shared_ptr<Duck>
Mac User by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:06 · Score: 0

http://:
Remember folks... by davidwr · 2015-06-03 02:08 · Score: 1

If someone says that a bug trashes an application so badly that the "only" way to fix it is reinstalling the program, they are usually mistaken, at least for programs and OSes that don't rely on signed code or similar mechanisms that thwart partial repairs.
I see this bug has a fix. If it did not, you could probably make your own fix by doing a before-and-after comparison of key files and key regristry/system settings, then publish your results.

--
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
1. Re: Remember folks... by Fwipp · 2015-06-03 03:04 · Score: 2
  
  Nope. The problem was that it crashes when trying to read your logs, and if it didn't have the logs it would fetch them from the server.
2. Re: Remember folks... by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:55 · Score: 1
  
  Delete the logs, disconnect from the internet, open the application, and change the log settings?
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
Typing http://: into txt msg trashes Skype .. by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:09 · Score: 0

@3.5 stripes: "It's hardly the only thing that causes Skype to crash, and work intermittently at best, and to be fair, it actually started before Microsoft bought them.
It did, where does it say that, do you have a URL to that?
Skype is NSA backdoored by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:14 · Score: 1

Why does anyone use Skype knowing its backdoored and every thing they say and do is recorded??
1. Re:Skype is NSA backdoored by Ash-Fox · 2015-06-03 02:51 · Score: 1
  
  Why does anyone use Skype knowing its backdoored and every thing they say and do is recorded??
  The same reason why people use the Internet and landlines where every thing they say and do is recorded too.
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
2. Re:Skype is NSA backdoored by squiggleslash · 2015-06-03 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  Well I don't. There's no substitute, in privacy terms, for talking directly to people. That's why when I want to talk to someone and they're not around, I climb on something very high and shout the confidential information directly to them, as loudly as possible so they can hear it.
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
3. Re:Skype is NSA backdoored by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:57 · Score: 1
  
  That was funny but do you realize you said you do not use the internet, while posting on the internet? I suppose that was meant to be part of the joke?
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
I'm a Mac user by Andy+Smith · 2015-06-03 02:15 · Score: 1

Now if only I knew someone who uses Skype chat...
1. Re:I'm a Mac user by Bing+Tsher+E · 2015-06-03 03:53 · Score: 1
  
  You had your arbitrary 'Instant Message Crash Bug' last week.
  As always, Apple gets their own special version of the bug and they get it first.
  I didn't see any mention of it on Slashdot, though, and I looked around for it. Maybe I missed it?
2. Re:I'm a Mac user by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  You did miss it. It was here.
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
Just remember. . . by smooth+wombat · 2015-06-03 02:18 · Score: 1

these are the programmers getting paid the big bucks because of their supposed skills.
People on here can whine all they want about companies not paying programmers more, but when you have situations like this it's clear why those companies aren't doing so.

--
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
1. Re:Just remember. . . by gestalt_n_pepper · 2015-06-03 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  So, you think the junior flunky in India that this was outsourced to is making big bucks? Somehow, I doubt it. What I don't doubt is that the dweebs with MBAs couldn't make a coherent decision to save their lives. Cost savings on a spreadsheet do not equal a viable business that makes money. You have to get "dirty" and get into the business details, or you will be in for a series of epic fails.
  
  --
  Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Why Skype? by The+Raven · 2015-06-03 02:19 · Score: 1

I don't understand how Skype grew to such dominance in the ip communication field while being such a bad piece of software. I've been helping users improve their computer's abysmal performance by uninstalling Skype for years.
What does Skype do better than everyone else? Why is it so popular? Is it just the network effect, or does it have actual good points to offset the bad?

--
"I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
1. Re:Why Skype? by ModelX · 2015-06-03 02:27 · Score: 2
  
  I don't understand how Skype grew to such dominance in the ip communication field while being such a bad piece of software. I've been helping users improve their computer's abysmal performance by uninstalling Skype for years.
  What does Skype do better than everyone else? Why is it so popular? Is it just the network effect, or does it have actual good points to offset the bad?
  Skype grew to dominance because it was really good at getting around all kinds of firewalls.
2. Re:Why Skype? by Ash-Fox · 2015-06-03 02:45 · Score: 2
  
  What does Skype do better than everyone else?
  
