Skype Hacks

Skype Hacks
By Andrew Sheppard
...............................................
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: December 2005
Print ISBN-10: 0-596-10189-9
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-59-610189-3
Pages: 342
Table of C ontents | I ndex
I f you've heard about Skype- - and who has n't with all the rec ent
media attention devoted to internet telephone s ervic es - -
c hanc es are you've been mighty tempted to try it out. Skype
Hacks tells you what all the Skype hype is about, explains the
bas ic s , and s hows you more than 1 0 0 c lever tips and tric ks for
tweaking and tuning Skype to make it do jus t what you want and
more.
M illions of people (4 8 million and c ounting, in fac t) have opted

for Skype, whic h us es peer- to- peer (P 2 P ) tec hnology to turn
any P C , M ac , or P oc ket P C into a telephone. Skype offers free
c alls between c omputers and extremely c heap c alls to "old-
fas hioned" phone numbers (landlines and mobile phones ). T he
s ound quality is exc ellent, and end- to- end enc ryption means
the c onnec tion is private and s ec ure.
But if you really know what you're doing, Skype c an ac c omplis h

a whole lot more than that. Software developer and author
A ndrew Sheppard rec ently c onverted his entire hous e to Skype
and us es it for all his pers onal and bus ines s c alls , even when
he's traveling. I n Skype Hacks , he s hows you how to do things
with the tec hnology that even the engineers at Skype probably
never intended.
Skype Hacks s hows you how to:
G et s tarted with Skype
Figure out how muc h money you're s aving and maximize

your s avings
C ut the ties to your old phone c ompany
O ptimize your Skype c onfiguration
I ntegrate Skype with des ktop tools like M ic ros oft O ffic e
and your web brows er
Set up a Skype- bas ed c all c enter

T he book offers ideas for c reating and organizing a c ontac ts lis t,
us ing Skype to trans fer files , taking advantage of c hat and
voic email c apabilities , turning a P D A into a mobile phone, and
automating Skype for even greater effic ienc y. So whether you'd
s imply like to give Skype a trial run, you want new Skype ring
tones and fun on- hold mus ic , or you're c ons idering wiring your
home with Skype to get rid of "regular" phone s ervic e altogether,
Skype Hacks is your ideal guide.
Skype Hacks
By Andrew Sheppard
...............................................
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: December 2005
Print ISBN-10: 0-596-10189-9
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-59-610189-3
Pages: 342
Table of C ontents | I ndex
Copyright
Credits
About the Author
Contributors and Review ers
Acknow ledgments
Preface
Why Skype Hacks?
How This Book Is Organized
Financial Exchange (FX) Rate
Skype Softw are Versions
Conventions Used in This Book

Using Code Examples
How to Contact Us
Safari® Enabled
Chapter 1. Start Using Skype
Section 1.1. Hacks 112: Introduction
Hack 1. Make Your First Skype Call
Hack 2. Chat Using Skype
Hack 3. Set Up and Make a Conference Call
Hack 4. Try SkypeOut, Risk Free
Hack 5. Try SkypeIn, Risk Free
Hack 6. Try Skype Voicemail, Risk Free
Hack 7. Roam the World w ith Skype Zones
Hack 8. Transfer a File Using Skype
Hack 9. Make Toll-Free Calls
Hack 10. Forw ard Calls
Hack 11. Dial Like a Wizard
Hack 12. Troubleshoot Skype
Chapter 2. Save Money w ith Skype
Hack 13. Back-of-the-Envelope Estimate of Skype
Savings
Hack 14. Avoid Falling Foul of the Taxman
Hack 15. Avoid Problems Paying for Services
Hack 16. Claim Your Money Back
Hack 17. Avoid Higher SkypeOut Rates
Hack 18. Avoid Additional Mobile Phone Charges
Hack 19. Make Money w ith Skype
Hack 20. Make Money w ith the Skype API
Hack 21. Avoid Forfeiting SkypeOut Credits
Hack 22. Get the Best Deal for VoIP Telephony
Hack 23. Round Call Time to Your Advantage
Hack 24. Manage Bandw idth Costs
Chapter 3. Configure Skype
Hack 25. Test Your Sound System
Hack 26. Test Call Sound Quality (echo123)
Hack 27. Choose and Configure a Microphone and
Speakers
Hack 28. Choose and Configure a USB Handset or
Headset
Hack 29. Choose and Configure a Bluetooth Headset
Hack 30. Configure Skype to Use Regular Phones
Hack 31. Configure Skype on a Laptop

Hack 32. Configure Skype on a Pocket PC
Hack 33. Test Your Internet Connection Bandw idth
Hack 34. Test Your Internet Connection Latency
Hack 35. Build a Skype Server
Hack 36. Make Skype Work w ith Personal Firew alls
Hack 37. Set Up Multiple Phone Lines
Hack 38. Test Your Connection for Skype
Friendliness
Hack 39. Eliminate Echo and Noise
Hack 40. Reset Your Skype Configuration
Hack 41. Run Skype Based on Time of Day
Hack 42. Schedule When Skype Runs the Mac Way
Chapter 4. Tw eak and Tune Skype
Hack 43. Make Calls from Your Web Brow ser
Hack 44. Accelerate Skype Using Your Keyboard
Hack 45. Tw eak Skype by Editing config.xml
Hack 46. Run Skype from the Command Line
Hack 47. Display the Technical Details of a Call
Hack 48. Remove Unused Names from the Login List

Hack 49. Add Fast-Dial Shortcuts to Your Menu or
Desktop
Hack 50. Fix Window s Wireless
Hack 51. Fix Badly Behaving Routers
Chapter 5. Skype at Work
Hack 52. Automate Skype Installation
Hack 53. Set Up a Toll-Free Number for SkypeIn
Hack 54. Set Up a Call Center
Hack 55. Integrate Skype w ith Microsoft Office
Hack 56. Record and Archive Conversations
Hack 57. Transfer Files Among Diverse Machines
Hack 58. Disable Skype File Transfer
Hack 59. Improve Service Quality
Chapter 6. Mobile Skype
Hack 60. Make Cheap Long-Distance or International
Calls from Your Mobile Phone
Hack 61. Communicate Using Skype, Even When
Bandw idth Is Low
Hack 62. Give Your Mobile Phone an International
Dial-In Number
Hack 63. Run Skype from a USB Memory Stick
Hack 64. Make Free Calls While on the Move
Chapter 7. Skype Fun and Play
Hack 65. Fun w ith Ringtones
Hack 66. Band Together w ith Skype
Hack 67. Stop Incoming Calls from Interrupting Game
Play
Hack 68. Learn to Speak a Foreign Language
Hack 69. Build Skype Communities
Chapter 8. Skype Chat and Voicemail
Hack 70. Log Chat Sessions Outside of Skype
Hack 71. Automatically Forw ard Voicemail
Hack 72. Listen to Voicemail Using a USB Handset
Hack 73. Run Commands Remotely Using Chat
Chapter 9. Security and Privacy
Hack 74. Manage Your Skype Privacy Settings
Hack 75. Scan Files Received via Skype for Viruses
Hack 76. Manage (or Delete) Your Skype Public

Profile
Hack 77. Avoid Skype "Spammers"
Hack 78. Choose the Right Username to Avoid Being
Harassed
Chapter 10. Quirks, Gotchas, and Workarounds
Hack 79. Avoid Problems w ith Interactive Telephone
Services
Hack 80. Find a Fax Alternative
Hack 81. Workarounds for 911 Emergency Service
Hack 82. Workarounds for 411 Directory Assistance
Hack 83. Workarounds for Home Alarm System
Monitoring
Hack 84. Transfer Folders, Not Just Individual Files
Hack 85. Dial w ith More Than Just Digits
Chapter 11. Skype Add-Ons and Tools
Hack 86. Control Skype Using Spoken Commands

Hack 87. Add Video Conferencing to Skype
Hack 88. Show Your Online Status in a Web Page
Hack 89. Send Skype Chat Directly from Your
Brow ser
Hack 90. Manage Add-On Access Control

Chapter 12. Automate Skype
Hack 91. Hot-Sw itch Among Sound Devices
Hack 92. Automate Chat
Hack 93. Automate Your Interactions w ith Telephone
Systems
Hack 94. Schedule Calls and Chat Using iCal on the
Mac
Hack 95. Send Email and SMS Notification of New
Voicemail
Hack 96. Convert Your Friends List to Fast-Dial
Shortcuts
Hack 97. Make Chat Talk Out Loud
Hack 98. Erase a Skype User Account
Hack 99. Spy on Skype API Messages
Hack 100. Disable the Skype API
Colophon
Index
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Credits
A bout the A uthor
C ontributors and Reviewers
A c knowledgments
About the Author
A ndrew Sheppard has been fas c inated by tec hnology and
s c ienc e s inc e c hildhood, and it's an indulgenc e that has
c ontinued to this day.
Sinc e dis c overing Skype in 2 0 0 4 , A ndrew has been us ing and

hac king Skype in all s orts of weird and wonderful ways if Skype
c ame with any s ort of warranty, he voided it long ago! A lthough
his initial foray into us ing Skype was to find ways to s ave money
on his phone bill, the true potential of Skype's ability to do
things that no regular phone s ys tem c an do s oon overtook that
initial interes t and replac ed it with a fas c ination and des ire to
s ee "how deep the rabbit hole goes " (to borrow s ome words from
the movie The Matrix). H e's s till burrowing!
A ndrew is the publis her of a c ouple of online elec tronic

magazines about Skype: Elpis 's Skype Power Us er Magazine (I SSN
1 7 4 7 - 8 4 2 1 ) and Elpis 's Skype API Developer Magazine (I SSN
1 7 4 7 - 8 4 3 X). T he c onc ept behind E lpis
(http://www.elpis publis hing.c om/) is that knowledge, without the
tools to take advantage of that knowledge, is rather powerles s ,
while the c onvers e is a path to empowerment. E lpis P ublis hing's
aim is to provide its readers with both the knowledge and the
s oftware needed to bes t us e that knowledge: Knowledge + Tools
= E mpowerment.
A fter earning a firs t- c las s honor's degree in as trophys ic s ,

A ndrew made the mis take of going on to earn higher degrees : a
mas ter's in as tronomic al tec hnology at E dinburgh U nivers ity
(U K) and a mas ter's in bus ines s adminis tration at the L ondon
Bus ines s Sc hool (U K). T his period of time and that whic h
followed was punc tuated with work as a s c ientific res earc her at
O xford U nivers ity, as a s oftware developer, and later, as a
"Roc ket Sc ientis t" at Bankers Trus t C ompany in the financ ial
s quare mile of the c ity of L ondon, as well as in N ew York and
Tokyo. A lot of heartac he and financ ial anguis h c ould have been
avoided throughout had he bec ome what is c learly the optimal
c areer c hoic e for anyone anywhere: a mas ter plumber. N owhere
on the planet is there a poor or unemployed mas ter plumber! Too
late to c orrec t pas t follies , A ndrew now makes his living writing
s oftware, and writing books and magazine artic les .
Contributors and Reviewers
T he following individuals c ontributed hac ks , helped with hac ks ,
or reviewed material for this book:
A dam H arris (c ontributor and reviewer) is the number-

one pos terby a wide marginon the Skype forums . H is
knowledge and depth of expertis e on Skype are s ec ond
to none. A dam brought a rigor and pas s ion for ac c urac y
that rais ed the bar for the author and other c ontributors .
L awrenc e H uds on (reviewer) has been a pioneering us er

of various tec hnologies for more years than he c ares to
remember. T his has worked to his advantage, and to his
dis advantage, throughout his c areer as a
bus ines s pers on and entrepreneur. N onetheles s , his
fas c ination and enthus ias m for all things tec hnologic al
remain. N owhere was this more apparent than in his
enthus ias tic s upport for, and thorough review of, this
book.
J as on Terando (c ontributor) is the author of the ever-

us eful A c tiveS c omponent that you c an us e to interfac e
applic ations with Skype on Windows . M any of the
automation s c ripts in this book us e A c tiveS, s o a great
debt of thanks goes to J as on for making A c tiveS s o
liberally available through a BSD - s tyle lic ens e. You c an
download A c tiveS from the Khaos L abs web s ite,
http://www.khaos labs .c om/. C hapter 1 2 would not have
been pos s ibleor, at leas t, would be only a mere s hadow of
what it is were it not for J as on.
T heodore Wallingford (reviewer) is the author of the book

VoI P Hacks (O 'Reilly). Ted provided valuable feedbac k on
early c hapters of the book, and a whole lot of
enc ouragement to do more! N ot only is Ted an expert in
VoI P tec hnologies (http://www.mac voip.c om/), but he's
als o an enthus ias tic and ac c omplis hed writer, having
publis hed an earlier work on VoI P, Switching to VoI P
(O 'Reilly).
Kevin D elaney (c ontributor) is a c ofounder of Khaos L abs

and is an ac tive member of the Skype forums .
Acknowledgments
Writing this book was a rather nightmaris h experienc e. N ot only
is Skype moving fas ter than a s peeding bullet, but it is als o
c learly a tec hnology that needed to be written about, and written
about in a timely fas hion. T his put quite a lot of pres s ure on me
to write the book, but rather more on my family. To my s on
N athaniel, who los t a whole s ummer with his dad bec aus e of the
book, and to my wife Sus an, who put up with being growled at
from my c omputer keyboard in a hotel room in H awaii while on
vac ation, all I c an s ay is thanks , and that I hope to make it up to
both of you.
M ike L oukides , my editor, was the ins piration for this book. When
M ike s ugges ted I write a book on Skype hac ks , I didn't know
what a great undertaking the book would be, or how muc h I would
learn from the experienc e. N or, frankly, how muc h fun Skype as a
tec hnology would be. M ike was als o (together with L awrenc e
H uds on, mentioned earlier) a c ons tant pillar of s upport and
enc ouragement, and was s omeone to bounc e ideas off of during
my early days before s itting down to write the book, when I was
c ompletely replac ing my home phone s ys tem and otherwis e
hac king around with Skype.
Kelly L arabee at Skype was a joy to work with. She was very
profes s ional, and s he c ut through a lot of red tape to get the
book reviewed by the Skype development team. M any thanks go
to her, to Kat J ames , and to the team at Skype.
T he Skype c ommunity who are ac tive on the Skype us er forums

are a wonderful res ourc e for anyone us ing Skypeand for authors
of books on Skype, they are doubly s o! Too numerous to mention
by name, my thanks go out to all the regular, and irregular,
pos ters to the Skype forums . Spec ial mention goes to Bill
C ampbell and the Skype Journal (http://www.s kypejournal.c om/),
for his enc ouragement during the writing of this book and for his
ins ights into the world of Skype.
I 've been enamored with O 'Reilly as a publis her s inc e the days
of its X- Windows book s eries , and I 've been a c ons tant reader of
all things O 'Reilly s inc e then. So, when the opportunity to
ac tually write for O 'Reilly c ame about, I felt both flattered and
privileged by the opportunity. T he c rew at O 'Reilly didn't
dis appoint. I n terms of both the c aliber of the s taff and their
profes s ionalis m, O 'Reilly made Skype Hacks a reality in rec ord
time.
L as tly, in the final analys is , all authors mus t s houlder the

res pons ibility for their work. So, any errors or omis s ions that
remain in this book are not from want of effort to remove them,
but are the res ult of the fallibility of the author. H owever, I do
make the c ommitment that I will s hare any s uc h errors or
omis s ions that are brought to my attention with all readers of
this book, through its web s ite,
http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html. T his is
als o the plac e to c hec k for errata and updates to c ode lis tings .
Preface
M y involvement with Skype began in 2 0 0 4 when, after getting
tired of s eeing the outrageous ly high proportion of fixed c harges
and taxes on my phone bill eac h and every month, I dec ided to
do s omething about it. O ver the s pac e of a few months , I
gradually replac ed my old phone s ys tem with Skype. I n the
proc es s , I s haved 8 2 % off my phone bill!
But after a s hort while, Skype's potential to s ave lots of money

was s lowly ec lips ed by the realization that Skype c ould als o do
far, far more than any exis ting phone tec hnology, whether making
free c alls over the I nternet to s omeone on the other s ide of the
planet, having your phone number and c alls follow you wherever
you go, or being able to s end text mes s ages , for free, from a web
brows ereven with jus t a formatted U RL on a mac hine without
Skype ins talled and have it delivered to any Skype us er,
wherever he might be. T his is a tec hnology that is limited only
by your imagination. A s you will dis c over, you c an do things with
Skype that you s imply c annot do with your exis ting telephone
s ys tem or by us ing other VoI P offerings .
A s you get to know Skype, you will bec ome aware that Skype is
unlike any telephone s ys tem you have known before. A nd after a
s hort while, like D orothy in TheWizard of Oz, you might find
yours elf mouthing the words : "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in
Kans as anymore."
Skype Hacks is a book that s hows you how to s ave money by

us ing Skype, and how to remove the boundaries impos ed by
having lived within the c onfines of your regular phone s ys tem for
s o long, a s ys tem that has been in s tas is for dec ades dumb,
lifeles s , and unmoving. I t is a book that hopes to liberate your
imagination and s how, in a prac tic al hands - on way, how Skype
c an do amazing new things s ometimes things that even its
c reators never envis ioned. I f after reading this book, you find
yours elf with the urge to hac k around with Skype, the people at
O 'Reilly and I will have s uc c eeded in our jobs and in the proc es s ,
hopefully, we will have helped you to s ave a bundle of money.
A re you ready to journey onward to the "land over the rainbow"?

