Skype: a threat to national security?

Voice-over-Internet Protocol provider Skype assures its users that for sure, Skype-to-Skype calls, meaning those made directly from one user’s PC to another’s PC, are secured using a 256-bit encryption algorithm. This is even more secure than the 128-bit keys used to encrypt transmission of credit card numbers over the Internet. However, one issue is raised with this level of calling security offered by Skype....

Skype in exclusivity deal with Intel

Bad news to those who love to teleconference using popular Voice-over-Internet Protocol service Skype, but don’t have the right hardware. The latest features of the software will only work on certain Intel-based machines. Skype and Intel announced last week that the latest version of Skype’s client software can support up to 10 users on a conference call. However, this will only work on computers with Intel’s...

Telcos using VoIP?

It might not be what you would normally expect, but even telephone companies today are likely to be using Voice-over-Internet Protocol to route regular phone calls, instead of their own International Gateway Facilities (IGFs). This seems non-intuitive, especially since telcos themselves build, maintain, and re-sell IGF services, but with today’s communications infrastructure rapidly shifting towards IP-based...

The Chatter bug

Just when you thought things couldn’t get simpler, Chatter Bug comes up with an innovative “personal long distance” calling device. The Chatter Bug, which looks like a cross between a handheld scanner (of the olden days) and a mouse, serves as a conduit between any regular telephone unit and the phone line. The apparatus basically routes your long-distance calls through their own server via the Internet. Wait,...

Google getting into VoIP telephony?

There is talk that search giant Google, Inc. is getting into the commercial Voice-over-Internet Protocol business. Judging from a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by Florida-based VoIP, Inc., the software and services provider has inked a deal with Google to provide a large-scale VoIP offering, similar to that of various carriers such as Vonage and Packet8. While the search leader currently has its...

Want secure communication? Use VoIP

Maybe you’re a businessman concerned about trade secrets being leaked. Or maybe you’re secretly corresponding with a hot fling (shame on you if you’re married). Perhaps you’re just another of the millions of paranoid people who don’t want Big Brother listening in. Are you aware that with today’s technology, telephone conversations—yes, even with supposedly secure digital cellular networks—can be...

Research says VoIP may be a security risk

Yet another way for malicious hackers to commit cyber offenses? Researchers at the Communications Research Network (CRN) has warned that the security protocols used by VoIP networks may prove to be a potential security loophole, in that cyber criminals can use these to hide their identities. The Network, jointly funded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Cambridge University, claims that encryption...

Should VoIP users be charged more for Internet use?

I say no. However, several internet service and bandwidth providers are considering charging more from users who consume a higher amount of bandwidth. This stems from the fact that while users may pay a fixed amount of money for internet service, the bandwidth use varies. And since ISPs pay their bandwidth providers according to consumption from the network of users, they are considering passing this on as a...

Go retro with the D-Link telephone-Skype adapter

For over 100 years people have been plugging in their telephones. Now, the new millennium has brought with it a change in how people communicate. Globally, people are opting to get unplugged. Homes are becoming modern technological breeding grounds for innovative trends and ideas. Every day, increasing amounts of people are embracing new technology worldwide. With computers in more and more homes, exposure is...

The UFO Skype phone

OK, it’s not really an unidentifiable flying object, but it sure looks like one! USRobotics has announced earlier this month the 9610 USB Speakerphone. This is USR’s latest addition to its growing number of VoIP-related gadgetry. The UFO Phone (as it’s fondly called) features a nifty echo-cancellation technology that gets rid of echo and feedback that’s common among speakerphones. This allows for clear and...