Hasta La Gadget!

Update: Skype has informed us that the security flaw is now resolved and that the password reset process has been updated accordingly. Check out Skype’s official statement after the break.

Skype users have something to worry about. Russian hackers found out that anyone can hack a user’s Skype account by using the email address tied to that account. When a person knows the email address of a Skype user, he or she can use that email address to create a new Skype account. Obviously Skype cannot create a new account from the email address because it’s already being used. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: India wants to monitor Google and Skype as well, Skype for Mac OS X vulnerability fixed,

A Skype security flaw could allow rogue users to seize control of your account using nothing more than your email address, thanks to subpar recovery policies that can be easily gamed. The exploit depends on Skype’s policy of reminding new sign-ups of any existing usernames they have previously registered, when they attempt to re-register using the same email address. According to The Next Web, with a minor amount of tinkering, it’s possible to reset another user’s password and thus grab hold of their account.

Although a signed-in user will be able to see when somebody else attempts the hack, they would need to react fast in order to actually prevent themselves from being locked out. If they were not logged in at the time, or not paying sufficient attention, then they could have their Skype credentials usurped – along with any credit on that account – without them even realizing it had happened.

Skype is apparently conducting an “internal investigation” into the loophole, though for now there’s no official comment on when it might be closed off. The hack was first reported on a Russian forum roughly two months ago, it’s said, with the person responsible for discovering the exploit claiming to have told Skype about it with no apparent change in recovery security.

For the moment, the best advice is to change your registered email in the Skype settings to something that might not be associated with your account. That reduces the likelihood, though we’ll need to see a change in how accounts are handled by Skype itself before the hack is closed down for good.

Update: More complete instructions for the workaround can be found here, courtesy of Reddit:

Log in on skype.com
Go to the profile, click Edit and add an email address an attacker won’t guess. (Or your-email+something@gmail.com if you’re using Gmail)
Click Save
Click Edit again, set the new address as Primary
Click Save, enter the password and click the Enter button
Delete the old email

Update 2: Skype has given us the following statement:

“We have had reports of a new security vulnerability issue. As a precautionary step we have temporarily disabled password reset as we continue to investigate the issue further. We apologise for the inconvenience but user experience and safety is our first priority”

Skype hack steals accounts with nothing more than your email is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Skype announced several weeks ago that it was working on Skype for Windows Phone 8. Skype promised that the application would be fast, modern, and beautiful while delivering what users expect from Skype. Today Skype has announced the availability of an early preview version of Skype for Windows Phone 8.

The software offered in the preview will give users all of the Skype basic functions and a new and modern design. The pre-version will also allow users to check out many of the new features of Skype including the People Hub and a contact list this combined with buddies from Windows Live Messenger. Skype also says that users of the preview will receive some call a message notifications.

Those notifications will be received even when the app is closed and running in the background. The final release version of Skype for Windows Phone 8 will bring a new era on Skype on mobile according to the developers. The features that will bring this new era include making Windows Phone 8 users always reachable even when the app is closed.

Users will be able to start a chat with Skype contacts right from the People Hub and users will be able to keep up with new messages as they are received via Live Tiles. Windows Phone 8 users who want to check out the Skype for Windows 8 preview can download it via the Store right now. Those who download the preview version will receive an update on the full version is available.

Skype for Windows Phone 8 preview available today is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Good news Windows Phone owners, it looks like Skype for Windows Phone 8 is finally available! We guess this was only a matter of time ever since Microsoft acquired Skype, and while there was Skype for Windows Phone 7.x, we guess this is full version of the app as Microsoft had intended. In this version of Skype, and also thanks to Windows Phone 8 devices featuring the much awaited dual-core processors, full video chat will be supported, with calls from Skype coming in to your phone like a regular call. The app is also expected to run in the background and if you were worried about battery life, it seems that your online presence is being hosted in the cloud on Microsoft’s servers so you don’t have to worry about the app draining too much battery. We haven’t tested this power-saving feature out ourselves so we guess you will have to be the judge of it. However there are some minor bugs that have been reported, such as Facebook chat not being available or contacts that appear offline, but like the app description says, this is only the Preview version so there might be a couple of snags here and there. If you’d like to give it a go anyway, head on over to the Windows Phone Store for the download.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Angry Birds Space now available for Windows Phone 8, Skype for Windows Phone 8 preview,

Skype has made itself present in many different areas around the globe, but the Microsoft-owned service is now looking to enter (and hopefully be a part of) a more business-oriented field. With the launch of its newfangled, adequately-named In the Workspace platform, Skype says it’s hoping to keep small businesses connected and help them grow by giving them a free platform where they can easily communicate with potential customers, partners and even suppliers. According to Skype, this novel service has been tested in beta form for nearly six months now, and today it’s officially opening its virtual doors to all business owners that are interested in giving it a go — the link to sign up can be found down below.

Continue reading Skype announces new ‘In the Workspace’ platform for small businesses

Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft

Skype announces new ‘In the Workspace’ platform for small businesses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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