  It provides international VOIP telephony fairly reliable and free. Works around most networking issues too. It's a shame the current generations of the software are quite slow.
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
3. Re:Why Skype? by Z00L00K · 2015-06-03 02:49 · Score: 1
  
  And once it was actually pretty sleek and good, then it became bloated.
  
  --
  If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
4. Re:Why Skype? by PPH · 2015-06-03 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  And once it was actually pretty sleek and good, then it was bought by Microsoft.
  FTFY
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
5. Re:Why Skype? by Z00L00K · 2015-06-03 03:05 · Score: 1
  
  No, it became bloated long before Microsoft. It was good some time around 2004 to 2006, then it got fat.
  
  --
  If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
6. Re:Why Skype? by Bing+Tsher+E · 2015-06-03 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  You can buy an upgrade on Skype that only costs a few dollars a month that lets you call any phone number in the continental US. That's cheap unlimited local & long distance if you don't already pay for it some other way. So for your $3 a month, you can have an old unsubscribed phone and go to any free Wifi hotspot and use it to call anywhere for no additional cost at all.
7. Re:Why Skype? by Ash-Fox · 2015-06-03 11:49 · Score: 1
  
  You can buy an upgrade on Skype that only costs a few dollars a month that lets you call any phone number in the continental US.
  I still have the old world subscription that provides me three Skype-in numbers and international calls as part of my subscription. So far, no local carrier available to me in the UK is beating it.
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Next time, hire a QA team by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:21 · Score: 0

instead of making the rest of the world your QA team.
1. Re: Next time, hire a QA team by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:39 · Score: 0
  
  If you message was directed at Linus try again. He doesn't often read Slashdot.
Ha ha! by Narcocide · 2015-06-03 02:24 · Score: 1

Hilarious. Keep up the good work guys.
Re:Typing http://: into txt msg trashes Skype .. by ArcadeMan · 2015-06-03 02:26 · Score: 1

http://:community.skype.com/t5/Windows-desktop-client/Critical-bug-Skype-7-4-85-102-simple-message-crush-client/td-p/3996419
edit: Slashdot seems to be auto-fixing the HREF links... damnit.

--
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
http://: by Translation+Error · 2015-06-03 02:34 · Score: 1

Please give a warm welcome to the new 'Skype Killer' emoticon.

--
When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
LOL Revenge by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:39 · Score: 0

For everybody crashing their iphones with a text message.
Speaking of Skype being crap... by serviscope_minor · 2015-06-03 02:39 · Score: 1

Speaking of it being crap. It's gone totally to shit recently in terms of network usage.
Time was I could make skype calls over HSPDA. These days it's impossibly bad. Anyone know a good cross platform voip system that works over 3G and supports conference calls?
Oh also, if there's a long backlog of chat messages about one time in 20, skype will basically fuck up and be unable to sync them. The solution seems to be to blow away all config data (i.e. equivalent to reinstalling) and reinstall it.
Lovely.

--
SJW n. One who posts facts.
1. Re:Speaking of Skype being crap... by A5un · 2015-06-03 05:24 · Score: 1
  
  Google Hangout?
2. Re:Speaking of Skype being crap... by omnichad · 2015-06-03 06:07 · Score: 1
  
  They went to HD voice. I don't know if that accounts for all of it, because even HD voice is way below what you'd use for streaming spotify or similar.
Anyone Remember AOL 3.0? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:40 · Score: 0

I can't believe noone has brought up or compared this to the bug in the old AOL 3.x client that would end the process and effectively boot whoever you sent it to.
1. Re:Anyone Remember AOL 3.0? by ShaunC · 2015-06-03 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  Casablanca, now that brings back memories. For awhile you pretty much had to operate with $IM_OFF if you didn't want to get GPF'd into oblivion every couple of minutes.
  