L et's go!
Why Skype Hacks?
T he term hacking has a bad reputation in the pres s . T hey us e it
to refer to s omeone who breaks into s ys tems or wreaks havoc
with c omputers as their weapon. A mong people who write c ode,
though, the term hack refers to a "quic k- and- dirty" s olution to a
problem, or a c lever way to get s omething done. A nd the term
hacker is taken very muc h as a c ompliment, referring to s omeone
as being creative, having the tec hnic al c hops to get things done.
T he H ac ks s eries is an attempt to rec laim the word, doc ument
the good ways people are hac king, and pas s the hac ker ethic of
c reative partic ipation on to the uninitiated. Seeing how others
approac h s ys tems and problems is often the quic kes t way to
learn about a new tec hnology.
Skype has very little in the way of doc umentation, partic ularly
for the Skype us er taking any s teps beyond the bas ic s . So in one
s ens e, Skype Hacks is a how- to guide for getting things done with
Skypelike a road map to Skype's bas ic features and beyond.
O n the other hand, it is als o a book that s hows you how, with a
little imagination, you c an make Skype do interes ting and new
things filling in the details on the map where before, there was
only "here be dragons ." H ac king around with Skype is eas y, fun,
and rewarding. Skype is a tec hnology that enc ourages
experimentation, s o the book helps to equip youthe readerwith
the minds et and tools et for you to hac k around with Skype on
your own.
Skype is a new tec hnology, moving very fas t and definitely

worthy of being written about. M oreover, it is a tec hnology that
needs to be written about now, given the dearth of available
independent s ourc es of information. By being publis hed now,
Skype Hacks aims to be one of the firs t s ourc es for us eful and
timely information on Skype. A nd, by being c ons tantly updated
in print and through the book's web s ite
(http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html), it is
hoped that it will remain a us eful res ourc e for all Skype us ers for
a long time to c ome.
How This Book Is Organized
You c an read this book from c over to c over if you like, but eac h
hac k s tands on its own, s o feel free to brows e and jump to the
different s ec tions that interes t you mos t. I f there's a
prerequis ite you need to know about, a c ros s - referenc e will
guide you to the right hac k.
T he book is divided into s everal c hapters , organized by s ubjec t:
C hapter 1 , Start Us ing Skype
T his c hapter is for readers who are new to Skype. I t

explains what Skype is and how it works , and introduc es
Skype's main features . I t als o builds a "Skype
voc abulary" of c onc epts and terminology that will help
when more advanc ed hac ks are enc ountered; and, in this
res pec t, it helps the reader to gras p s ome of the links
among hac ks in the book that would otherwis e remain
hidden.
C hapter 2 , Save Money with Skype
Skype has the potential to s ave a lot of money for mos t

c urrent us ers of landline phone s ervic es . T his c hapter
foc us es on the ec onomic s of Skype and the ways of
figuring potential s avings . I t s ugges ts ways of
maximizing your s avings by mixing Skype s ervic es with
your exis ting phone s ervic e, or other alternative
I nternet phone s ervic es . T his c hapter s ugges ts ways to
avoid potentially c os tly traps and pitfalls that may trip
up the unwary.
C hapter 3 , Configure Skype
Skype c onfiguration really falls into two dis tinc t

c ategories . T he firs t is c onfiguration to get Skype to
s imply work, and this c hapter helps a little in that
res pec t. T he s ec ond is c onfiguration to get Skype to
work the way you wantthat is , improving performanc e,
and c us tomizing Skype to meet your individual needs .
T he foc us of this c hapter is mos t dis tinc tly on the
s ec ond c ategory.
C hapter 4 , Tweak and Tune Skype
I n many ways , this c hapter expands on the theme begun

in the previous c hapterthat is , c onfiguring, tweaking, and
tuning Skype to work the way you want it to work.
C hapter 5 , Skype at Work
Skype in its c urrent form is not targeted at bus ines s

us ers . But more and more bus ines s - ready features are
making their way into Skype with eac h new releas e. E ven
now, as this c hapter s hows , Skype has a lot to offer the
workplac e for thos e willing to give it a try.
C hapter 6 , Mobile Skype

Skype is only now beginning to s how its potential impac t
on mobile telephony. But that impac t will no doubt be as
ground s haking as it has been on fixed landline
telephony. T his c hapter s hows how, by hac king around
with Skype, you c an improve and enhanc e your
c ommunic ation while on the move.
C hapter 7 , Skype Fun and Play
From having fun with c reating your own ringtones , to

prac tic ing a foreign language with native s peakers , this
c hapter s hows the fun and playful s ide of Skype.
C hapter 8 , Skype Chat and Voicemail
Sometimes it's eas y to forget that there's more to Skype

than jus t voic e c alls . T his c hapter redres s es that
balanc e by s howing you how to hac k around with Skype's
other major features ; namely, ins tant mes s aging or
"c hat," and voic email.
C hapter 9 , Security and Privacy
Sec urity and privac y s hould be a c onc ern for anyone who
is part of the Skype online c ommunity. Some hac ks in
this c hapter will help you to have only the vis ibility you
des ire within the Skype c ommunity, and other hac ks will
help s ec ure you agains t s ome of the more c ommon ris ks
enc ountered by Skype us ers .
C hapter 1 0 , Quirks , Gotchas , and Workarounds
Skype has its limitations , and you'll learn how to deal

with them in this c hapter. M oreover, where pos s ible, you
als o will rec eive s ugges tions for workarounds for the
mos t obvious quirks and gotc has .
C hapter 1 1 , Skype Add-Ons and Tools
Skype has a burgeoning market for addon produc ts and

tools that us e the Skype A P I to extend Skype's
func tionality or that us e Skype's s ervic es . T his c hapter
gives a glimps e of what's c urrently available, and a
s ens e of what is yet to c ome.
C hapter 1 2 , Automate Skype
I n this c hapter, you rec eive an introduc tion to the Skype

A P I and you learn how to extend Skype's func tionality
and automate repetitive tas ks us ing s c ripting methods :
V BSc ript on Windows , P ython on L inux, and A ppleSc ript
on M ac O S X. I n addition, thes e A P I s c ripts are mixed
with s hell s c ripts and s c ripts that drive Skype's G U I
direc tly to ac hieve what no one method alone c an
ac hieve. T his mixing and matc hing of c omplementary
s c ripting methods provides greater flexibility in terms of
automating Skype. T hroughout the c hapter, the
emphas is is not only to provide you with a c ollec tion of
us eful s c ripts that you c an us e as is , but als o to equip
you with the nec es s ary knowledge and tools to s tart
writing your own s c ripts and, in that way, to automate
Skype for yours elf.
Financial Exchange (FX) Rate
Skype pric es mos t of its s ervic es in euros , whic h is the c ommon
c urrenc y of the majority of the member c ountries of the
E uropean U nion. T he s ymbol for euros is To make the book

more palatable to A meric an readers , pric es in the book are often
given firs t in euros and then again in U .S. dollars . T he
c onvers ion fac tor between any two c urrenc ies (not jus t euros
and dollars ) c ommonly is referred to as the financ ial exc hange
(FX) rate, or s imply FX rate.
M oreover, s ometimes it is als o c ommon prac tic e to refer to a

c urrenc y not by name, but rather, by a s tandardized and unique
three- letter c ode. E very national c urrenc y in the world has s uc h
a three- letter c ode. For the euro, the c ode is E U R, and for the
U .S. dollar, it is U SD . Sometimes c urrenc ies are referred to in
the book by their three- letter c odes .
FX rates are not c ons tant. I n fac t, they c an and do move around
a lot. But bec aus e a book is not a "live" doc ument, it mus t us e a
fixed exc hange rate. T herefore, unles s s tated otherwis e, euro-
to- dollar c onvers ions were c arried out at this FX rate: 1 E U R =
1 .2 5 U SD .
Skype Software Versions
Skype is advanc ing very quic kly and new releas es are frequent
for all of Skype's s upported platforms : Windows , L inux, M ac O S
X, and P oc ket P C , at the time of this writing. Without a doubt,
this is good news for you, the Skype us er. But, from an author's
point of view, it makes the job of keeping the book up- to- date
very diffic ult. E ven during the writing of this book, on s everal
oc c as ions , I had to retes t hac ks already written for c ompatibility
with new releas es of Skype. Table P - 1 outlines the vers ions of
Skype I was us ing as the book went to pres s , together with the
minimum s ys tem requirements for eac h platform.
I n terms of tes ting Skype on its res pec tive platforms , I us ed

thes e operating s ys tems and applic ations :
Windows
M ic ros oft Windows XP SP 2

M ic ros oft I nternet E xplorer 6 .0 .2 9 0 0 .2 1 8 0
M ic ros oft O ffic e 2 0 0 2 P rofes s ional SP 3
Skype Toolbar 0 .9 (beta) for M ic ros oft I nternet
E xplorer
Skype Toolbar 0 .9 .1 0 7 (beta) for M ic ros oft
O utlook
Linux
SuSE 9 .3 P ro with the KD E des ktop

Mac OS X
A pple O S X 1 0 .4 (T iger)
Skype Widget 1 .0 .2
Pocket PC
M ic ros oft Windows M obile 2 0 0 3 Sec ond E dition
Table Skype's minimum hardware requirements

Windows Linux Mac OS X Pocket PC
Skype
Skype 1 .4 .0 .5 6 Skype
Skype 1 .3 .0 .8 1 .2 .0 .4
(beta) 1 .2 .0 .1 1 _A P I
(beta)
SuSE 9 , Fedora Windows

C ore 3 , M obile
1 0 .3 (P anther)
2 0 0 0 or XP M andriva 1 0 .1 , 2 0 0 3 for
or newer
D ebian 3 , or P oc ket P C
newer or newer
400MHz 400MHz G 3 , G 4 , or G 5 400MHz

proc es s or proc es s or proc es s or proc es s or
WiFi
1 2 8 M B of RA M 1 2 8 M B of RA M 1 2 8 M B of RA M
enabled
1 5 M B of dis k 1 0 M B of dis k 2 0 M B of dis k
s pac e s pac e s pac e
Sound- in devic e Sound- in devic e Sound- in devic e
Sound- out Sound- out Sound- out

devic e devic e devic e
Broadband Broadband Broadband

I nternet I nternet I nternet
c onnec tion, or c onnec tion, or c onnec tion, or
minimum 3 3 .6 minimum 3 3 .6 minimum 3 3 .6
Kbps dial- up Kbps dial- up Kbps dial- up
I als o feel obliged to explain the rationale behind us ing Skype

"betas " on s ome platforms . Writing a book is a proc es s that
nec es s arily s pans s everal months , and even onc e the book is
written, preparation for produc tion, and produc tion its elf, add
many more months before the book hits the s helves at
books tores . For many s ubjec ts , this is of little c ons equenc e.
H owever, when you're writing about s omething as fas t moving as
Skype, there is a dis tinc t danger that muc h of what's written will
be out of date by the time it gets into readers ' hands . To mitigate
this problem I have us ed beta vers ions of Skype wherever
pos s ible on the as s umption that the func tionality in thos e will
more c los ely matc h the func tionality available to this book's
readers . T his c ombined with frequent revis ions between print
runs and timely updates pos ted to the book's web s ite s hould
make the book both us eful and relevant for a long time to c ome.
O ne reas on to c ons ider the hardware

requirements of Table P - 1 as being the
abs olute bare minimum requirements is
that Skype is advanc ing at a phenomenal
rate, with eac h new releas e bringing you
new features and improvements to exis ting
features . A ll of this new func tionality mus t
s urely c ome at the c os t of inc reas ed
hardware res ourc es .
Conventions Used in This Book
T he following is a lis t of the typographic al c onventions us ed in
this book:
I talics
U s ed to indic ate U RL s , filenames , filename extens ions ,

and direc tory/folder names . For example, a path in the
files ys tem appears as /Developer/Applications .
Constant width
U s ed to s how c ode examples , the c ontents of files ,

c ons ole output, as well as the names of variables ,
c ommands , and other c ode exc erpts .
Constant width bold
U s ed to highlight portions of c ode, typic ally new

additions to old c ode.
Constant width italic
U s ed in c ode examples and tables to s how s ample text

to be replac ed with your own values .
You s hould pay s pec ial attention to notes s et apart from the text
with the following ic ons :
T his is a tip, s ugges tion, or general note.

I t c ontains us eful s upplementary
information about the topic at hand.
T his is a warning or note of c aution, often

indic ating that your money or your privac y
might be at ris k.
T he thermometer ic ons , found next to eac h hac k, indic ate the

relative c omplexity of the hac k:
beginner moderate expert

Using Code Examples
T his book is here to help you get your job done. I n general, you
may us e the c ode in this book in your programs and
doc umentation. You do not need to c ontac t us for permis s ion
unles s you're reproduc ing a s ignific ant portion of the c ode. For
example, writing a program that us es s everal c hunks of c ode
from this book does not require permis s ion. Selling or
dis tributing a C D - RO M of examples from O 'Reilly books does
require permis s ion. A ns wering a ques tion by c iting this book and
quoting example c ode does not require permis s ion.
I nc orporating a s ignific ant amount of example c ode from this
book into your produc t's doc umentation does require permis s ion.
We apprec iate, but do not require, attribution. A n attribution

us ually inc ludes the title, author, publis her, and I SBN . For
example: "Skype Hacks by A ndrew Sheppard. C opyright 2 0 0 6
O 'Reilly M edia, I nc ., I SBN 0 - 5 9 6 - 1 0 1 8 9 - 9 ."
I f you feel your us e of c ode examples falls outs ide fair us e or the
permis s ion given here, feel free to c ontac t us at
permis s ions @ oreilly.c om.
How to Contact Us
We have tes ted and verified the information in this book to the
bes t of our ability, but you may find that features have c hanged
(or even that we have made mis takes ! ). A s a reader of this book,
you c an help us to improve future editions by s ending us your
feedbac k. P leas e let us know about any errors , inac c urac ies ,
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P leas e als o let us know what we c an do to make this book more

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To as k tec hnic al ques tions or to c omment on the book, s end

email to:
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T he web s ite for Skype Hacks lis ts examples , errata, downloads ,

and plans for future editions . You c an find this page at:
http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/s kypehks /
For more information about this book and others , s ee the

O 'Reilly web s ite:
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Chapter 1. Start Using Skype
Sec tion 1 .1 . H ac ks 1 1 2 : I ntroduc tion
H ac k 1 . M ake Your Firs t Skype C all
H ac k 2 . C hat U s ing Skype
H ac k 3 . Set U p and M ake a C onferenc e C all
H ac k 4 . Try SkypeO ut, Ris k Free
H ac k 5 . Try SkypeI n, Ris k Free
H ac k 6 . Try Skype Voic email, Ris k Free
H ac k 7 . Roam the World with Skype Zones
H ac k 8 . Trans fer a File U s ing Skype
H ac k 9 . M ake Toll- Free C alls
H ac k 1 0 . Forward C alls
H ac k 1 1 . D ial L ike a Wizard
H ac k 1 2 . Troubles hoot Skype

1.1. Hacks 112: Introduction
T his c hapter is targeted at readers who are new to Skype, or who
have only heard about Skype and would like to try it.
E xperienc ed Skype us ers might want to s kip this c hapter and
move on to more advanc ed s tuff in C hapter 2 and beyond.
By reading this c hapter, you will ac hieve three important goals :

you will know what Skype is and what it c an do; you will ac quire a
"Skype voc abulary" that will help you make better us e of the
hac ks that follow in s ubs equent c hapters ; and you will be able to
make a s mooth trans ition to bec oming a dyed- in- the- wool
"Skyper." M oreover, you will ac hieve thes e goals in an ac tion-
oriented wayby doing hac ks !
A dditionally, by reading this c hapteran alternative title for whic h

c ould be "A Whirlwind Tour of Skype's Features "you will als o s ee
links among later hac ks that would otherwis e remain hidden. I n
s hort, if you are new to Skype, this c hapter is for you.
1.1.1. What Is Skype?
Skype is both s oftware and a bundle of s ervic es . I t is an

implementation of Voice over I P (VoI P ) that enables people to
have two- way telephone c onvers ations over the I nternet us ing a
s oftphone (a piec e of s oftware that emulates the func tions of
regular phone hardware to make and rec eive c alls ). M any VoI P
offerings are available. What makes Skype s o different, and
revolutionary, is that it is bas ed on Peer-to-Peer (P 2 P ) tec hnology
s imilar to Kazaa (this is not s urpris ing, really, given that Skype
was developed by the s ame people who brought us Kazaa). U s ing
P 2 P tec hnology means that Skype runs on a mes h of
interc onnec ted P C s s pread ac ros s the global I nternet (s ee
Figure 1 - 1 ). T his provides two important benefits to Skype
us ers . Firs t, Skype s c ales very well and there is little ris k that it
will run out of res ourc es .
Sec ond, bec aus e the Skype us er c ommunity provides the

res ourc es to run Skype, it requires very little of its own
infras truc ture, s o its s ervic es c an be offered at little or no c os t.
Figure 1-1. Skype runs on a mesh of computers

that span the global Internet
I n Figure 1 - 1 , a Skype node is s imply a c omputer running the
Skype applic ation (als o s ometimes c alled a Skype c lient).
L ikewis e, a s uper node is als o s imply a c omputer running the
Skype applic ation, but Skype has nominated it to take on s ome
of the adminis trative and c oordinating ac tivities of its P 2 P
network. A s Skype has not made public the rules under whic h a
node c an bec ome a s uper node, bec oming a s uper node is not
s omething over whic h you have any real c ontrol; though, c learly,
your c hanc es of bec oming a s uper node are greater the more
P 2 P friendly your I nternet c onnec tion is . O f c ours e, in reality,
there are millions of nodes and thous ands , or perhaps tens or
hundreds of thous ands , of s uper nodes .
A node mus t regis ter and authentic ate its elf with a Skype s erver
during login. O nc e a c all is es tablis hed between two nodes ,
where pos s ible, a direc t I nternet link between the two is us ed.
By direc tly c onnec ting two nodes for c alls , Skype minimizes
network routing overhead and therefore c an deliver better voic e
quality.
Skype- to- Skype c alls are free. Similarly, Skype us ers c an

c onferenc e c all, c hat, and trans fer files with eac h other at no
c os t. A conference call enables s everal people to partic ipate in
the s ame c all, jus t as though they were s itting around the s ame
c onferenc e table. Chat is a generic term for what people
generally refer to as ins tant mes s aging s ervic es , whic h allow
ins tant text c ommunic ation between two or more people over the
I nternet.
A ll Skype traffic is encrypted end to end (whic h makes your

