Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Skype For Microsoft Edge Will Work From the Browser, No Plug-Ins Required

Posted by timothy on from the good-idea dept.

We mentioned a few months back Microsoft's beta of a browser-based intrerface to Skype. Now, reports Engadget, Skype will be able to work without a plug-in (as was required for the beta). However, it will work -- at least at first -- only with Microsoft's Edge browser. The latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build comes with Object RTC API. That's the element that allows real-time audio and video communication without the need for any installation not just for Skype for Web and Outlook.com, but also for other WebRTC-compatible services. To note, Chrome, Firefox and Safari all support WebRTC standards, but it's unclear if and when Skype will enable a plug-in-less experience for those browsers, as well.

5 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Separate code from data by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Please don't run executable code inside my document viewer.

    kthxbye

    1. Re:Separate code from data by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The entire reason we want these things as plugins is so that I don't have to have them installed if I don't use them. Turning executable code a plugin does NOT make it insecure. The only thing a plug-in does is to make that code *optional* for each user. You want a minimal default attack surface, and adding built-in extras broadens that surface unnecessarily.

      The reason Flash, Java, and Acrobat Reader plugins are insecure is because they were written long before internet security was a thing. Even today we're seeing new zero-day exploits in Flash that give arbitrary data user-level access. Why does anyone believe that the Skype codebase won't be subject to the same sort of attacks and vulnerabilities once it becomes part of the browser?

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    2. Re:Separate code from data by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why does anyone believe that the Skype codebase won't be subject to the same sort of attacks and vulnerabilities once it becomes part of the browser?

      Because with plugins you're relying on a separate sandbox model from the rest of the browser.

      I'd sleep more soundly at night knowing that the executable code used to make video calls through webRTC was running through exactly the same sandbox as other executable code such as asm.js. or that the inbuilt pdf viewer in Firefox (dog slow that it may be) was running with the same javascript security execution model rather than relying on an external engine (and yes Mozilla do have a flash implementation that works in a similar way to PDF.js)

      There will be security holes in any implementation but there's one attack surface for the entire web platform rather than one for each browser plugin. And at the end of the day I'd rather trust Mozilla or Google to release timelier fixes for their web-browsers than rely on Microsoft's skype plugin to be updated.

      So broadly I'm in favour of cross platform technologies such as video chat 'bloating' the HTML5 spec rather than relying on proprietary browser plugins.

  2. mmm surveillance. by Last+Warrior · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I suspect well be getting the always on, talk to your web browser functionality so you dont have to click anything when you want ot make a call. You can just say "skype, call my mom" and and bing, skype will inform microsoft, the nsa, and your mom that you want to talk. And when you dont want ot talk to mom, skype will make sure any naughty keywords you use while sitting at your computer are also promptly forwarded to the NSA as well.

  3. Re:Too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Unfortunately, Microsoft has completely ruined Skype, and they will probably never be able to recover the users they lost. My grandparents got locked out when Microsoft started requiring a Microsoft ID, so I switched them to gchat. Plugins are easy enough to install and unless Microsoft fixes the ridiculous Microsoft ID requirement, I can't see many people using Skype ever again. Let's face it, Microsoft is just not competive with the new generation of tech companies and the only reason they lasted as long as they did is because they had a near monopoly, maintained by compatibility issues, for decades.

    I've multiple Skype accounts since ages. Never been forced to require a Microsoft ID. Stop spouting bullshit.