  --
  Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
Re:Wow ... Fundamental logic flaw in restore by jhecht · 2015-06-03 02:43 · Score: 1

Sounds like the fundamental logic flaw is in automatically restoring what Skype was doing when it crashed. In this case, it if crashed once, it will do it again. I've hit that in the past when a web browser hit a bad web page that crashed it, and rebooting the browser tried to open the web page that crashed it. With browsers, opening a page usually is slow enough that you can close the page before it crashes again.
Ridiculous edge cases and nit picking by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:43 · Score: 1

Who could have expected a "http://" string in an IM text?!?!
1. Re:Ridiculous edge cases and nit picking by ledow · 2015-06-03 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  It has a colon after it.
  But, still, sanitise your damn inputs.
2. Re:Ridiculous edge cases and nit picking by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 05:41 · Score: 0
  
  I don't think it's a lack of sanitizing input as much as it's a logic problem. I'd bet ten dollars that somewhere in Skype's URL parser is the following pattern. If the base URL (stripped of protocol prefix and any /request_path) has a colon, they just barge on ahead and assume that it has a valid host part and a valid port part.
  The following code works great until you uncomment the commented line...
  
  #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { char url[255], host[255], port[6]; char *tok = NULL; strcpy(url, "example.com:3128"); // strcpy(url, ":"); if (strstr(url, ":")) { tok = strtok(url, ":"); strcpy(host, tok); tok = strtok(NULL, ":"); strcpy(port, tok); } else { strcpy(host, url); strcpy(port, "80"); } printf("Host: %s\nPort: %s\n", host, port); return 0; }
That's not the problem.. by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:45 · Score: 1

The install isn't broken in that sense. There are no corrupted files or registry key or anything like that. The cached conversation with the broken string in it is processed on startup.
The conversations are stored online, so you have no way to get rid of it locally. Whenever you start up Skype, it's going to download that recent conversation and process that string, hit the bug again and crash.
Does anyone remember by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:47 · Score: 0

When skype was used as the vector for transmitting the FBI ransomware trojan a couple years ago? That is when I started telling customers to uninstall/avoid it. So they switched to even worse services like ooVoo or other adware/spyware/malware vectors
You got trolled by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:47 · Score: 0

Did anyone actually read the forum? Are we going to start posting old issues with upgrading OSX Cheetah to Puma now on the front page of Slashdot? Its an XP service pack 2 issue. Way to show your stripes. or spots I guess if you are running Cheetah and have a propensity to be bitten by something like this.
BTW, just tried it. Doesn't work.
Finally a reason for me to use Skype again. by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 02:56 · Score: 1

Finally a reason for me to use Skype again.
Is this ... by PPH · 2015-06-03 03:02 · Score: 1

... a new bug in a recent Skype client? Or has it been there all along and just not found?
Any thoughts on why it happens to be the URL prefix that does this? Was this some attempt at incorporating web page pushes using the messenger that went horribly wrong?

--
Have gnu, will travel.
1. Re:Is this ... by omnichad · 2015-06-03 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  It could be that it's being interpreted as a null domain with an alphanumeric port number (if it's some really bad regex of some sort). But I'm sure it has something to do with the process of displaying a URL as a clickable link.
It's not a bug by Sevalecan · 2015-06-03 03:24 · Score: 1

Don't worry, folks! It's not a bug, it's a feature!
Web developers know they'll be attacked by raymorris · 2015-06-03 03:51 · Score: 0

> brats who think writing a crappy web page is the same thing as writing a desktop application.
Yeah unlike desktop developers, any decent web developer KNOWS that their code will be attacked all the time, and designs it appropriately. Unlike desktop developers who throw shit on the internet (like Skype) without considering the fact that it's accepting input from unknown sources, including malicious sources.
Oh wait, you were saying that desktop developers who have never had any reason to think about security are better somehow, weren't you?
1. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by TheDarkMaster · 2015-06-03 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  You do not understand anything of what I wrote, and in an epic way... I am hitting some nerve here? I did not write at any time about security, I'm talking about programming experience and good sense that the "generation Web" seens to lack and the worst part is that they seem not to care about such gaps.
  
  --
  Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
2. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by Gr8Apes · 2015-06-03 04:30 · Score: 2
  
  You are smoking crack. Web developers, those writing crappy PHP websites or just straight HTML do not have a clue about security. Those writing enterprise apps at least know what the word means, but the general web page developer still does exactly 0 security work.
  