c ommunic ation more s ec ure by obs c uring information from
eaves droppers along the c ommunic ation path), s o it's s omewhat
more s ec ure than mos t alternatives , inc luding regular phone
lines . E nd- to- end enc ryption means that you and the rec ipient of
your c ommunic ation have free and open ac c es s to the
exc hanged information, but at any point along the
c ommunic ation path in between, that s ame information is
unintelligible. Skype- to- Skype c alls are enc rypted end to end.
I nc oming c alls for SkypeI n and outgoing c alls for SkypeO ut are
only enc rypted while on the Skype network and are not enc rypted
for the part of their trans mis s ion that goes over the public
telephone network.
I f this were all that Skype offers , Skype would be an is land unto
its elf and of rather limited interes t. H owever, Skype als o offers
s ix prepaid addon s ervic es all at extremely low c os tthat allow
Skype us ers to make and rec eive c alls to regular phones (as
well as make free c alls to other Skype us ers ), and muc h more. I n
brief, here are the s ix s ervic es :
SkypeOut
A llows you to c all regular telephones , anywhere in the

world, at very low rates as low as 0 .0 1 7 (about
$ 0 .0 2 1 ) per minute. H owever, rates do vary, and c alls to
mobile phones and s ome des tinations c an c os t
s ubs tantially more than 0 .0 1 7 per minute.
SkypeI n
G ives you a dial- in telephone number that regular

phones c an c all. T he number will be routed automatic ally
to wherever you happen to be logged onto Skype. P hone
numbers are available for s everal c ountries and their
regions . C urrently, a SkypeI n number c os ts 30
(about $ 3 7 ) per year. A s an added bonus , SkypeI n
c omes bundled with voic email.
Voicemail
A llows you to rec eive voic email mes s ages from anyone
and lis ten to them at any time and from anywhere you
are logged onto Skype. U s ing this s ervic e, you c an als o
s end voic email to other Skype us ers , even if they are
not s ubs c ribers to Skype voic email.
Skype Zones
T his s oftware addon for Skype gives mobile Skype

us ers ac c es s to thous ands (more than 1 8 ,0 0 0 at the
time of this writing) of wireles s hots pots dotted around
the globe from whic h to us e Skype and its s ervic es . I t is
important to note that this is a Skype- only s ervic e and it
does not s upport other I nternet ac tivities for example,
web brows ing.
Pers onalis e Skype
A llows you to buy c us tom ringtones and pic tures for

your profile from Skype's online s tore to give a pers onal
s ound and look to your Skype experienc e.
Skype Groups
T his Skype s ervic e s implifies the management of, and
payment for, other Skype s ervic es for groups of people.
U s ing Skype G roups , an adminis trator for a group c an
alloc ate SkypeO ut c redits , SkypeI n numbers , and
voic email to all members of a group. A nd all this c an be
done without the need for multiple c redit c ards and
s eparate payments ! P lus , reports c an be generated to
keep the managers and ac c ountants happy.
You s hould als o be aware that Skype is unlike any telephone

s ys tem you have known before. I t is bas ed on tec hnologies
totally unlike your exis ting Plain Old Telephone Sys tem (P O T S)
that us es the Public Switched Telephone Network (P ST N ), whic h is
run by large telephone c ompanies that we've all c ome to know,
and in many c as es hate! N or does it us e indus try- s tandard
protoc ols , s uc h as the Ses s ion I nitiation Protocol (SI P ), whic h
means that it does not interoperate with other VoI P s ervic es .
A ls o, Skype has only rudimentary Private Branch Exchange (P BX)
features (whic h allow phones within an organization to c onnec t to
eac h other as well as to the outs ide world), though this may well
c hange as Skype matures .
Skype delivers s urpris ingly good voic e quality c alls over the
I nternet us ing s urpris ingly low data- rate requirements . T he data
rate that an I nternet c onnec tion c an s upport us ually is referred
to as its bandwidth. D ial- up modems have typic al c onnec tion
bandwidths in the range of 2 8 .8 to 5 6 kilobits per s econd (Kbps ),
or 3 .6 to 7 .0 kilobytes (KB) per s econd, where 1 byte equals 8
bits . Broadband c onnec tion s peed is typic ally meas ured in
hundreds of kilobits per s ec ond, and pos s ibly in megabits per
s econd (M bps ) for fas t c onnec tions , where 1 M bps equals 1 ,0 0 0
Kpbs . Skype typic ally c ons umes between 3 and 1 6 kilobytes per
s ec ond (2 4 Kbps to 1 2 8 Kbps ). H owever, obvious ly your Skype
experienc e will improve with higher available bandwidths . T his is
es pec ially true if you are doing other things s uc h as brows ing the
Web or downloading files while making a Skype c all.
Skype works with almos t any type of I nternet c onnec tion: dial-up
(where you c onnec t with a modem over a regular telephone line);
broadband Digital Subs criber Line (D SL , or its c ous in, As ymmetric
DSL or A D SL ); cable broadband; local area network (L A N ); Pers onal
Area Network (P A N , us ually us ing Bluetooth, whic h is a s hort-
range wireles s tec hnology); Wireles s Fidelity (WiFi) or hots pot (a
public wireles s c onnec tion); and even s atellite I nternet s ervic es
(whic h us ually c onnec t through a radio dis h pointing s kyward at
a geos ync hronous s atellite in s pac e). G iven any one of thes e
types of I nternet c onnec tions with enough bandwidth, and
c hanc es are you'll be Skyping in no time! H owever, you s hould
unders tand that good c all quality depends a great deal on having
s uffic ient bandwidth and low latenc y, whic h is a c hallenge if your
c onnec tion is through dial- up (poor bandwidth) or s atellite (poor
latenc y).
A s you will no doubt dis c over, you c an do things with Skype that
you s imply c annot do us ing your exis ting telephone s ys tem or
other VoI P offerings . T hes e "things " are not jus t tec hnologic al,
either, as many of them repres ent ways to s ave money that were
jus t impos s ible before. Skype is revolutionary bec aus e of the
tec hnology it us es . For that reas on, you are limited only by your
imagination. H appy hac king!
M ac O S X and the P oc ket P C platforms

don't s upport the mous e right- c lic k ac tion.
I n the hac ks that follow, for thos e c as es
where an item of func tionality is s upported
by M ac O S X or P oc ket P C but is not
available through right- c lic king, the
equivalent ac tions to ac c es s s uc h
func tionality are s tated explic itly.
Hack 1. Make Your First Skype Call
If you're new to Skype, this hack will have you talking online
quickly and with a minimum of f uss.
Works with: all vers ions of Skype.
N ot s urpris ingly, Skype has gone to great lengths to make it

eas y to ins tall and us e Skype. I ns tead of duplic ating what Skype
has put in plac e for new Skype us ers , here I s imply intend to ac t
as your friendly guide.
J us t like when you tes t- drive a c ar, the goal is to get you on the
road as quic kly as pos s ible and put Skype through its pac es , all
the while avoiding the potholes and other obs tac les that might
get in the way.
Follow thes e s teps and make your firs t Skype c all with a
minimum of aggravation and fus s :
Check minimum s ys tem requirements
Table P - 1 in the P refac e gives a quic k overview of

s ys tem requirements for eac h platform Skype s upports .
A t the time of this writing, Skype s upported Windows
(2 0 0 0 and XP ), L inux (SuSE , Fedora C ore, D ebian, and
M adriva, formerly M andrake), M ac O S X (1 0 .3 P anther
or later), and P oc ket P C (M obile 2 0 0 3 ). For the lates t
requirements for eac h Skype platform, c hec k the
download page for the vers ion you are interes ted in, at
http://www.s kype.c om/download/. Remember, thes e are
minimum s ys tem requirements , s o you may want to build
in a little margin of error when dec iding whether your
mac hine is up to the job. T his is es pec ially true if you
intend to us e your mac hine for other tas ks while you
talk.
Check out Skype's look-and-feel online
Before ins talling Skype, it's well worth it to firs t

familiarize yours elf with the look- and- feel of Skype on
your preferred platform (s ee Figure 1 - 2 ). T hat way, when
you firs t run Skype, you'll be looking at s omething
familiar. You c an familiarize yours elf with Skype by
vis iting Skype's web s ite, at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s c reens hots .html.
Figure 1-2. Familiarize yourself with

Skype's look-and-feel by flicking through
screenshots online (in this case, for
Windows)
Download and ins tall Skype
G o to the download page of Skype's web s ite,

http://www.s kype.c om/download/, pic k the ins tall
pac kage for the platform of your c hoic e, download it, and
follow Skype's ins tallation ins truc tions . Skype has made
a good effort to make thes e s teps eas y and trouble free.
Start Skype and configure options
A fter s tarting Skype, either as the las t s tep of the

ins tallation proc edure, by double- c lic king its ic on, or by
direc tly running the Skype exec utable, s elec t Skype
Tools O ptions … (Skype P referenc es …
on M ac O S X) to open the C onfiguration O ptions window.
T he two areas where a new Skype us er is mos t likely to
have problems are with s ound devic es and network
s ettings , whic h you c an find under the option c ategories
lis ted in Table 1 - 1 . C lic k on eac h c onfiguration c ategory
in turn and review its s ettings . For eac h s etting, as k
yours elf whether its value is c ompatible with what you
know about your mac hine and network c onfiguration; if it
is n't, make any nec es s ary c hanges before s aving your
Skype c onfiguration options .
Table 1-1. Skype's audio and network

settings
Options
Platf orm category What to look at…
C hec k that the audio- in and
audio- out devic es are the
Windows Sound D evic es
ones you want to us e to make
c alls .
C hec k that the port number

for inc oming c onnec tions is
c ompatible with your network
C onnec tion s etup; if it is n't, c hange it.
C hec k ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 . Set
up a proxy manually if it is not
detec ted automatic ally.
C hec k that the c orrec t audio

L inux H and/H eads ets
devic e is s elec ted for c alls .

for inc oming c onnec tions is
A dvanc ed c ompatible with your network
s etup; if it is n't, c hange it.
C hec k ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 .
C hec k that the audio- in and

M ac O S audio- out devic es are the
A udio
X ones you want to us e to make
c alls .

A dvanc ed for inc oming c onnec tions is
c ompatible with your network
s etup; if it is n't, c hange it.
For P oc ket P C there are no

P oc ket
O ptions audio or network s ettings you
PC
c an c ontrol.
Call the Skype Call Tes ting Service (echo123)
To c all Skype's automated tes t s ervic e, s imply enter

"ec ho1 2 3 " in Skype's addres s field and c lic k on the
lefthand green button with a pic ture of a phone hands et
on it (s ee Figure 1 - 3 ). O nc e c onnec ted, you s hould hear
a prerec orded greeting that explains how the ec ho1 2 3
s ervic e works and what you s hould do next. Follow the
verbal ins truc tions and if all goes well you s hould hear
your voic e played bac k to you. When you do, hang up.
Figure 1-3. Dialing the echo123 service

Hang up
You c an hang up a c all at any time by c lic king on the

righthand red button with a pic ture of a phone hands et on
it (s ee Figure 1 - 4 ). C ongratulations ! You've made your
firs t Skype c all.
Figure 1-4. Hang up a call at any time by

clicking on the righthand red phone button
Troubles hoot
I f your c all to ec ho1 2 3 worked, greatwelc ome to Skype!

But if it did not, you s till have s ome work to do to make
that firs t c all. You're in troubles hooting territory and you
s hould s kip ahead to "Troubles hoot Skype" [Hack #12].
Hack 2. Chat Using Skype
If you're new to Skype, this hack will have you chatting online
quickly and with a minimum of f uss.
Skype c hat is an implementation of ins tant mes s aging, whic h is

an online, real- time interac tive c ommunic ation method that us es
s imple text to s end and rec eive mes s ages . You and up to 5 0 (at
the time of this writing) other Skype us ers c an s imultaneous ly
"c hat," s ending mes s ages bac k and forth to eac h other s o that
all c hat partic ipants c an s ee and partic ipate in the exc hange.
U nfortunately, Skype c hat does not interoperate with other

popular ins tant mes s aging s ys tems , s uc h as M SN M es s enger,
A O L I ns tant M es s enger, and Yahoo! . H owever, s ome thirdparty
addon s ervic es are popping up to bridge the gap; for example,
C onnec totel (http://www.C onnec totel.c om/) demons trated a
Skype to Short Mes s age Service (SM S) gateway in early 2 0 0 5 .
See C hapter 1 1 for add- ons , tools , and s ervic es that extend
Skype.
For this hac k, I as s ume that you already have Skype up and
running, you've made your firs t Skype c all with "M ake Your Firs t
Skype C all" [Hack #1], and you're ready to explore Skype's c hat
feature. So, if you're ready to c hat, let's begin:
Check out how chat works online
Skype provides online vis ual guides that explain s pec ific
Skype features . Before embarking on a c hat s es s ion, you
would do well to get to know Skype's c hat features by
reviewing the c hat vis ual guide, loc ated at
http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /mes s age.html.
Configure s ettings
O pen Skype and s elec t Tools O ptions … (Skype

P referenc es … on M ac O S X) to dis play the
c onfiguration s ettings window. You will find c hat s ettings
under the c ategories lis ted in Table 1 - 2 . Review c hat
s ettings in thes e c ategories , make any des ired c hanges ,
and then s ave your Skype c onfiguration options .
Start a chat s es s ion
A s s hown in Table 1 - 3 , you c an s tart a one- on- one c hat

s es s ion in a few different ways . You c an s tart a
multipers on c hat s es s ion by us ing any of the methods
lis ted in Table 1 - 4 . Starting a c hat s es s ion with one or
more other Skype us ers s hould open a window that looks
like that s hown in Figure 1 - 6 . N ote that the P oc ket P C
vers ion of Skype does not c urrently s upport multipers on
c hat s es s ions .
I f you're new to Skype and don't

have any c ontac ts with whic h to
c hat, you c an c hat with Skype's
automated tes t s ervic e ins tead.
J us t enter "ec ho1 2 3 " in Skype's
addres s field and s tart a c hat
s es s ion. I t won't be a very
interes ting c hat s es s ion, as
ec ho1 2 3 will s imply repeat bac k to
you the mes s ages you s end.
A s an added bonus , you c an s end

ec ho1 2 3 the mes s age "c allme"
(without quotes and with no
s pac es ) and it will c all you bac k to
do a voic e c all tes t.
I nvite more people to j oin
Starting with a one- on- one or multipers on c hat s es s ion,

as s hown in Figure 1 - 6 , you c an add more people to the
c hat s es s ion by c lic king on either the "A dd more us ers
to this c hat! " button or the "A dd people to this c hat"
ic on (s ee Figure 1 - 7 ).
Chat
M es s ages exc hanged among all c hat partic ipants

appear in the c hat window (s ee Figure 1 - 6 ). You c an
s end your own mes s ages to all partic ipants by entering
your mes s age text in the box at the bottom of the
window.
Quit chat
You c an quit a c hat s es s ion at any time by c lic king on

the quit c hat ic on (s ee Figure 1 - 5 ) in the c hat window.
Troubles hoot
I f at any point during the prec eding s teps , c hat didn't

behave as you expec ted, or if things have patently gone
wrong, you s hould s kip ahead to "Troubles hoot Skype"
[Hack #12].
Table 1-2. Skupe's chat settings

Options
Platf orm What to look at…
category
C hec k that the double- c lic k behavior for

c ontac ts is what you want. A double-
Windows G eneral
c lic k c an s tart a c hat s es s ion or s tart a
c all. D ec ide whether to s how emotic ons .
C hoos e what c ategory of c ontac ts to

P rivac y allow c hat from. A ls o dec ide for how long
you want to retain c hat his tories .
D ec ide whether you want a popup

N otific ations notific ation when s omeone s tarts a c hat
with you.
Sounds D ec ide whether you want a s ound to be
played when a c hat mes s age arrives .
C hec k s ettings for c hat s tyle, times tamp

dis play, and whether the c hat window
A dvanc ed
s hould pop up when s omeone s tarts a
c hat with you.

c ontac ts is what you want. A double-
L inux G eneral
c lic k c an s tart a c hat s es s ion or s tart a
c all. D ec ide whether to s how emotic ons .

P rivac y allow c hat from. A ls o dec ide for how long
you want to retain c hat his tories .
D ec ide whether to have popup and

C hat A lerts
s ound notific ations for c hat.

M ac O S c ontac ts is what you want. A double-
G eneral
X c lic k c an s tart a c hat s es s ion or s tart a
c all.