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
3. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by phantomfive · 2015-06-03 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah unlike desktop developers, any decent web developer KNOWS that their code will be attacked all the time, and designs it appropriately.
  
  Most web developers aren't decent, and don't know how to design their code securely.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
4. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by CanadianMacFan · 2015-06-03 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  That's funny because the vast majority of web developers that I've come across have thought that they just needed to validate the input using JavaScript in the browser and leave it at that.
5. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by Jesus_666 · 2015-06-03 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Well, those writing just straight HTML don't need to know much about security because that's not HTML's job. As for the PHP monkeys: It depends. Does the monkey use words like "Suhosin" and refuse to use a PHP older than 5.5 because that's when bcrypt became part of the standard library? Then there's a chance they actually do care about security. On the other hand, if they talk about writing WordPress plugins there's a fair chance they've given up Visual Basic development because they weren't smart enough for that.
  
  It's a bit better with other languages; people who do their web development in Python or Ruby are usually a bit smarter than PHP monkeys (though not neccessarily smart enough to leave web development for pastures with bigger paychecks).
  
  Disclaimer: I am a former PHP monkey. And what I said about WordPress plugin developers was far too kind.
  
  --
  USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
6. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:23 · Score: 1
  
  Which has what to do with Skype?
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
7. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by TheDarkMaster · 2015-06-03 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  Style, the way of thinking when developing your application. Notice how the older versions of Skype and MSN Messenger bothered trying do the job right and worried about the details. Now notice how the newest versions seem made by someone who only cares about making interfaces that make sense only to him, not caring about details and nastily doing the basic work for which the application was made. As if you took a professional developer and swapped him for an amateur with no experience in making professional applications and having more ego than skill.
  
  --
  Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
8. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by TheDarkMaster · 2015-06-03 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  I forgot to add this in my previous comment. I said "generation Web" because adding to what I wrote earlier, to me the interface of the current crop of applications looks a lot like something you would do if all you know is making web pages and having no experience with anything other than that.
  
  --
  Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
9. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by KGIII · 2015-06-03 07:59 · Score: 1
  
  That ties it in better. I was curious where you were going with that.
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
10. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by KGIII · 2015-06-03 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  Ideally web developers will not be developing applications. This is ideal and, as such, is unlikely to be true.
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
11. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by Gr8Apes · 2015-06-03 08:51 · Score: 1
  
  It may not be HTML's job, but certain basics still need to be understood, such as where you load JS from, and what you can access when in HTTPS mode versus HTTP, and why those things matter. 99% of HTML "devs" do not understand a thing about those scenarios. Anyone that says Ruby is secure doesn't have a clue. Python? Seriously? They may have started taking it more seriously, but how seriously can you take a system that doesn't even verify certificates in 2015? (Since it was reported in Dec 2014, and I'm guessing it wasn't a 1 day fix)
  
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
12. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by Jesus_666 · 2015-06-03 17:01 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not saying that Ruby and Python are highly secure systems. I'm saying that Ruby and Python web devs are smarter than PHP web devs. They less frequently get ideas like "let's use MD5 for our password hashes in 2015" or "I don't see the problem with opening a new MySQL connection every time I want something from the database". The main reason for that is that web development in Python and Ruby is more difficult than in PHP unless you have a bit of programming experience. Fewer completely green developers mean fewer rookie mistakes.
  
  As for HTML: Yes, although those are most often boundary cases where HTML has to interact with other languages - and where the theoretical pure HTML webdev should talk to the people who use those other languages. In practice, of course, nobody uses HTML alone and thus most webdev do have to deal with JS and server-side security matters. The language itself is pretty safe, it's ecosystem isn't.
  