P rivac y
allow c hat from.
E vents C hoos e how ins tant mes s age events are

to be notified.
D ec ide whether to open c hats in
s eparate windows . C hoos e a retention
C hat
period for c hat his tory, and c hoos e
emotic on s tyle.
P oc ket C hoos e what c ategory of c ontac ts to

O ptions
PC allow c hat from.
Table 1-3. Ways of starting a one-on-one chat

session in Skype
A ction to start a chat

Windows Linux Mac OS X Pocket PC
session
I n the C ontac ts tab…
Selec t a c ontac t and

c lic k on the ic on to
s tart a c hat s es s ion
(Figure 1 - 5 ).
C ontac ts Touc h and

Selec t a c ontac t, right- hold s tylus ,
c lic k, and then c hoos e Send then c hoos e
"Send an
Start C hat… I ns tant I ns tant
M es s age… M es s age"
I n the C all L is t tab (the

L og tab on P oc ket P C )…
Selec t a c all and then

c lic k on the ic on to
s tart a c hat s es s ion
(Figure 1 - 5 ).
Touc h and
C ontac ts
hold s tylus ,
Selec t a c all, rightc lic k,
then c hoos e
and c hoos e Start Send
"Send an
C hat…. I ns tant
I ns tant
M es s age…
M es s age"
Figure 1-5. Skype icons to start (left) and quit

(right) a chat session
Table 1-4. Ways of starting a multiperson chat
session in Skype
A ction to start a chat session Windows Linux Mac OS X
Selec t multiple c ontac ts , and then

c lic k on the ic on to s tart a c hat
s es s ion (Figure 1 - 5 ).
C ontac ts
Selec t multiple c ontac ts , rightc lic k,
and then c hoos e Start C hat… Start
M ultic hat
Figure 1-6. The Skype chat window

Figure 1-7. Button (left) and icon (right) to add
more people to an open chat session
Hack 3. Set Up and Make a Conference
Call
If you're new to Skype, this hack will help you set up and make
a conf erence call quickly and with a minimum of f uss.
Works with: Windows , L inux, and M ac O S X vers ions of Skype.
A c onferenc e c all allows s everal geographic ally s eparated

people to talk with eac h other as though they are s itting in the
s ame c onferenc e room. Skype allows you, and up to four others
(at the time of this writing), to join together in a c onferenc e c all.
Before moving on to the mec hanic s of making a Skype

c onferenc e c all, you s hould be aware of a number of ground rules
and limitations pertaining to Skype c onferenc e c alls . Firs t,
c onferenc e partic ipants c an't dial- in to your SkypeI n number to
join the c onferenc e, s o you c an invite only Skype us ers and
SkypeO ut c ontac ts (for whic h, in the c as e of the latter, you make
the outgoing c alls and are billed at the appropriate c all rate for
eac h partic ipant's c all des tination) to join a c onferenc e.
C onferenc e c all partic ipants c an, of c ours e, hang up and leave
the c onferenc e at any time. Sec ond, you, as the c onferenc e hos t,
are the only pers on who c an invite more people to join the
c onferenc e while it is in progres s , and you are the only pers on
who c an bring the c onferenc e to an end. T hird, you mus t have
s uffic ient available bandwidth to hos t the c onferenc e, as your
bandwidth needs s c ale roughly in proportion to the number of
c onferenc e partic ipants ; if you don't, you might want to c ons ider
having one of the other c onferenc e partic ipants bec ome the
c onferenc e hos t, if they have more available bandwidth than you
do.
So, you've made your firs t Skype c all ("M ake Your Firs t Skype
C all" [Hack #1]), you're c hatting online ("C hat U s ing Skype"
[Hack #2]) with friends and family as though there's no
tomorrowwhat's next? Setting up and making a c onferenc e c all is
a s nap if you follow thes e s teps :
Check out how conference calls work online
U s e Skype's online vis ual us er guide to get to know how

c onferenc e c alls work
(http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /c onferenc e.html).
Configure s ettings
N o c urrent vers ion of Skype has any c onfiguration

s ettings s pec ific to making c onferenc e c alls . H owever,
this may c hange in the future, s o it is always worthwhile
to review Skype's s ettings before moving on to the next
s tep.
Start a conference call
You have quite a few c hoic es when it c omes to s tarting a

c onferenc e c all, as s hown in Table 1 - 5 . N ote that Skype
us ers on P oc ket P C s c an partic ipate in c onferenc e c alls ,
but they c annot initiate or hos t c onferenc e c alls .
I nvite more people to j oin
You c an add c ontac ts to a c onferenc e c all in progres s by

us ing any of the methods lis ted in Table 1 - 6 . T here is ,
however, one s mall gotc ha. I f you s tart a one- on- one
c all, you c annot c onvert it into a c onferenc e c all by
adding additional c ontac ts . To be a c onferenc e c all, a
c all mus t s tart as a c onferenc e c all! Skype has
announc ed that in s ome future vers ion of Skype, you will
be able to c onvert a one- to- one c all into a c onferenc e
c all without hanging up and s tarting over.
Talk
T he idea behind a c onferenc e c all is that it's the audio-

only equivalent of a group of people gathering around a
c onferenc e table and talking. So, jus t talk. E veryone c an
hear and s peak to everyone els e.
End the conference call
T he eas ies t way to end your partic ipation in a

c onferenc e c all or the c onferenc e c all its elf if you are its
hos t is to c lic k on the c all hangup button. T he hangup
button is the round red button with a pic ture of a phone
on it (this is the s ame c all button you us e to hang up
one- on- one c alls ). A lternatively, s elec t Skype C all
H ang U p from the menu. L as tly, if you're us ing
Skype on Windows with global hotkeys enabled (Skype
Tools O ptions H otkeys ), you c an hit the
hotkey s equenc e A lt- P gD n (or whatever hotkey you
have c hos en for this purpos e) to hang up a c all or
c onferenc e c all.
Troubles hoot
C an't get c onferenc e c alling to work? C hec k out

"Troubles hoot Skype" [Hack #12]it might help.
Table 1-5. Ways of starting a Skype conference

call
A ction to start a conf erence call Windows Linux Mac OS X
From the Skype menu bar…
Selec t Tools C reate

C onferenc e… (or C all Start
C onferenc e C all… on M ac O S X);
this will always dis play the Start a
Skype C onferenc e C all window,
s hown in Figure 1 - 8 .
Selec t multiple c ontac ts and c lic k

on the round green c all button with
a pic ture of a phone on it (this is the
s ame c all button you us e to make
one- on- one c alls ).
Selec t multiple c ontac ts , right- C ontac ts
c lic k, and then c hoos e I nvite to Start
C onferenc e (C reate C onferenc e on C onferenc e
L inux).

on the c onferenc e c all ic on, s hown
in Figure 1 - 9 (on M ac O S X, ins tead
of initiating a c onferenc e c all, this
will s imply dis play a window s imilar
to that s hown in Figure 1 - 8 ).
I n the C all L is t tab…
C lic k on the c onferenc e c all ic on

(Figure 1 - 9 ) to open the window to
s et up and s tart a c onferenc e c all
(Figure 1 - 8 ).
I n the D ial tab…
C lic k on the c onferenc e c all ic on

(Figure 1 - 9 ) to open the window to
s et up and s tart a c onferenc e c all
(Figure 1 - 8 ).
Figure 1-8. Window to set up and start a
conference call
Figure 1-9. Icon to invite contacts to a
conference call
Table 1-6. Ways of inviting others to join a

conference call
A ction to invite a contact to a
Windows Linux Max OS X
conf erence call
C ontac ts
Selec t a c ontac t, right- c lic k, and A dd
then c hoos e I nvite to C onferenc e. to
C onferenc e
Selec t multiple c ontac ts , right- C ontac ts

c lic k, and then c hoos e I nvite to
A dd
C onferenc e. to
C onferenc e
Selec t a c ontac t and c lic k on the

c onferenc e c all ic on (Figure 1 - 9 ).
T his opens the Start a Skype
C onferenc e C all window.

on the c onferenc e c all ic on (Figure
1 - 9 ).
Selec t a c all, and then c lic k on the

c onferenc e c all ic on (Figure 1 - 9 ).
T his opens the Start a Skype
C onferenc e C all window.
Hack 4. Try SkypeOut, Risk Free
Experiment with receiving regular phone calls to a SkypeIn dial-

in number. Even better, f ollow the advice in this hack and you
can try it f or f ree and without risk.
T here are three eas y ways to try SkypeO ut. Firs t, you c an
purc has e s ome SkypeO ut c redits . Sec ond, you c an purc has e an
item of Skype- c ompatible hardware bundled with whic h is a
vouc her for SkypeO ut c all minutes . T hird, you c an us e a Skype
G ift C ertific ate that you've been given (vis it the web page for
Skype G ift C ertific ates at
http://s hare.s kype.c om/blog/produc ts _ands ervic es /we_bring_you…
_s kype_gift_c ertific ates / for details ).
You c an buy SkypeO ut c redits direc tly from the Skype web s ite,
http://www.Skype.c om/, us ing a variety of payment methods (but
s ee "A void P roblems P aying for Servic es " [Hack #15]). With
s ome c redits in hand, you c an s tart dialing regular telephone
numbers (s ee "D ial L ike a Wizard" [Hack #11]).
N ow, here's the ris k- free part. I f while experimenting with
SkypeO ut, you keep your c alls to les s than 1 (about $ 1 .2 5 )

in value (this gives you about 5 8 minutes of c all time at
SkypeO ut's lowes t global rate, but s ee "A void H igher SkypeO ut
Rates " [Hack #17]) and you don't like it, you c an s imply c laim a
refund (s ee "C laim Your M oney Bac k" [Hack #16]) for the full
amount of the c redits you bought. E ven if you inadvertently s tep
over the 1 thres hold for a full refund, it's not a total los s if you
c hange your mind about SkypeO ut, as you c an reques t a refund
of the unus ed balanc e of your c redits . I n fac t, you c an c laim a
refund at any time on thes e terms for your las t SkypeO ut c redit
purc has e, regardles s of whether it's your firs t c redit purc has e or
a s ubs equent top- up purc has e. H owever, SkypeO ut c redits do
expire, s o don't wait too long to reques t your refund (s ee "A void
Forfeiting SkypeO ut C redits " [Hack #21]).
A n alternative to buying SkypeO ut c redits is to purc has e an

item of Skype- c ompatible hardware that is bundled with a
vouc her for SkypeO ut c redits . Skype has partnered with
manufac turers of s ound heads ets and other types of
c omplementary hardware add- ons to enc ourage you to s tart
us ing Skype- O ut. T hes e vouc hers typic ally offer 3 0 to 1 2 0
minutes of SkypeO ut c all time bas ed on the lowes t SkypeO ut
global rate, whic h means that you'll get your full 3 0 to 1 2 0
minutes if you c all des tinations having the lowes t global rate,
but pos s ibly far fewer minutes if you c all des tinations at higher
SkypeO ut rates . M oreover, in the c as e of Skype vouc hers us ed
to fund Skype s ervic es , there is no refund option if you dec ide
you don't like SkypeO utbut, of c ours e, you do get to keep the
hardware and us e it for other things !
You c an find Skype's terms and c onditions at

http://www.s kype.c om/c ompany/legal/terms /tos _voip.html. O f
partic ular interes t for thos e who want to try SkypeI n without any
ris k is "A rtic le 6 RE FU N D P O L I C Y."
Hack 5. Try SkypeIn, Risk Free
Experiment with receiving regular phone calls to a SkypeIn dial-

in number. Even better, f ollow the advice in this hack and you
can try it f or f ree and without risk.
SkypeI n is a prepaid s ubs c ription s ervic e that enables you to

have a regular dial- in phone number that routes c alls to
wherever you are logged onto Skype. T his means that a
dedic ated SkypeI n dial- in phone number c an follow you wherever
you gotry that with a regular landline!
SkypeI n telephone numbers are available for s everal c ountries ,

and even for regions within thos e c ountries . See the Skype web
s ite, http://www.Skype.c om/, for details and availability.
Regardles s of whic h geographic al loc ation you get your dial- in

number for, you have the c hoic e of getting a 3 - month or 1 2 -
month s ubs c ription, c urrently 1 0 and 3 0 (about $ 1 2 .5 0
and $ 3 7 .5 0 ), res pec tively. Skype Voic email (s ee "Try Skype
Voic email, Ris k Free" [Hack #6]) is c urrently bundled free of
c harge with SkypeI n. Skype G ift C ertific ates c an als o be us ed to
ac tivate the SkypeI n s ervic e.
Trying SkypeI n is ris k free if you follow this advic e. E xperiment

with SkypeI n for les s than 3 0 days , and then dec ide whether to
keep it. I f you dec ide you don't want SkypeI n, reques t a refund
(s ee "C laim Your M oney Bac k" [Hack #16]) within 3 0 days of
purc has ing a s ubs c ription and Skype will refund your money in
full. E ven if you inadvertently s tep over the 3 0 - day qualifying
trial period for a full refund, it's not a total los s if you c hange
your mind about SkypeI n, as you c an reques t a refund of the
unus ed balanc e, whic h will be refunded on a pro rata bas is . I n
fac t, you c an c laim a refund on thes e terms at any time for a
SkypeI n s ubs c ription, regardles s of whether it is a new
s ubs c ription or a renewal.

partic ular interes t for thos e who want to try SkypeI n without any
ris k is "A rtic le 6 RE FU N D P O L I C Y."
Hack 6. Try Skype Voicemail, Risk Free
Experiment with Skype Voicemail. Even better, f ollow the

advice in this hack and you can try it f or f ree and without risk.
T he Skype Voic email s ervic e is for thos e times when you're

already online talking to s omeone els e, or you're otherwis e
unavailable (for example, offline). C alls are automatic ally routed
to a voic email ac c ount that c an have a pers onalized greeting,
and that you c an ac c es s from wherever you are logged onto
Skype. You c an keep your voic emails for as long as you want.
Skype Voic email has a neat feature that allows you to s end
voic email to any Skype us er, regardles s of whether they are a
Skype Voic email s ubs c riber. Both Skype us ers and c allers that
us e your SkypeI n number, if you have one (s ee "Try SkypeI n,
Ris k Free" [Hack #5]), c an leave voic email mes s ages for you.
I ndeed, Skype Voic email is c urrently bundled for free with a
SkypeI n s ubs c ription.
I f you don't have a SkypeI n ac c ount, but nevertheles s would like

to take advantage of the s ervic es provided by Skype Voic email,
a s ubs c ription c urrently c os ts 5 (about $ 6 .2 5 ) for three

months and 1 5 (about $ 1 8 .7 5 ) for one year. Skype G ift
C ertific ates c an als o be us ed to ac tivate Skype Voic email
s ervic e.
You c an try Skype Voic email for free and without ris k if you follow
thes e s imple s teps . P urc has e a three- month or one- year
s ubs c ription. E xperiment with Skype Voic email for les s than 3 0
days , and if you don't like it, Skype will refund your s ubs c ription
in full upon reques t (s ee "C laim Your M oney Bac k" [Hack #16]).
A fter 3 0 days , Skype will refund only the unus ed portion of your
las t s ubs c ription payment on a pro rata bas is . I n fac t, you c an
c laim a refund on thes e terms at any time for a Skype Voic email
s ubs c ription, regardles s of whether it is a new s ubs c ription or a
renewal.

partic ular interes t for thos e who want to try Skype Voic email
without any ris k is "A rtic le 6 RE FU N D P O L I C Y."
Hack 7. Roam the World with Skype
Zones
Using the Skype Zones service, you can wander the globe and
use Skype at any of the 18,000+ wireless hotspots available.
Works with: Windows vers ion of Skype.
Skype has partnered with Boingo, http://www.boingo.c om/, to

provide Skype us ers with ac c es s to wireles s hots pots s pread
around the globe. U s ing thes e hots pots , Skype us ers c an make
and rec eive c alls , c hat, s end voic email, lis ten to voic emailin
fac t, us e the whole gamut of Skype s ervic es .
C urrently available through two different plans , this s ervic e may

prove ideal for Skype us ers on the move. T he Skype Zones
U nlimited plan has a monthly s ubs c ription of $ 7 .9 5 (about

6 .3 5 ) that allows for unlimited us e ac ros s the whole Boingo
network. T he Skype Zones A s YouG o plan has a per- c onnec tion
fee of $ 2 .9 5 (about 2 .3 5 ) that allows ac c es s from any s ingle

network loc ation for up to two c ons ec utive hours . C learly, if you
roam from point to point on the Boingo network, this s ec ond plan
c an get expens ive very quic kly!
Skype Zones is different from Skype's other s ervic e offerings in

two res pec ts . Firs t, the s ervic e is pric ed in U .S. dollars ($ )
rather than euros ( ). Sec ond, trying the s ervic e is not ris k
free in the s ens e that there is no full refund option s hould you
dec ide that Skype Zones is not for you. H owever, on the plus
s ide, there is no long- term c ontrac t c ommitment, and in the
c as e of the Skype Zones U nlimited plan, you c an terminate your
s ubs c ription at any time by notifying Skype and Boingo at leas t
five days before the end of your billing c yc le.
You c an find full terms and c onditions for the Skype Zones
s ervic e at http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypezones /. You will
have to c lic k on the "Sign up for Skype Zones now to get
s tarted" link to get to a page with the text of the terms and
c onditions .
Hack 8. Transfer a File Using Skype
Using Skype, you can transf er f iles quickly and securely, even
while you talk or chat.
You c an us e Skype to trans fer files to other Skype us ers who

have already authorized you. I ndeed, it c an be an eas y way to
trans fer files among different mac hines in your own home or
bus ines s (s ee "Trans fer Files A mong D ivers e M ac hines " [Hack
#57]).
Skype has s everal advantages over email

attac hments when it c omes to trans ferring
files . Firs t, it's more s ec ure, bec aus e the
c ommunic ations link is enc rypted end to
end. Sec ond, there's no limit on file s ize,
whereas email attac hments , if not limited
in s ize as a polic y of the email s erver, are
c ertainly limited by the s ize of your mail
s erver inbox. Finally, it c an be quic ker, as
you c an trans fer a file during a c all or while
c hatting, often with no more effort than
that required to drag- and- drop a file.
You c an initiate a file trans fer in s everal different ways , as s hown
in Table 1 - 7 .
Skype file trans fer is c urrently not

s upported on P oc ket P C .
Table 1-7. Ways of initiating a file transfer in

Skype
A ction to initiate a f ile transf er Windows Linux Mac OS X
C ontac ts
Selec t the c ontac t, right- c lic k, and
then c hoos e Send File. Send
File
Selec t the c ontac t and c lic k on the

Send File ic on (Figure 1 - 1 0 ).
Selec t multiple c ontac ts , right-
c lic k, and then c hoos e Send File.

on the Send File ic on (Figure 1 -
1 0 ).
D rag- and- drop the file onto the

c ontac t.
C ontac ts
Selec t the c all, right- c lic k, and
then c hoos e Send File. Send
File
Selec t the c all and c lic k on the

Send File ic on (Figure 1 - 1 0 ).
I n a one- on- one c hat…
C lic k on the Send File ic on (Figure

1 - 1 0 ).
C ontac ts
Selec t the c hat partic ipant, right-
c lic k, and then c hoos e Send File. Send
File
c hat window.

c hat partic ipant.
I n a multipers on c hat…
C lic k on the Send File to A ll ic on

(Figure 1 - 1 0 ). T his initiates file
trans fer to all c hat partic ipants .
P ull- down
Selec t an individual c hat menu
partic ipant, right- c lic k, and then oppos ite
c hoos e Send File. T his initiates partic ipant's
file trans fer to only that pers on. name
Send File

c hat window. T his initiates file
trans fer to all c hat partic ipants .
P ull- down
D rag- and- drop the file onto an menu
individual c hat partic ipant. T his oppos ite
initiates file trans fer to only that partic ipant's
pers on. name
Send File
Figure 1-10. Icons for sending a file to one
Skype user, or to many at once
You c an initiate file trans fers at any time, but they will not s tart
until the rec ipient of a file ac c epts the trans fer (s ee Figure 1 -
1 1 ). You c an c arry out s everal file trans fers at the s ame time,
but eac h will open a new window on the rec ipient's mac hine,
as king to ac c ept the file trans fer. H aving to c onfirm eac h file
trans fer c an bec ome tires ome very quic kly if you have a large
number of files to trans fer. So, if you have large numbers of files ,
or whole direc tories to trans fer, you might want to c ons ider
"Trans fer Folders , N ot J us t I ndividual Files " [Hack #84] ins tead.
Figure 1-11. A recipient of a file transfer must

accept it before the transfer can begin
L ike all Skype traffic , file trans fers are enc rypted end to end, s o
they are s ec ure while in trans it. But remember, onc e downloaded
to your mac hine, they are again in unenc rypted form. M oreover,
downloading files even from people you know and trus t pos es the
threat of infec ting your mac hine with a virus , s o it's always a
good idea to s c an all inc oming Skype file trans fers (s ee "Sc an
Files Rec eived via Skype for V irus es " [Hack #75]).
Skype is rather tolerant of a les s - than- perfec t I nternet

c onnec tion between s ender and rec ipient, and a file trans fer will
c ontinue even in the fac e of interruptions and c onges tion on the
I nternet. But the s peed at whic h a file will trans fer from s ender to
rec ipient depends on s everal fac tors , not leas t the les s er of the
bandwidths of the s ender and rec ipient and whether you're in a
c all or otherwis e us ing your I nternet c onnec tion. H aving a
Skype- unfriendly c onnec tion might als o s low file trans fers to a
c rawl (s ee "Tes t Your C onnec tion for Skype Friendlines s " [Hack
#38]). H aving a Skype- friendly c onnec tion, or rec onfiguring your
I nternet c onnec tion to get one, is one of the bes t ways to
improve s low file- trans fer s peed.
E ven though Skype puts no limits on the types or s izes of files

you c an trans fer, bear in mind that extremely large files will take
a long time even if you and the rec ipient have a dec ent amount
of bandwidth, and that a trans fer might fail if the des tination
mac hine has ins uffic ient dis k s pac e.
T he great virtues of Skype file trans fer are that it's eas y, it's
s ec ure, it works among different mac hines running different
operating s ys tems , and it will often work behind a
firewall/N etwork A ddres s Trans lation (N AT )/router and other
obs tac les when other methods s imply won't.
Hack 9. Make Toll-Free Calls
Most regular phone plans don't charge f or toll-f ree numbers you
call in your own country, but what about toll-f ree numbers in
other countries? Skype allows you to make f ree toll-f ree calls
f or your own country, and f or other countries! !
M any VoI P plans c harge for what would otherwis e be toll- free
c alls (1 - 8 0 0 and the like in the U .S. and other numbers
els ewhere) under a regular phone plan. I ndeed, until rec ently,
Skype als o c harged for thes e types of c alls .
N ow, many toll- free c alls are free when made us ing Skype. E ven
better, you don't have to be a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber to take
advantage of making toll- free c alls without paying a penny.
Regular phone plans normally don't c harge for c alling toll- free
numbers in your own c ountry, but that is not us ually the c as e for
toll- free numbers in other c ountries . I n fac t, s uc h numbers might
s imply be bloc ked. With Skype toll- free c alling, there is no s uc h
res tric tion.
Support for all types of toll- free numbers in all c ountries is not
yet available. Skype c urrently s upports the following c ountries
and number prefixes :
France
+3 3 - 8 0 0 , +3 3 - 8 0 5 , +3 3 - 8 0 9
Poland
+4 8 - 8 0 0
United Kingdom
+4 4 - 5 0 0 , +4 4 - 8 0 0 , +4 4 - 8 0 8
United States and Canada
+1 - 8 0 0 , +1 - 8 6 6 , +1 - 8 7 7 , +1 - 8 8 8
You c an obtain toll- free direc tory as s is tanc e for s ome U .S. toll-
free numbers by c alling +1 - 8 0 0 - 5 5 5 - 1 2 1 2 . T he s ervic e is free,
but not all U .S. toll- free numbers are lis tedonly thos e for
s ubs c ribers that c hoos e to lis t them.
Some toll- free numbers in the U .S. are

geographic ally res tric ted in the s ens e that
c alls to that number will be ac c epted only
if they originate from a c aller in a known
geographic region. Bec aus e you c an make
SkypeO ut c alls from anywhere, thes e
res tric ted numbers c annot determine your
loc ation and therefore may bloc k the c all.
A s already mentioned, you don't have to be a c urrent SkypeO ut
s ubs c riber to dial thes e toll- free numbers from anywhere. J us t
enter in Skype's addres s bar one of the prefixes lis ted earlier,
along with the res t of the toll- free number, and c lic k the big green
c all buttonyou'll be c onnec ted for free. I f you c all c ertain toll-
free numbers on a regular bas is , you might want to c ons ider
adding them to your C ontac ts lis t.
L as tly, if you've c onnec ted to a toll- free number and you have
problems navigating an automated phone s ys tem us ing Skype's
keypad (the "pres s 4 to get your ac c ount balanc e" s ort of thing),
"A void P roblems with I nterac tive Telephone Servic es " [Hack
#79] s hould help you.
Hack 10. Forward Calls
Have your calls f ollow you around! Skype's call-f orwarding

f eature can f orward your calls when you're on the move.
Skype gives you the option to forward inc oming c alls to up to

three alternative Skype ac c ounts (or regular phone numbers if
you're a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber). T his works whether the inc oming
c all is from another Skype us er or, if you have a SkypeI n number,
from a regular phone. H owever, how quic kly c alls are forwarded
depends on your online s tatus , as s hown in Table 1 - 8 .
Table 1-8. Typical delay before a call is

forwarded
Online status Call f orwarded
Skype not running I mmediately
O nline Between three to five rings
O ffline I mmediately
Skype M e Between three to five rings
A way Between three to five rings
N ot available Between three to five rings
D o not dis turb Between three to five rings
I nvis ible Between three to five rings
To forward c alls you mus t firs t s pec ify the forwarding Skype
names or regular phone numbers (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … C all Forwarding & Voic email), as s hown in Figure
1 - 1 2 . To ac tivate c all forwarding you mus t put a c hec kmark in
the c hec kbox oppos ite "Forward c alls when I 'm not on Skype."
Figure 1-12. Call-forwarding Options dialog

Skype c all forwarding enables you to redirec t inc oming Skype
c alls to another Skype name, mobile phone, or landline number.
I f none of the forwarding c ontac ts is available (for example,
they're offline), or none of them pic ks up the c all, the c aller will
either get a mes s age indic ating that the c all c ould not be
c ompleted, or be direc ted to voic email (if you are a Skype
voic email s ubs c riber).
Hack 11. Dial Like a Wizard
Use Skype's Dialing Wizard to f ind the correct dial number

f ormat and call rate.
D ialing the wrong number us ing SkypeO ut c an be c os tly in terms

of both time and money. You c an was te time as you fumble to find
the right s equenc e of digits to make the c all, and you c an was te
money bec aus e c onnec ting to the wrong number c an be c os tly,
as s ome SkypeO ut rates are more than 1 per minute, and all
c alls are rounded up to whole minutes .
You c an dial a telephone number with Skype in many ways . You

c an enter digits direc tly from your c omputer keyboard into
Skype's addres s bar, us e Skype's keypad (on the D ial tab),
double- c lic k on an entry in the your C ontac ts lis t (Skype c an
als o be s et up s o that double- c lic k s tarts a c hat), us e an
advanc ed U SB hands et, c lic k on a link in your web brows er (s ee
"M ake C alls from Your Web Brows er" [Hack #43]), or ac c es s a
s hortc ut on your des ktop (s ee "A dd Fas t- D ial Shortc uts to Your
M enu or D es ktop" [Hack #49]), among other options .
Regardles s of what method you us e to dial a number, all will be
for naught if you don't get the format right.
To enter the prefix + us ing the keypad on

Skype's D ial tab, c lic k and hold down your
left mous e button over the button with 0 +
on it for 2 s ec onds .
1.12.1. Skype Dialing Wizard
P erhaps the leas t error- prone method of finding the right digit
s equenc e to c all is to us e the Skype D ialing Wizard (s ee Figure
1 - 1 3 ), whic h you c an find at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /dialing.html.
T his wizard als o has the added advantage of giving you the per-
minute c all rate for the number you want to dial. A nd if your web
brows er is c onfigured properly (s ee "M ake C alls from Your Web
Brows er" [Hack #43]), you c an dial the number direc tly from
your brows er with jus t one c lic k.
Skype's D ialing Wizard quotes c all rates in euros . Knowing the

exc hange rate between euros and your home c urrenc y will allow
you to make a quic k mental c alc ulation to c onvert the c all rate
into s omething more meaningful. A lternatively, if you don't know
the c urrent exc hange rate or you s imply don't trus t your mental
arithmetic , vis it the Skype rates page,
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /all_rates .html,
and s elec t your home c urrenc y from the drop- down lis t at the top
of the page.
A fter making the c all, you c an add the number to your C ontac ts
lis t if it's a number you are likely to c all often in the future. For
the Windows vers ion of Skype, you c an do this by navigating to
the C all L is t tab, right- c lic king on a c all entry, and s elec ting A dd
to C ontac ts . For the P oc ket P C vers ion of Skype, navigate to the
L og tab, s tylus touc h and hold on a c all entry, and s elec t A dd to
C ontac ts .
Figure 1-13. The Skype Dialing Wizard

Skype's reporting of errors is s ometimes
les s than us er friendly. For ins tanc e, try
entering a nons ens e number s uc h as
+1 2 0 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 7 8 6 5 2 7 3 6 4 8 9 2 9 . A fter
failing to c onnec t, Skype will report,
"Servic e unavailabletry again."
A lternatively, you might be pres ented with

a numeric error c ode. E rrors #1 0 4 0 and
#1 0 5 0 in Skype for M ac O S X, for
example, typic ally mean that the
SkypeO ut number you entered is invalid,
even though they are dis played like this :
"I nternal E rror, pleas e try again (#1 0 4 0 )"
and "I nternal E rror, pleas e try again
(#1 0 5 0 )." M oreover, Skype's error c odes
are not c ons is tent ac ros s platforms , as
the error c odes c orres ponding to #1 0 4 0
and #1 0 5 0 on M ac O S X are #1 0 4 0 4 and
#1 0 5 0 3 on Windows . U nfortunately, at the
time of this writing, no s ingle res ourc e
lis ts all error c odes for all platforms , s o
you mus t s earc h for your s pec ific error
c ode in the Skype knowledgebas e or in
Skype's online forums .
1.12.2. Skype Widget
I f you us e Skype on M ac O S X, you needn't even go to the

trouble of opening a brows er to have func tionality equivalent to
Skype's D ialing Wizard. Skype has produc ed a widget for the
M ac O S X das hboard that bas ic ally replic ates the func tionality
of the D ialing Wizard in a nifty and quic kly ac c es s ible tool (s ee
Figure 1 - 1 4 ).
Figure 1-14. The Skype Widget for the Mac OS X

dashboard
Hack 12. Troubleshoot Skype
Is Skype ref using to play ball? Use these resources and tips to
troubleshoot problems with Skype.
N o piec e of s oftware is error free or even problem free, s o when

things go wrong you c an either give up, or troubles hoot the
problem. I f you are an O 'Reilly book reader, that puts you mos t
definitely into the c ategory of s omeone who is willing to
troubles hoot!
T his hac k provides plac es to look for information and s eek help,
and s ome things to try for s ome of Skype's more- c ommon
problems .
1.13.1. Online Information and Help
T hes e online s ourc es of information and help are both us eful and
free! When res earc hing a problem, you s hould vis it thes e
information s ourc es in the s equenc e pres ented in the following
lis t.
Us er guides
Skype has put together a number of vis ual guides for its
s oftware, loc ated at http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /.
T hes e vis ual guides are very good, as they break eac h
Skype ac tivity into s mall, eas y- to- follow s teps . O ften, a
quic k review of your ac tions for a partic ular Skype
ac tivity us ing one of thes e guides will pinpoint where,
and s ometimes how, things went wrong.
Troubles hooter
Skype's interac tive troubles hooter,

http://s upport.s kype.c om/? _a=troubles hooter, leads you
through a s tep- by- s tep diagnos is of your problem, and
pres ents s ugges tions for how you might fix it.
Sound s etup guide
I f you think that you have a s ound s etup problem, whic h

is where mos t us ers new to Skype c ome to grief, read
one of Skype's s ound s etup guides , loc ated at
http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /s ounds etup.html.
Knowledgebas e
Searc h Skype's knowledgebas e at

http://s upport.s kype.c om/? _a=knowledgebas e us ing
keywords that bes t des c ribe the problem or its princ ipal
s ymptoms . T he knowledgebas e c an ans wer a lot of
c ommon ques tions , and not jus t on tec hnic al matters .
Community forums
Searc h the Skype c ommunity forums at

http://forum.s kype.c om/s earc h.php us ing keywords that
bes t des c ribe the problem or its princ ipal s ymptoms .
O dds are that if s omeone els e has experienc ed your
problem, s ome kind s oul has found a fix for it and has
pos ted a reply to the forums . I f you don't find anything
us eful on the forums that addres s es your partic ular
problem, feel free to pos t the problem to the forums and
as k the Skype c ommunity for help. E xpec t s ome s ort of
res pons e within 2 4 hours .
Support reques t
Frankly, if you've made it to this s tep, you mus t be

des perate. I n my experienc e, making a s upport reques t
to Skype is a lot like putting a mes s age into a bottle and
tos s ing the bottle into the s ea. A gain, in my experienc e,
not only are s upport reques ts ignored, they aren't even
ac knowledged! L et's all hope that Skype puts more
emphas is on res ponding to s upport reques ts in the
future. H owever, if you're des perate enough to try, you
c an s end your proverbial mes s age in a bottle from here:
http://s upport.s kype.c om/? _a=tic kets &_m=s ubmit.
1.13.2. Troubleshoot
H aving trawled through Skype's knowledgebas e and online

forums , thes e appear to be the mos t c ommon problems , and
fixes .
1.13.2.1. General.
Out-of-date vers ion of Skype and old device drivers
E rror number: N /A
M os t likely c aus e: us ing older vers ions of Skype and

out- of- date drivers for your c omputer hardware
(partic ularly for the s ound and network devic es in your
c omputer, and the firmware in your router) not only c an
be the direc t c aus e of problems , but als o c an exac erbate
other problems indirec tly.
H ow to fix: 1 ) U pdate the vers ion of Skype you are

running to the lates t vers ion. 2 ) U pdate your drivers and
firmware by downloading updates from the web s ites of
the manufac turers for your devic es .
Skype login failed
E rror number: 1 1 0 1 , 1 1 0 2 , or 1 1 0 3 (Skype was unable

to c onnec t to the Skype P 2 P network).
M os t likely c aus e: the I nternet c onnec tion is down or

mis c onfigured, or you are being bloc ked. A nother
pos s ible c aus e is a c onflic t with your Data Execution
Prevention (D E P ) s etting.
H ow to fix: 1 ) O pen a web brows er and c hec k that your

I nternet c onnec tion is up and working. I f it's temporarily
offline, that may explain why Skype c an't c onnec t to its
network. 2 ) C hec k your firewall s ettings ; s pec ific ally,
c hec k that (ideally) port 8 0 , port 4 4 3 , and thos e ports
above 1 0 2 4 are open. 3 ) I f you us e a proxy, you may
have to s et up Skype manually to us e it (you c an do this
only on Windows , by s elec ting Skype Tools
O ptions … C onnec tion). 4 ) I dis c us s how to c orrec t
c onflic ts with your D E P s etting s hortly under the
heading "Skype c ras hes or hangs ."
SkypeOut call failed
E rror number: 9 5 0 4 (failed to c onnec t to Skype s erver,

trans ient problem); 6 5 0 3 , 6 5 0 4 , 1 0 5 0 0 , or 1 0 5 0 3
(Skype network is temporarily overloaded); 1 0 4 0 4 or
1 0 5 0 3 (1 0 4 0 or 1 0 5 0 on M ac O S X, number is invalid
or has been entered inc orrec tly); 1 0 4 0 3 (number not
s upported or is forbidden); 9 4 0 3 , 9 4 0 7 , or 9 4 0 8
(there's a problem with your Skype ac c ount and you've
been s us pended temporarily from making SkypeO ut
c alls ).
M os t likely c aus e: you have entered the number

inc orrec tly or the Skype network is temporarily
overloaded.
H ow to fix: 1 ) C hec k the format of the number you are

trying to dial, and then try again (perhaps try us ing the
Skype D ialing Wizard,
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /dialing.htm
2 ) Wait 1 0 to 1 5 minutes for network c onges tion to pas s
and then try again. 3 ) C hec k your SkypeO ut c redit
balanc e. You may have no c redits left! 4 ) I f c alls to
ec ho1 2 3 work, as do c alls to other Skype us ers , but
problems with making SkypeO ut c alls pers is t, the mos t
likely c aus e lies with Skype's P ST N gateway providers .
Report eac h inc ident of a failed SkypeO ut c all to ps tn-
feedbac k@ s kype.net, s tating your loc ation, the time at
whic h you attempted to plac e the c all, the number you
were c alling, and what s pec ific ally happened. 5 ) Submit
a problem tic ket to Skype.
Skype dial keys don't work with phone s ys tems having interactive
menus
E rror number: N /A
M os t likely c aus e: this is a highly unpredic table

problem, as the dial keys work like a c harm for s ome
Skype us ers , but not at all for others . T hey c an als o
work one day, but not the next. N o one s eems to know
the c aus e, but it is a pers is tent c omplaint on the Skype
forums , regardles s of platform.
H ow to fix: 1 ) Keep trying and be very c areful with your

key pres s es . 2 ) Try again later or on another day. 3 ) U s e
an addon tool, s uc h as Khaos - D ial
(http://www.khaos labs .c om/khaos dial.php).
1.13.2.2. Windows.
Can't hear yours elf and/or others
E rror number: 6 1 0 1 (problem with s ound- out devic e) or

6 1 0 2 (problem with s ound- in devic e).
M os t likely c aus e: a problem with your s ound c ard, or a
c onflic t between your s ound c ard and another
applic ation you are running.
H ow to fix: 1 ) C hec k that the c orrec t s ound devic e is

s elec ted in Skype (c hoos e Skype Tools
O ptions … Sound D evic es ). I t is always a good idea
to s pec ify your audio- in and audio- out devic es for Skype
explic itly ins tead of relying on the Windows default
s ound devic e (whic h c an c hange when a new s ound
devic e is ins talled, or when a s ound devic e is plugged in
or unplugged). 2 ) Temporarily dis able any applic ations
(for example, TotalRec order) that may als o be us ing your
s ound c ard and s ee if the problem goes away. 3 ) U pdate
to the lates t drivers for your s ound devic e.
Skype cras hes or hangs
E rror number: 1 1 0 1 or 1 1 0 2 (but, obvious ly, no error

number is reported if Skype c ras hes or hangs when it
firs t tries to run).
M os t likely c aus e: a c onflic t with the D E P s etting. T his

is a problem that is s pec ific to Windows XP (SP 2 ) and
Windows Server 2 0 0 0 (SP 1 ).
H ow to fix: dis able D E P. Selec t Start C ontrol P anel