  --
  USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
13. Re:Web developers know they'll be attacked by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-04 02:03 · Score: 0
  
  You say that. The guy next to me has worked here for 2 years wrriting java for an in-house purchasing site, yet he's never heard of XSS, let alone CSRF.
First adopter, first dead by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:12 · Score: 0

Let's hope there are not many people piping the /. RSS feed into Skype as a way to keep an eye on our headlines.
Someone post the appropiate picture for this meme by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:37 · Score: 0

Apple phone crashes from texting, no one cares, Skype crashes from texting, everybody loses their minds! Jeez, just call the site MacSlashdot and be done with it.
What's skype? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 04:57 · Score: 0

Google hangouts is what everyone is using today.
It's like skype, but without the fucked up and crashy client. And it works better. And multi-party video chat is free.
Just chrome and a google-supplied addin and you're good.. Or any smartphone.
1. Re:What's skype? by Ash-Fox · 2015-06-03 11:54 · Score: 1
  
  Google hangouts is what everyone is using today.
  When Google Hangouts was a little popular in my friends, the common theme was that other friends hated Google+, so they would not use it, ever.
  I believe in my friend circles, Google Hangouts is used much less.
  Meanwhile, Telegram is certainly more popular than Skype in my friend circles for text communications and media sharing now.
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Summer Intern by ThatsNotPudding · 2015-06-03 05:07 · Score: 1

We now know where little Bobby Tables interned last summer.
UPDATE - Bug has just been fixed. by schneidafunk · 2015-06-03 05:51 · Score: 3, Informative

FTA: Update on June 3: Skype has fixed the bug, and in under than 24 hours no less. “We are aware of a Skype issue and have rolled out updates for all impacted products,” a Skype spokesperson told VentureBeat.

--
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
Will I by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 06:30 · Score: 0

Will I loose a few friends tonight... HELL YA!!!
Re:Error 1201 on Apollo 11 by ei4anb · 2015-06-03 06:59 · Score: 1

Error 1201 was not enumerated but luckily someone had read the system documentation https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a...
New levels of Skype badness by sjvn · 2015-06-03 07:08 · Score: 1

I mean, Skype has always had troubles, but seriously simply entering http:/// causes not just a message crash, but wrecks the program! This is amazingly bad for a freshman project, much less an "enterprise" ready program from a major vendor.
Steven
Skype also discriminates URLs as hyperlinks by Badooleoo · 2015-06-03 08:28 · Score: 1

What would also be nice is if they fixed the issue that all URLs are converted to hyperlinks and stop discriminating on top level domains.
I am part of a community wireless network which runs its own DNS where the top level domain is .wan
Pasting a URL into skype does not turn it into a hyperlink for the recipient like other URLs do. The recipient has to manually copy and paste the text into their browser.
1. Re:Skype also discriminates URLs as hyperlinks by Ash-Fox · 2015-06-03 13:13 · Score: 1
  
  What would also be nice is if they fixed the issue that all URLs are converted to hyperlinks and stop discriminating on top level domains.
  Skype does not discriminate against TLDs that are a length of two characters.
  
  I am part of a community wireless network which runs its own DNS where the top level domain is .wan
  You'll have to rename if you want it to create a link from a hostname.
  
  Pasting a URL into skype does not turn it into a hyperlink for the recipient like other URLs do.
  I followed RFC 3986 (the standard for handling URLs) to point to a resource and every time, Skype parsed it correctly.
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Microsoft QA??? What's that in reality? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 08:47 · Score: 0

The general public is Microsoft's QA team.
Linux version only supports PulseAudio by xarragon · 2015-06-03 09:12 · Score: 1

They started to cripple the Linux client as well; since last year it ONLY supports PulseAudio. And it natively supported pure ALSA before that, so it is a feature being removed and replaced with an inferior solution.
Luckily someone created apulse, an emulation layer that allows you to run Skype without the hentai-tentacle-monster known as PulseAudio:
https://github.com/i-rinat/apu...
The best part is how they tout the fact that "Hi there, Skype works without Pulse Audio for features like chat as well as sharing files and photos." on their blog, like anyone would use Skype for the text chat features, and that it would somehow make up for the lost functionality: http://blogs.skype.com/2014/06...
people still use skype by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-03 15:40 · Score: 0

people still use skype?
And I was wondering why all girls in the internet by angel'o'sphere · 2015-06-04 09:12 · Score: 1

... have the surname Jpg
Hm, and now I wonder why I get strange Skype messages since a week or so ;d

--
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Learning Languages through skype by Anonymous Coward · 2015-06-04 19:28 · Score: 0

Skype is a great mode through which we can contact our Tutors that too sitting at home but you will have a better scope if you have to learn a language that too with Experts who are Native speakers you have to only follow http://preply.com/en/french-by-skype