Sys tem, and in the Sys tem P roperties window
navigate to the A dvanc ed tab. U nder the P erformanc e
c ategory, c lic k on the Settings button. T his will open the
P erformanc e O ptions dialog. N avigate to the D ata
E xec ution P revention tab and c lic k on the s ec ond radio
button, "Turn on D E P for all programs and s ervic es
exc ept thos e I s elec t." C lic k the A dd… button and add
Skype.exe to the lis t of thos e programs for whic h D E P
won't be enforc ed. C lic k A pply and then O K.
High CPU us age by Skype
E rror number: N /A
M os t likely c aus e: a c onflic t with another applic ation

you are running, a c onflic ting BI O S s etting, a high tas k
priority for Skype, or a high C P U temperature.
H ow to fix: 1 ) Try running Skype on its own and s ee if the

problem goes away. I f it does go away, try running Skype
alongs ide other applic ations one by one until the
problem reappears . T hes e following applic ations
s ometimes c aus e C P U us age to bec ome exc es s ive:
N orton A ntiV irus , TotalRec order, ZoneA larm, N etL imiter,
Steganos I nternet A nonymizer, SpySweeper, and other
P 2 P VoI P s oftphones s imilar to Skype. 2 ) I ntel's
SpeedStep tec hnology c an s ometimes c aus e this
problem. Try dis abling it in your mac hine's BI O S. 3 )
L ower Skype's tas k priority. P res s C trl- A lt- D elete,
whic h will open the Windows Tas k M anager. N avigate to
the P roc es s es tab and right- c lic k on Skype.exe, c hoos e
Set P riority, and try lowering Skype's c urrent tas k
priority level. 4 ) A high C P U temperature c an have many
c aus es , but the mos t obvious c aus e is an obs truc tion to
the flow of air that is c ooling your C P U . I f there is an
obs truc tionfor example, air vents are bloc ked or
c overedc lear things s o that air flows freely onc e again.
To c hec k your C P U temperature you c an us e a free
utility c alled SpeedFan, whic h you c an download at
http://www.c omputerbas e.de/downloads /s oftware/s ys temu
1.13.2.3. Linux.
Skype won't work with your s ound device
E rror number: N /A
M os t likely c aus e: you have an Advanced Linux Sound

Architecture (A L SA ) s ound devic e for L inux, but you have
not enabled Open Sound Sys tem (O SS) emulation.
H ow to fix: at pres ent, Skype works only with O SS s ound

on L inux mac hines . I f you have an A L SA s ound devic e,
you mus t enable its O SS emulation layer for Skype to
us e it.
Sound is s tuttering
E rror number: N /A
M os t likely c aus e: you have an A L SA s ound devic e, but

Skype is trying to us e an O SS driver rather than O SS
emulation for A L SA .
H ow to fix: enable the O SS emulation layer for your

A L SA devic e. Remove or dis able the O SS driver.
Skype won't run on 64-bit Linux
E rror number: N /A
M os t likely c aus e: you are running 6 4 - bit L inux and
don't have 3 2 - bit vers ions of the Q t and other runtime
libraries ins talled on your mac hine.
H ow to fix: as Skype for L inux is a 3 2 - bit applic ation, it

will run on 6 4 bit L inux only if you have the right 3 2 - bit
libraries ins talled.
Chapter 2. Save Money with
Skype
Sec tion 2 .1 . H ac ks 1 3 2 4 : I ntroduc tion
H ac k 1 3 . Bac k- of- the- E nvelope E s timate of Skype

Savings
H ac k 1 4 . A void Falling Foul of the Taxman
H ac k 1 5 . A void P roblems P aying for Servic es
H ac k 1 6 . C laim Your M oney Bac k
H ac k 1 7 . A void H igher SkypeO ut Rates
H ac k 1 8 . A void A dditional M obile P hone C harges
H ac k 1 9 . M ake M oney with Skype
H ac k 2 0 . M ake M oney with the Skype A P I
H ac k 2 1 . A void Forfeiting SkypeO ut C redits
H ac k 2 2 . G et the Bes t D eal for VoI P Telephony
H ac k 2 3 . Round C all T ime to Your A dvantage
H ac k 2 4 . M anage Bandwidth C os ts
For s ome people, Skype might be a s uffic iently interes ting
applic ation of VoI P tec hnology to jus tify playing with it. For mos t
people, however, the motivation for bringing Skype into their life
will be bas ed on s imple ec onomic s . Skype has the potential to
s ave you money; in fac t, quite a lot of money!
I n this c hapter, I will help you get a handle on whether Skype will
s ave you money and, s pec ific ally, how muc h money. G iven the
wide range of telephone s ervic es that Skype c an potentially
replac e, or c omplement, I c annot c over every s c enario. But this
c hapter does provide s ome ways of looking at the potential
s avings and s ome tools to quantify thos e s avings . Your goal is
to es timate thes e s avings with a s uffic ient margin for error s o
that you will feel c onfident enough to make a dec is ion: s witc h to
Skype, or s tic k with what you've got.
Switc hing to Skype is not an all- or- nothing propos ition. You may
c hoos e to us e Skype merely as an adjunc t to your exis ting
phone s ervic es . A lternatively, you may c hoos e to run Skype in
parallel with your exis ting s etup for a while before s witc hing fully
to Skype. I f you're bold, you may leap right in and make Skype a
full- blown replac ement to your exis ting telephone s ys tem.
Whatever approac h you take, when figuring s avings your foc us
will nec es s arily be on the long- term s avings of your telephone
s ys tem as it will look s ometime in the future. For this reas on,
and as an aid for c omparis ons , I will expres s s avings on an
annual bas is .
When thinking about s avings that s tretc h far into the future, it is
nec es s ary to think like an ec onomis t to gauge your true lifetime
s avings . Savings from us ing Skype are likely to pers is t long into
the future, s o a $ 1 0 0 annual s avings is $ 1 0 0 s aved this year,
next year, and every year beyond that. Suc h a s eries of c as h
s avings s tretc hing as far as the eyeor at leas t the
imaginationc an s ee is termed a perpetuity. A $ 1 0 0 perpetuity is
c learly worth muc h more than jus t $ 1 0 0 , as it is really $ 1 0 0
s tac ked on top of $ 1 0 0 , on top of another $ 1 0 0 , and s o on, as
the years pas s by. For example, if you figure that by s witc hing to
Skype you will s ave $ 5 0 0 per year, jus t imagine having twenty-
five $ 2 0 bills c ounted into the palm of your hand at the end of
the firs t year, and then again at the end of the s ec ond year, and
then again and again year after year.
Hack 13. Back-of-the-Envelope Estimate
of Skype Savings
Follow this simple method to get a rough idea of your potential

savings f rom switching to Skype.
O n the Skype Hacks web s ite, you will find a hac k"Save M oney
with Skype"that leads you through a rather c omplete explanation
of how to determine how muc h you'll s ave by s witc hing to Skype.
H owever, if you s imply want to get a rough idea of your potential
s avings , you c an do s o with nothing more than a penc il, a
c alc ulator, and a blank s heet of paper (or an envelope).
I f you look at your c urrent telephone bill, you c an logic ally divide
it into two parts : variable c alls , and fixed c harges and taxes . I t
is not unc ommon for the latter, fixed c harges and taxes , to
c ompris e the major part of your phone bill. I ndeed, they
repres ented fully 5 6 % of my old phone bill!
You c an us e Skype to attac k both parts to reduc e your overall

bill for phone s ervic es . Bear in mind that adopting Skype does
not mean you have to get rid of your exis ting phone s ervic e. You
c an mix- and- matc h regular telephone s ervic es with Skype, or
with other VoI P s ervic es (s ee "G et the Bes t D eal for VoI P
Telephony" [Hack #22]).
2.2.1. Estimate Your Cost-of-Call Savings
E ac h time you make a phone c all, the c os t of that c all is

determined by three piec es of information. T he firs t is the
duration of the c all; for example, 3 minutes , 1 2 s ec onds . T he
s ec ond is the c all rate, us ually expres s ed as the pric e for 1
minute of c all time; for example, $ 0 .1 0 per minute. T he third is
the c all- rounding interval, us ually expres s ed in s ec onds and
rounded upward; for example, c alls that are rounded up in 6 -
s ec ond intervals will c os t $ 0 .1 0 X 6 /6 0 ( = $ 0 .0 1 ) per unit
interval, while c alls that are rounded up in 6 0 - s ec ond (full-
minute) intervals will c os t $ 0 .1 0 per unit interval.
Bas ic ally, the per- unit rate for anything other than 1 - minute
rounding is the per- minute c all rate (in your home c urrenc y),
times the rounding interval meas ured in s ec onds , and divided by
6 0 s ec onds . Shorter c all- rounding intervals are to your
advantage, s o you s hould know that SkypeO ut c alls are rounded
to the full minute. To unders tand more about c all rounding, you
may want to look at "Round C all T ime to Your A dvantage" [Hack
#23].
Table 2 - 1 s hows s ome examples of c all rounding.
Table 2-1. Examples of call rounding

Call duration Call units f or 6s Call units f or 60s
(mm:ss) rounding rounding
0 :1 7 3 1
0 :5 0 9 1
1 :1 2 12 2
1 :5 4 19 2
3 :0 4 31 4
1 6 :1 7 163 17
T his rounding c an have quite a pronounc ed effec t, partic ularly if

you make lots of s hort- duration c alls . Suppos e, jus t for a
moment, that you c an make regular c alls at the s ame per- minute
c os t as you c an by us ing SkypeO ut, but with 1 - s ec ond rounding.
C learly, in this c as e, SkypeO ut is at a dis advantage, but how
muc h of a dis advantage? Table 2 - 2 gives the ans wer.
Table 2-2. Unused call time due to rounding up

to the whole minute
Typical call duration A verage unused call time (approx.)
1 5 s ec onds 1 minute 38%
1 5 s ec onds 3 minutes 22%

1 5 s ec onds 1 0 minutes 9%
Table 2 - 2 s hows that if your c urrent phone plan rounds to 1 -

s ec ond intervals (and s ome plans do), by c omparis on, when
us ing SkypeO ut for s hort- duration c alls , you effec tively pay
3 8 % more s imply bec aus e you are paying for c all time you did
not us e (all thos e frac tions of unus ed full minutes that mount
up). A s your average c all duration inc reas es , this "c all- rounding
effec t" gradually bec omes les s and les s s ignific ant.
T his is all rather ugly detail, to be s ure; but it is s imply a

reflec tion of the fac t that phone bills like taxes are rather
c omplex. A nd it puts you in a pos ition to find out whether
s witc hing to SkypeO ut for s ome or all of your c alls will s ave you
money, and if s o, how muc h money.
For the c alls for whic h you'd like to c ons ider us ing SkypeO ut,
es timate their average duration, their monthly total, and their
average c all rate (in your home c urrenc y per minute). You c an
es timate thes e averages by reviewing one or more pas t
telephone bills , or if you don't hang on to old bills , by gues s ing
your average c all duration and your total c all minutes per month
and getting an average c all rate from your phone c ompany's web
s ite. L et me remind you that for this bac k- of- the- envelope hac k,
we're not s triving for abs olute ac c urac y, only numbers with whic h
you feel c omfortable. Remember, you c an always c ome bac k later
with new numbers and redo the analys is . E nter your es timates in
Table 2 - 3 .
Table 2-3. Estimates from your existing phone

bill
A verage c all duration 1 5 s ec 1 min
(c hec k only one) 1 5 s ec 3 min
1 5 s ec 1 0 min
1 5 s ec 1 5 min
1 5 s ec 3 0 min
A verage c all rate c os t ______________ per minute
Typic al c os t of c alls ______________ per month
A worked example, Table 2 - 4 , s hould make things c lear.
Table 2-4. Estimates from your existing phone

bill
A verage c all duration 1 5 s ec 1 min
(c hec k only one) 1 5 s ec 3 min
1 5 s ec 1 0 min
1 5 s ec 1 5 min
1 5 s ec 3 0 min
A verage c all rate c os t $ 0 .0 5 per minute
Typic al c os t of c alls $45 per month
N ow go to the Skype web s ite and find an equivalent c all rate (or
an average of c all rates ) that matc hes your exis ting c all
des tination(s ). For example, if mos t of your c alls are to regular
U .S. phones , us e the SkypeO ut rate for the U .S. You c an find
SkypeO ut rates for all c all des tinations at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /all_rates .html.
A t the top of the SkypeO ut rates web page is a pulldown lis t
from whic h you c an c hoos e to have the rates quoted in your
home c urrenc y. E nter your es timate for the average SkypeO ut
rate in terms of your home c urrenc y in Table 2 - 5 .
Table 2-5. Calculating your effective SkypeOut
rate based on expected level of unused call time
A verage SkypeO ut rate ______________ _ per minute
A djus tment fac tor ______________ _ from Table 2 - 2
E ffec tive SkypeO ut rate ______________ _ per minute
A gain, a worked example, Table 2 - 6 , makes it all c lear.
Table 2-6. Calculation of the effective SkypeOut

rate
A verage SkypeO ut rate $ 0 .0 2 1 per minute
A djus tment fac tor +2 2 % from Table 2 - 2
E ffec tive SkypeO ut rate $ 0 .0 2 6 per minute
T he effec tive SkypeO ut rate is s imply the average SkypeO ut

rate adjus ted upward by the fac tor for the c all- rounding effec t.
N ow you are in a pos ition to es timate your phone c all s avings
s hould you s witc h to us ing SkypeO ut. I n Table 2 - 7 , per- minute
c all s avings are obtained s imply by s ubtrac ting the effec tive
SkypeO ut rate (Table 2 - 5 ) from your average c urrent regular
phone c all rate (Table 2 - 3 ). To turn this number into a
perc entage, divide it by your average c urrent c all rate. M onthly
c all s avings are obtained by multiplying your c urrent typic al
monthly c os t of c alls (Table 2 - 3 ) by 1 , minus the effec tive
SkypeO ut rate (Table 2 - 5 ), and dividing that by your average
c urrent c all rate (Table 2 - 3 ); that is , by (1 effec tive SkypeO ut
rate/average c urrent c all rate). Your annual s avings are, of
c ours e, jus t 1 2 times your monthly s avings .
Table 2-7. Estimating your phone call savings

C all s avings ______________ per minute
…as a % ______________ per minute
M onthly c all s avings ______________ per month
A nnual c all s avings ______________ per year
Table 2 - 8 s hows a worked example.
Table 2-8. Estimated phone call savings

C all s avings $ 0 .0 2 4 per minute
…as a % 48% per minute
M onthly c all s avings $ 2 1 .6 0 per month
A nnual c all s avings $ 2 5 9 .2 0 per year
2.2.2. Estimate Your Fixed Charges and

Taxes Savings
I n terms of fixed c harges and taxes , your phone bill is a

veritable minefield of c omplexity. You c ould be forgiven for
thinking that it is a c ons pirac y c onc oc ted by your telephone
c ompany (us ually a government- regulated monopoly) and the
government to get from you as muc h money as pos s ible before
you even lift the hands et to make a c all! N ot lifting the hands et
from its c radle for a month might reduc e the c os t of your c alls to
zero, but it will likely have very little impac t on your fixed
c harges and taxes . For that reas on, I will as s ume that your fixed
c harges and taxes s c ale in proportion to the number of
telephone lines you have. Remember, this hac k is a bac k- of- the-
envelope es timate and this is jus t an as s umption. I f you don't
like it, s imply c hange it and work through the details of your new
as s umption. To c arry out a more thorough analys is , s ee the web
extra hac k "Save M oney with Skype" (you'll find more details on
this at the end of this hac k).
I n Table 2 - 9 , enter your es timate for c urrent monthly fixed

c harges and taxes .
Table 2-9. Estimating your fixed charges and

taxes
Typic al monthly c harges ______________ per month
N umber of phone lines ______________
Table 2 - 1 0 is a worked example.
Table 2-10. Estimated fixed charges and taxes

Typic al monthly c harges $80 per month
N umber of phone lines 2
G iven the as s umption that fixed c harges and taxes s c ale in

proportion to the number of phone lines , you will s tart to s ave
money on fixed c harges and taxes only if you c an eliminate
regular phone lines . Before providing an entry for Table 2 - 1 1 ,
you might want to quic kly s kip ahead and s kim parts of C hapter
3 , as that c hapter has s everal c onfigurations for Skype that
eliminate s omein s ome c as es allregular phone lines .
Table 2-11. Eliminating existing phone lines

N umber of phone lines to eliminate _____________
For the worked example, Table 2 - 1 2 , as s ume you c an eliminate

one of your two regular phone lines .
Table 2-12. Number of eliminated phone lines

N umber of phone lines to eliminate 1
To c alc ulate your s avings of fixed c harges and taxes by

eliminating exis ting phone lines (Table 2 - 1 3 ), take your exis ting
fixed monthly c harges and taxes (Table 2 - 9 ) and divide it by
your exis ting number of phone lines (Table 2 - 9 ), and then
multiply the res ult by the number of phone lines you intend to
eliminate (Table 2 - 1 1 ). You obtain your s avings , expres s ed as a
perc entage of your exis ting fixed c harges and taxes , by dividing
your es timated s avings by your c urrent c harges and taxes . To
c onvert your es timated monthly s avings to an annual bas is ,
s imply multiply them by 1 2 .
Table 2-13. Estimating fixed charges and taxes

savings
Fixed c harges and taxes s avings ____________ per month
…as a % ____________ per month
A nnual c harges and taxes s avings ____________ per year
A worked example, Table 2 - 1 4 , makes the nec es s ary

c alc ulations c lear.
Table 2-14. Estimated fixed charges and taxes

savings
Fixed c harges and taxes s avings $40 per month
…as a % 50% per month
A nnual c harges and taxes s avings $480 per year

2.2.3. Estimate Your Total Savings
N ow you're at the eas y part, bec aus e you've done all the hard
work.
Firs t, c opy your previous entries and res ults into Table 2 - 1 5 .
Your total c urrent phone bill is s imply the s um of your c os t of
c alls and your fixed c harges and taxes . L ikewis e, your total
es timated s avings are the s um of your es timated c all s avings
and fixed c harges and taxes s avings . To expres s your total
s avings as a perc entage, divide them by your total c urrent
phone bill. Total es timated s avings on an annual bas is are 1 2
times your total monthly s avings .
Table 2-15. Estimating total savings

per Table 2 -
Typic al c urrent c os t of c alls ______________
month 3
Typic al c urrent c harges and per Table 2 -

______________
taxes month 9
per
Total c urrent phone bill ______________
month
per Table 2 -
C os t of c all s avings ______________
month 7
Fixed c harges and taxes per Table 2 -
______________
s avings month 13
per
Total es timated s avings ______________
month
per
…as a % ______________
month
per
Total annual s avings ______________
year
A t las t, our worked example, Table 2 - 1 6 , is c omplete.
Table 2-16. Estimated total savings

per
Typic al c urrent c os t of c alls $45 Table 2 - 4
month
Typic al c urrent c harges and per Table 2 -

$80
taxes month 10
per
Total c urrent phone bill $125
month
per
C os t of c all s avings $ 2 1 .6 0 month Table 2 - 8
per Table 2 -
Fixed c harges and taxes s avings $ 4 0
month 14
per
Total es timated s avings $ 6 1 .6 0
month
per
…as a % 49%
month
Total annual s avings $ 7 3 9 .2 0 per year
2.2.4. Making Adjustments and Decisions
T he foregoing analys is is meant only as a rough and ready

analys is of your potential s avings from adopting Skype, in one
form or another, for phone s ervic es . I t made s everal
as s umptions , not the leas t of whic h was that your exis ting phone
plan rounds c alls in inc rements of 6 s ec onds (or les s ) and that
no other out- of- poc ket expens es aris e from adopting Skype. I n
the latter c ategory, things s uc h as a U SB box to interfac e your
exis ting phone s ys tem to Skype and the need to keep a P C
running all the time if you want Skype available 2 4 /7 are items
that you s hould inc lude in your analys is . H ow you c hoos e to
c onfigure Skype will affec t both how you c an us e Skype and how
muc h money this might s ave you. I dis c us s how to c onfigure
Skype in many interes ting and different ways in C hapter 3 .
When making a dec is ion, you s hould als o fac tor in s ome margin
for error to c over the pos s ibility that your bac k- of- the- envelope
analys is is wide of the mark. C learly, the more unc ertain your
data, the more margin for error you s hould allow in your dec is ion
making. O f c ours e, another option is to improve your s avings
es timate by doing a more thorough analys is .
What is c ertain is that before you s witc h to Skype, s ome due

diligenc e in terms of analyzing the potential s avings and
weighing the pros and c ons of features gained vers us features
foregone is required. T his book provides s ome tools and ways of
thinking about the is s ues . But in the final analys is , it's your
dec is ion.
2.2.5. See Also
T he "Save M oney with Skype" web extras hac k, whic h

you c an download from the book's web s ite at
http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html.
T he "Save M oney with Skype" hac k does a muc h more
thorough analys is of your potential Skype s avings .
T his hac k's bac k- of- the- envelope analys is is als o

available in the form of a c onvenient and eas y- to- us e
E xc el s preads heet, als o downloadable from the book's
web s ite. T his "Skype Savings E s timator" s preads heet
replic ates in a quic k and eas y- to- us e formatthe analys es
provided by this hac k and the more thorough web extra
hac k, "Save M oney with Skype."
Hack 14. Avoid Falling Foul of the
Taxman
Pay the proper Sales and Use taxes and Value A dded Taxes
(VA T) to avoid the wrath of the taxman. Some people may even
qualif y to claim back VA T!
A s hoc kingly large proportion of mos t regular telephone bills

c ompris e fixed c harges and taxes . I n my c as e, before s witc hing
to Skype, fixed c harges and taxes repres ented fully 5 6 % of my
total bill. Fixed c harges s eem to guarantee that your telephone
c ompany, often a s tate- run entity or regulated monopoly, will
make a profit before you even lift the hands et to make a c all. A t
the s ame time, the taxes on your phone bill have bec ome the
means by whic h government funds new, and was teful, c rac kpot
s c hemes . Well, no more.
By s witc hing to Skype, you c an eas ily and legitimately s ides tep
many of the fixed c harges and fees . A ls o, you c an legally avoid
many, but alas not all, of the taxes .
O ver the years , your regular telephone bill has ac c umulated

quite a few "s pec ial" taxes , s imilar to the way in whic h barnac les
ac c umulate over time on the hull of a s hip. N either c an be s aid
to be partic ularly advantageous to forward motion. Some of
thes e "s pec ial" taxes were introduc ed long ago as only a
"temporary meas ure" but, s urpris ingly, are s till with us today.
You c an s ides tep thes e "s pec ial" taxes if they are s pec ific to
your regular telephone bill and to the regulatory environment
within whic h your telephone c ompany operates .
What you c annot avoid are the "c ons umption" taxes that are
applic able to all produc ts and s ervic es you c ons ume, inc luding
thos e from Skype. I n the U .S., thes e c ons umption taxes are
typic ally known as Sales and U s e taxes , and may be levied at
the s tate and loc al level. I n the European Union (E U ), they are
known as Value A dded Tax, or more s imply, V AT. Similar taxes
apply the world over, though under different names .
O ften, thes e taxes are c ollec ted at the s ourc e and are folded
into the pric e of the produc t or s ervic e and c ollec ted on behalf of
the taxman by the vendor. H owever, when they are not s o
c ollec ted, your obligation to pay them does not go away.
A ll this talk about taxes might be s omewhat s tupefying. But the

good news is that even after applying a Sales and U s e tax or
V AT to Skype's inc redibly low rates , your overall tax burden for
your telephone s ervic e will almos t c ertainly be muc h les s than
before. A nd c as ting off all thos e "temporary" and "s pec ial" taxes
s pec ific to your regular telephone bill s ure feels goodand is
benefic ial to your wallet!
2.3.1. U.S. Sales and Use Tax
Typic ally, Skype does not c harge V AT or any other tax on its
s ervic es if you res ide outs ide the E U . T hat means U .S. buyers of
Skype s ervic es are not c harged any tax.
I n the U .S., eac h s tate has its own Sales and U s e tax rate (for
s ome s tates , the rate is 0 % ). I f this tax is not c ollec ted (as a
s ales tax) by the vendor of a produc t or s ervic e you buy, you are
s till liable for it (as a us e tax) and mus t remit the tax owed. You
have, in effec t, been nominated by your s tate as your own tax
c ollec tor. I ndividuals us ually remit this tax as part of their
individual s tate annual tax return, and bus ines s es us ually remit
s pec ific Sales and U s e tax forms and payments quarterly. I n
addition, your loc al tax juris dic tion (town, c ity, c ounty, or
borough) may als o levy a Sales and U s e tax. V is it your s tate
and loc al tax authority's web s ites for more details .
2.3.2. European VAT
T he mec hanic s of V AT are s uc h that it is a tax on the "value

added" during eac h s tage of produc tion of a produc t or s ervic e.
A s s uc h, if you are a bus ines s , you typic ally c harge V AT to your
c us tomers , but you c an als o c laim bac k the V AT you paid for the
materials and s ervic es us ed in the produc tion of your produc t or
s ervic e. T he differenc e between what you c ollec t in V AT on
behalf of the taxman and what you c laim bac k in V AT is then the
tax on the "value added" by your c ompany in the produc tion
c hain that ultimately leads to a final c ons umer.
E ven if you have paid V AT on Skype s ervic es , you may be

s omewhat s urpris ed to find that the c redit remaining in your
ac c ount and the c os ts of your c alls are lis ted without V AT. So, if
you were to s um your c all c os ts and add your remaining c redit,
this would be les s than your total payments , the differenc e being
the V AT you paid.
You c an find a c omplete lis t of SkypeO ut c alling rates (with and

without V AT, and quoted in a c urrenc y of your c hoic e us ing
online c onvers ion rates ) at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /all_rates .html.
2.3.2.1. Claim back VAT.
I f you are a bus ines s , your telephone bill is us ually an expens e

that qualifies for V AT- exempt or V AT- c laimbac k s tatus . A s
s uc h, you may be able to c laim bac k any V AT that Skype
c harged when you bought Skype c redits and any other s ervic es .
A t the time of this writing, Skype did not offer the option of V AT
exemption for qualifying entities .
I f your billing addres s is within the E U , Skype will automatic ally

c harge you V AT. N ow, the proc es s by whic h you c laim V AT bac k
(or get a V AT c redit) from your member c ountry tax authority
might be tortuous and painful (you will, after all, be dealing with
your government's bureauc rac y), but there is us ually a well-
defined proc es s by whic h you c an c laim your V AT bac k.
To s mooth the V AT c laimbac k proc es s you c an obtain a V AT-

c ompliant invoic e by going to your Skype ac c ount page and
printing a c opy, or by downloading it as a .cs v (c omma- s eparated
value) file for import into a s preads heet or into your ac c ounting
s ys tem. To obtain your c all his tory as a .cs v file, from Skype
s elec t Tools G o to M y A c c ount P age, s ign in and c lic k on
C all L is t, and then c lic k on E xport.
A t the time of this writing, the 2 5 E U member s tates w

C yprus (the G reek part), the C zec h Republic , D enmark
Franc e, G ermany, G reec e, H ungary, I reland, I taly, L atv
L uxembourg, M alta, the N etherlands , P oland, P ortugal,
Spain, Sweden, and the U nited Kingdom of G reat Britai
Skype is a L uxembourg c ompany and s o c harges the L
c urrently 1 5 % . T his rate is below that of mos t, but not
C anary I s lands , M adeira, the U K C hannel is lands , and
a lower rate).
A s with all taxes , V AT is a veritable minefield of c ompl

off point for beginning your journey into this c omplexity
in the E uropean C ommunity," whic h you c an find at
http://europa.eu.int/c omm/taxation_c us toms /res ourc e
en.pdf.
Hack 15. Avoid Problems Paying for
Services
A void problems and additional charges when paying f or Skype

services.
P aying for Skype s ervic es is s eemingly s o fraught with problems

and diffic ulties that it merits its own dis c us s ion forum on
www.Skype.c om: P ayments and Billing. L ikewis e, Skype's
knowledgebas e c ontains a P ayments and Billing c ategory, and it
is a good res ourc e for ans wering many ques tions you have on
billing.
What follows are s ome tips and guidelines on how to avoid muc h
of the aggravation as s oc iated with paying for Skype s ervic es .
2.4.1. Payment Methods
T here are s everal ways of paying for s ervic es : V is a,

M as terC ard/E uroc ard, D iners C lub, P ayP al, M oneybookers ,
Rabo D irec t Betalen (the N etherlands only), H ans abank online
(E s tonia only), eN E T S (Singapore only), E L BA P ayments
(A us tria only), eBetalning (Sweden only), and O ffline Bank
Trans fer (J apan, G ermany, A us tria, Belgium, D enmark, Spain,
Finland, Franc e, the U K, I taly, L uxembourg, the N etherlands ,
N orway, and Sweden). A s indic ated, not all payment options are
available in all c ountries . C hec k the Skype web s ite for the
payment options c urrently available to you.
A more indirec t way of paying for Skype s ervic es is by means of

vouc hers and Skype P oints , and Skype G ift C ertific ates .
Bus ines s us ers of Skype c an pay for Skype s ervic es by means

of Skype G roups , whic h allows a group adminis trator to purc has e
and mange Skype C redits , SkypeI n numbers , and Voic email for
all members of the group. For mor details , go to
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypegroups /. Skype G roups is
not dis c us s ed further in this hac k..
Vouc hers us ed to promote Skype are provided by c ompanies

with whic h Skype has partnered (makers of heads ets and other
Skype ac c es s ories ). E ac h vouc her has a monetary value printed
on it together with an equivalent number of SkypeO ut c all
minutes bas ed on Skype's global rate, c urrently 0 .0 1 7 per
minute. You c an redeem vouc hers at
https ://s ec ure.s kype.c om/s tore/vouc her/redeem.html.
You c an earn Skype P oints only by referring people to Skype.

P res ently, you c annot us e thes e points for anything; they jus t
ac c rue. H owever, Skype intends to allow points to be exc hanged
in payment for Skype s ervic es s ometime in the future. For
details , s ee
http://s hare.s kype.c om/tools _for_s haring/tools _for_s haring/s kype
Skype G ift C ertific ates c an be us ed to pay for Skype c redits ,

SkypeI n numbers , and Voic email. See
http://s hare.s kype.c om/produc ts _and_s ervic es /we_bring_you…
_s kype_gift_c ertific ates / for more details .
2.4.2. Avoid Problems

What follows is advic e that is s pec ific primarily to U .S. buyers of
Skype s ervic es . P ayment options available to U .S. buyers , at
the time of this writing, are V is a, M as terC ard/E uroc ard, P ayP al,
and M oneybookers .
2.4.2.1. Verification.
Before you c an make any Skype purc has es , you mus t go through
a proc es s of verifying your email addres s , during whic h you mus t
als o explic itly agree to Skype's Terms of Servic e.
2.4.2.2. One, and only one, Skype

account per payment account.
T he very firs t thing you s hould be aware of is that there is a one-

to- one relations hip between a s pec ific c redit c ard or a s pec ific
online payment ac c ount and a Skype ac c ount name. You c annot
us e the s ame payment ac c ount to fund s everal different Skype
ac c ounts .
T his is enforc ed as part of Skype's antifraud efforts . What it

means , in effec t, is that if you have more than one Skype
ac c ount, you mus t us e a different c redit c ard or online payment
ac c ount (P ayP al or M oneybookers ) for eac h of them. O btaining
multiple c redit c ards jus t to fund multiple Skype ac c ounts might
involve a lot of paperwork and has s le. M oneybookers allows only
one ac c ount per pers on, s o you won't have any luc k there. With
P ayP al, however, you c an s et up multiple ac c ounts (all you need
is a unique email addres s for eac h) and fund them independently,
and pay for different Skype ac c ounts that way.
You c an avoid s ome of the has s le as s oc iated with funding and

managing multiple Skype ac c ounts by s igning up for the Skype
G roups s ervic e, details for whic h c an be found at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypegroups /.
2.4.2.3. Initial 10 limit.
When you firs t buy Skype c redits you are limited to buying only
1 0 worth. Subs equently, you c an buy c redits in inc rements of
1 0 and 25.
2.4.2.4. No transfer of credits.
You c annot trans fer any remaining Skype c redits or balanc es to

another Skype us er. E ither you mus t us e the c redits yours elf,
trans fer the ac c ount to another pers on (give your Skype
us ername and pas s word to s omeone you trus t), or forfeit them.
2.4.2.5. Payments from anonymous

proxies will be rejected.
Skype will rejec t any attempt to pay for Skype s ervic es , by any
payment method, if you us e an anonymous proxy that hides your
I nternet Protocol (I P ) addres s . A gain, this is part of Skype's
antifraud effort.
2.4.2.6. Delays.
P ayments not made by c redit c ard (for example, payments made

via eC hec k) may take s everal days to c lear. U ntil your payment
c lears , Skype will mark its s tatus as "pending," and the funds
will not be added to your Skype ac c ount balanc e until payment is
c omplete, nor will they be available for us e.
2.4.2.7. Minimize money transfer fees.
A t the time of this writing, M oneybookers c harged 1 % , up to a

maximum of 0 .5 , to trans fer money. C urrently, you c an buy
SkypeO ut c redits in bloc ks of 1 0 and 2 5 . To minimize

money trans fer c os ts , as a perc entage of the whole, you might
want to c ons ider buying c redits in bloc ks of 25 ( 0 .5 is 2 %
of 2 5 ) rather than 10 ( 0 .5 is 5 % of 1 0 ). T hat way,

you'll top up your ac c ount les s often and s pend les s money on
trans fer fees .
2.4.2.8. Exchange rate fees.

I f your online payment ac c ount (P ayP al or M oneybookers ) or
c redit c ard is not denominated in euros , you will be billed in your
home c urrenc y bas ed on s ome exc hange rate. T he final
exc hange rate you get for c redit c ard trans ac tions is typic ally
s et by V is a or M as terC ard in c onjunc tion with your is s uing bank,
and is typic ally 2 % in their favor, but may be muc h more. Read
your ac c ount terms and c onditions very c arefully bec aus e
foreign c urrenc y trans ac tions s hould be des c ribed there in
detail.
2.4.2.9. VAT.
I f the addres s of your online payment ac c ount (P ayP al or

M oneybookers ), or that as s oc iated with your c redit c ard or its
is s uing bank, is loc ated within the E U , Skype may automatic ally
c harge you V AT on any Skype purc has es you make. C onvers ely,
if the addres s is outs ide the E U , you will mos t likely not be
c harged V AT. A t the time of this writing, Skype's V AT rate was
15%.
Hack 16. Claim Your Money Back
Under certain circumstances, Skype will ref und your money f or

missing credits and hiccups with other services.
E ven when you do everything you c an to s mooth the proc es s of

paying for Skype s ervic es and us e them in a reas onable way,
things c an go wrong.
To c laim a refund, you bas ic ally have three options .
2.5.1. The No-Quibble Refund
I f at any time and for any reas on, you are unhappy with any
Skype s ervic eSkypeO ut, SkypeI n, or Voic emailyou c an reques t
a refund of your las t s ubs c ription payment.
For SkypeO ut, if you have s pent les s than 1 of your las t
s ubs c ription payment, Skype will refund the whole amount of that
payment. I f you have s pent more than 1 , Skype will refund

only the balanc e left.
For SkypeI n and Voic email, if you as k for a refund within 3 0 days
of your las t payment, Skype will refund the whole amount of that
payment. A fter more than 3 0 days , Skype will refund only the
amount remaining for your s ubs c ription on a pro rata bas is .
T hes e types of refunds take five to s even bus ines s days to

appear in your online financ ial s tatements .
2.5.2. The Quibble Refund
I f you are generally happy with the s ervic es provided by Skype,

but there are s pec ific is s ues for whic h you want redres s , you c an
reques t a refund on a c as e- by- c as e bas is . You s hould addres s
s uc h a refund by gathering your fac ts and pres enting them
c learly to Skype in the form of a s upport reques t pos ted at the
Skype web s ite. I f your fac ts are c orrec t and your reques t is
reas onable, Skype may very well refund your money.
I n the Submit a Support Reques t form at

www.Skype.c om, you are given the option
of direc ting your reques t to a s pec ific
department. C learly, direc ting your reques t
to the right department will s peed up a
reply. To c laim your money bac k, you
s hould direc t your reques t to one of thes e
departments , as appropriate: Refund
Reques t, Fraudulent C harges , I nc orrec t
C harges , or Billing.
For c ompletenes s , here is a lis t of Skype

s upport departments : Billing, E rror 9 4 0 3 ,
E rror 9 4 0 7 , E rror 9 4 0 8 , Forgotten
U s ername, Fraudulent C harges , G eneral,
I nc orrec t C harges , P ayment C anc elled,
P ayment Refus ed, Refund Reques t,
SkypeI n, Sugges tions , and Tec hnic al
P roblems .
I c annot overemphas ize the importanc e of getting your fac ts

s traight and making only reas onable reques ts . I f the problem is
a rec urring one, keep a notebook and jot down things as they
happen. T hat way, the fac ts will be at your fingertips when you
need them. Reas onablenes s is a rather s quis hier c onc ept, as
one pers on's reas onable c laim is another pers on's outrageous
impos ition. H owever, if you were to imagine your reques t being
read aloud in a c ourt of law without gas ps of indignation or too
many rais ed eyebrows , you've probably s truc k the right tone.
A gain, if your reques t is granted, this type of refund will take five
to s even bus ines s days to appear in your online financ ial
s tatements . I f your reques t is not granted, and you s till think
you're in the right, you c an report the problem to your c redit c ard
or online payment proc es s ing c ompany.
2.5.3. Requesting a Charge Back
I f you paid for Skype s ervic es us ing P ayP al or a c redit c ard and
Skype has refus ed to refund your money, you have the option of
initiating a charge back (a c harge bac k oc c urs when you, the
c us tomer, try to rec over your money from your financ ial
ins titution, whic h will then, in turn, try to rec over the money from
Skype).
To reques t a c harge bac k, s omeone has to have s c rewed up.

M oreover, you mus t demons trate with reas onable c ertainty that
it was n't you who s c rewed up!
Before making a c harge- bac k reques t, you typic ally mus t s how
that you have made a good- faith effort to res olve the is s ue with
the merc hantin this c as e, Skype. Keep a good paper trail and be
s ure to do things in a timely fas hion as your option to initiate a
c harge bac k might be time limited (you mus t typic ally dis pute a
c harge within 6 0 days of rec eiving the s tatement on whic h the
c harge appears ).
I n the U .S., c redit c ard purc has es are protec ted

under the Fair C redit Billing A c t, whic h you c an find
at http://www.ftc .gov/os /s tatutes /fc b/fc b.pdf. You
c an find a c ons umer- friendly s ummary at
http://www.ftc .gov/bc p/c online/pubs /c redit/fc b.htm.
For a c harge bac k to work, you mus t prove that Skype has
breac hed s ome c ontrac tual terms , ac ted in blatant bad faith, or
been s o outrageous that the vas t majority of people would find
their behavior reprehens ible. Bas ic ally, you mus t pers uade your
financ ial ins titution that you are right and Skype is wrong.
T his c an be rather mes s y and c an take a lot of time, in terms of

both the time you was te filling out forms , making c alls , and
following up on things , and the time between initiating a c harge
bac k and its final c onc lus ion. You s hould not enter into a c harge
bac k lightly.
To initiate a c harge bac k you mus t phone or write to your
financ ial ins titution and make the reques t. I n the c as e of P ayP al,
you c an initiate the c harge- bac k proc es s online; jus t log in to
your P ayP al ac c ount, go to the Res olution C enter, and follow the
ins truc tions for filing a c laim.
Hack 17. Avoid Higher SkypeOut Rates
SkypeOut rates can vary depending on the number called. Don't

be caught out by higher rates.
SkypeO ut rates vary by c all des tinationwhere you are c alling to,
not where you are c alling from. A c all to your next- door neighbor
is c harged the s ame SkypeO ut rate whether you are c alling from
your home or from a vac ation hotel thous ands of miles away.
M oreover, SkypeO ut rates do not depend on the time of day or
anything like that.
N ot only do SkypeO ut rates vary from c ountry to c ountry, rates

c an als o be very different for different c ategories of phone
number within the s ame c ountry. I f SkypeO ut rates were
determined s olely by the c ountry c alling c ode (for example, +4 4
for the U K and +3 4 for Spain), life would be a lot s impler. Sadly,
life is n't s o s imple.
I t would als o be nic e if SkypeO ut rates were c his eled in s tone

and s o would remain unc hanged forever. But, again, life is not s o
s imple and SkypeO ut rates do c hange from time to time.
C urrently there is no eas y way to determine a SkypeO

before making a c all. A ll SkypeO ut rates are publis hed
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /all_ra
A nother option is to us e the Skype D ialing Wizard, whic
c an find at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypeout/rates /dialing
For c alls made to the s ame c ountry c ode, SkypeO ut rates c an

vary bas ed on whether the rec ipient of the c all is a mobile phone,
has a c ertain area or region c ode, or is a s hared cos t number
(s hared c os t numbers are premium numbers often us ed by
bus ines s es and other ins titutions ).
SkypeO ut rates for mobile phones vary not jus t by des tination
c ountry, but als o by mobile network c arrier. So, for example, the
SkypeO ut rate for c alls to mobile phones in Belgium might
depend on whic h mobile c arrier is the provider for the c all
rec ipient.
Shared c os t numbers in the U K have the area c odes 0 8 4 4 ,

0 8 4 5 , 0 8 7 0 , or 0 8 7 1 . C alls to thes e numbers are billed at a
s ubs tantially higher rate than regular c alls to the U K.
2.6.1. Higher-Rate Avoidance Strategies
O bvious ly, as Skype- to- Skype c alls are always free, one way of
avoiding higher SkypeO ut rates c ompletely is to c onvert friends ,
family, and others to Skype. From Skype's menu bar, jus t s elec t
Tools Share Skype with a Friend (C ontac ts Share
Skype with a Friend…on M ac O S X; the option is not available on
P oc ket P C ), and follow the ins truc tions . I t's as s imple as that.
C learly, if you c an't c onvert others to Skype, another obvious
way to avoid SkypeO ut rates for c alls that are higher than their
lowes t global rate is not to make s uc h c alls ! T his might s eem a
rather fatuous piec e of advic e, were it not for the fac t that it is
eas y to c all a higher rate number inadvertently (for example, a
mobile phone or U K s hared c os t number).
I n an ideal world, Skype would tell you if it will bill for the number
you are dialing at a rate higher than its global rate, and as k you
whether you want to proc eed before plac ing the c all. A las , we
live in a les s - than- ideal world.
Before making the c all, you c an either look up the rate on the
Skype web s ite, or plac e the c all through Skype's D ialing Wizard
(or through the Skype Widget on M ac O S X; s ee "D ial L ike a
Wizard" [Hack #11]). H owever, doing this for every c all would be
overkill, s o you might want to c ons ider doing this only when you
are c alling a number you have not c alled before, or if you are
s imply uns ure.
I f you have a regular telephone s ervic e in addition to Skype, you

might want to c hec k out its rates and c ompare them with
Skype's . T here's no doubt that Skype's rates are among the
lowes t around, but they are not always the bes t deal (s ee "G et
the Bes t D eal for VoI P Telephony" [Hack #22]). O bvious ly, if
you want to s ave money, you s hould always us e the lowes t rate
available to you, from whatever s ourc e.
Similarly, s ome prepaid c alling c ards c an beat Skype's rates for

s ome des tinations . G oogle on "prepaid phone c ard" and you'll be
overwhelmed by c hoic es .
When s hopping around for the very lowes t rates , you may want to
trade off s ome potential s avings agains t the c os t in terms of
your time s pent hunting down the very bes t deal. O nc e you are
down into s ingle- digit euro c ent rates ( 0 .0 1 to 0 .0 9 ),
unles s your c all volume is exc eedingly high, s hopping around is
mos t dis tinc tly an ac tivity of diminis hing returns .
Hack 18. Avoid Additional Mobile Phone
Charges
The rate charged f or both the Skype caller and a mobile phone
recipient can vary depending on what mobile phone is called and
where it is geographically located.
SkypeO ut c all rates vary by des tination and by the type of

rec eiving devic eregular phone or mobile (s ee "A void H igher
SkypeO ut Rates " [Hack #17]).
O ften, the rate c harged to a mobile phone depends on its

loc ation, both when dialing out and when rec eiving c alls . When a
mobile phone is outs ide its des ignated home network, it is
c harged additional roaming fees for outgoing and (pos s ibly)
inc oming c alls . So, you c an inadvertently c os t your c all rec ipient
a lot of money by c alling him at the wrong time and plac e. H ow
are you to know when he is outs ide his regular network (for
example, when he is traveling)? T his is where a little forward
planning by the pers on who is traveling pays dividends . A s k him
to tell you and others in advanc e when he'll be traveling and
s ugges t that he make his plac e of doing bus ines s or his hotel his
alternative c ontac t number. A nd, on his Skype or regular phone
voic email greeting, have him leave a mes s age telling people
where he is and how bes t to c ontac t him.
O bvious ly, if you us e a mobile phone and Skype, this works in

revers e when you are traveling, therefore s aving you money.
T hink ahead and s ave money.
A s an alternative to c alling s omeone's mobile phone, if your

mes s age is s hort, you might want to s end a Short Mes s age
Service (SM S) mes s age ins tead. SM S mes s ages are typic ally far
c heaper than voic e c alls .
Hack 19. Make Money with Skype
Join the Skype A f f iliate Program and have Skype pay you!
I f you have your own web s ite or blog, you c an refer people to
Skype and get paid for it under Skype's A ffiliate P rogram. You
get paid a perc entage of the money s pent by thos e people whom
you refer to Skype via your web s ite or blog, and who
s ubs equently buy Skype s ervic es within 9 0 days of being
referred. H ere's how it works :
1. J oin Skype affiliates by c ompleting the s hort applic ation

form on Skype's web s ite.
2. Sign in to your new affiliate ac c ount.
3. C hoos e the links to plac e on your web s ite or blog.
4. Sit bac k and wait for the money to roll in!
You c an join the Skype A ffiliate P rogram by vis iting

http://www.s kype.c om/partners /affiliate/.
So, how muc h c an you expec t to make? T his rather depends on

how s uc c es s ful you are at driving people to Skype and whether
they buy Skype s ervic es . T he program is s et up to reward
s uc c es s in c onverting people to Skype s ervic es ; the more
people you c onvert, the more money you make. Table 2 - 1 7
s hows the c ommis s ion rates in effec t at the time of this writing.
Table 2-17. Skype affiliate commission rates
Monthly converts SkypeOut SkypeIn Skype Voicemail
1 unlimited 5% 10% 10%
Skype will trac k who buys , how muc h they buy, and when they
buy. E very c us tomer who c lic ks through to Skype from your web
s ite is c ounted, even if he vis its Skype's web s ite direc tly later
on. P rovided he purc has es Skype s ervic es within 9 0 days from
c lic king through from your s ite, you will get a piec e of the ac tion.
Before inves ting the time and effort to s ign up for the Skype
A ffiliate P rogram and modifying your web s ite or blogall of whic h,
inc identally, took me les s than 1 5 minutes you might want to do
s ome s imple money c alc ulations .
C ons ider this what- if s c enario. Suppos e that with jus t a little
effort promoting your web s ite, and Skype s ervic es s pec ific ally,
you judge that 3 ,0 0 0 referrals per month and a 1 0 % c onvers ion
rate are not unrealis tic . T hat means 3 0 0 c onverts to Skype
s ervic es per month. Furthermore, of thes e c onverts , s uppos e
2 5 0 buy 1 0 of SkypeO ut c redits , 1 0 0 of thos e als o buy a
one- year s ubs c ription to SkypeI n, and 5 0 buy voic email only.
C runc hing the numbers , here's what we get:
M onthly inc ome = 2 5 0 X 10 X 5% + 100 X 30 X

10% + 50 X 15 X 10% = 5 0 0 (about $ 6 2 5 )
N ot bad for a little upfront effort to s et up and a little ongoing
effort to promote your web s ite and Skype s ervic es . A nd, of
c ours e, there's nothing s topping you from doing this on all your
web s ites , or on thos e you s et up jus t for this purpos e.
For thos e who want to look at different s c enarios and how they
might profit from the Skype A ffiliate P rogram, a Skype A ffiliate
I nc ome E s timator s preads heet is available from this book's web
s ite at http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html.
2.8.1. Skype Points
A n alternative to the Skype A ffiliate P rogram, you c an make

money (points to be us ed as Skype c redit, ac tually) through the
Skype P oints program.
You c an ac c rue Skype P oints only by referring people to Skype.

P res ently, you c annot us e points for anything; they jus t ac c rue.
H owever, Skype intends to allow points to be exc hanged in
payment for Skype s ervic es s ometime in the future. For details ,
s ee
Hack 20. Make Money with the Skype API
You can make money using the Skype A pplication Programming

Interf ace (A PI), if you have programming skills.
Works with: all vers ions of Skype that s upport the A P I .
Skype has an A P I that allows thos e with programming s kills to

extend Skype's func tionality in new and interes ting ways . T here
is a burgeoning market for s oftware and hardware add- ons for
Skype (s ee C hapter 1 1 ) that us e the Skype A P I .
P rogramming us ing the Skype A P I is not diffic ult, and there are
s ome free c omponents that allow you to c all the A P I from
different languages . For thos e too intimidated by the Skype A P I ,
an alternative is s c ripting languages for extending Skype's
func tionality. O r, you c an us e s c ripting in c onjunc tion with the
A P I , whic h is dealt with in C hapter 1 2 .
A ll it takes to make a us eful addon for Skype is a good idea and

the where- withal to c arry it through.
You c an make money us ing the Skype A P I in three ways :

through bounties , by developing add- ons that you c an s ell, and
by working as a Skype programmer.
Bounties are offered by c ompanies and open s ourc e projec ts for

Skype add- ons that enhanc e their produc ts or s ervic es . For
example, at the time of this writing, there is an open bounty of
$ 1 ,5 0 0 to extend A s teris k (a popular open s ourc e Private Branch
Exchange (P BX) s ys tem: http://www.as teris k.org/) to work with
Skype.
T he bounty for A s teris k- Skype integration

(and other bounties ) is lis ted at
http://www.opens ourc experts .c om/.
Bear in mind, the trend of offering bounties

in both c ommerc ial and open s ourc e
c ommunities is a growing; jus t G oogle on
"Skype (bounty O R bounties )" to find out
more.
M any Skype add- ons are free, but many are als o being s old.
O bvious ly, add- ons with "mus t have" func tionality are more
likely to s ell. To get s ome idea of what s orts of add- ons for
Skype already exis t and how they are being s old, s ee C hapter
11.
A t the time of this writing, Skype was growing at a phenomenal

rate and had been ac quired by eBay. J ob and work- for- hire offers
oc c as ionally c rop up on the Skype forums . Searc hing job s earc h
web s ites (for example, http://www.mons ter.c om/) us ing the
s earc h term "Skype" will produc e a handful of job openings ; a
handful now, but many more in the future, to be s ure. A nd, if
you're really, really, really good, there's always the option of
getting a job with the big boys . Skype maintains its lis t of job
openings at http://www.s kype.c om/c ompany/jobs /.
Hack 21. Avoid Forfeiting SkypeOut
Credits
You must continue to use your SkypeOut account so that you

don't lose your SkypeOut credits.
You will los e your SkypeO ut c redits only if you are an infrequent
SkypeO ut us er. I f you keep a SkypeO ut balanc e only for
emergenc ies , travel, or whatever, you mus t make the oc c as ional
c all jus t to avoid forfeiting your remaining SkypeO ut balanc e. A s
the Skype "Terms of Servic e" (M ay 2 0 0 5 ) s tates :
6.5 A credit balance for SkypeOut s ervice expires 180 days

after las t chargeable us age of SkypeOut s ervice. Credit
balances not us ed within s aid 180 day period will be los t.
You c an find c omplete details at

http://www.s kype.c om/c ompany/legal/terms /tos _voip.html.
M ake at leas t one c all every 1 8 0 days and keep your SkypeO ut
c redits s afe.
Hack 22. Get the Best Deal for VoIP
Telephony
Skype is not your only option f or VoIP telephony. You may want
to consider other providers instead of or as a complement to
Skype, based on your needs.
Skype offers free Skype- to- Skype c alls and s ome of the lowes t
rates available for c alls to regular phones . H owever, other VoI P
providers offer rates lower than Skype for s ome c all
des tinations . Some even offer free c alling to des tinations for
whic h Skype c harges . M oreover, there might be other s ervic es
(for example, 9 1 1 emergenc y s ervic e) that Skype does not
provide and whic h are important to you.
O f c ours e, nothing is s topping you from having as many VoI P

providers as you want. You have a great deal of c hoic e
nowadays , and you c an pic k and c hoos e as though from a menu.
I t's c ertainly worth hunting down the bes t deal by keeping an
eye on what's out there. For example, Finarea SA 's Voip- Bus ter
s ervic e (http://www.voipbus ter.c om/) offers free c alls to regular
telephones in s ome c ountries . E ven Skype c an't beat that!
A t the time of this writing, Finarea SA was

offering free c alls (with s ome res tric tions )
to A us tralia, A us tria, Belgium, C anada,
C hina, the C zec h Republic , D enmark,
Finland, Franc e, G ermany, G reec e,
H ungary, I reland, I s rael, I taly,
L uxembourg, the N etherlands , N orway,
P oland, P ortugal, Rus s ia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, the U nited Kingdom,
and the U nited States .
For details , vis it

http://www.voipbus ter.c om.
You s hould c ons ider many fac tors (s uc h as voic e quality,

reliability, and us ability) when dec iding on the bes t c hoic e for
you, bas ed on your c alling habits . E ven if you are a Skype fan,
you c an s till c hoos e to c omplement Skype with other VoI P
offerings or, indeed, with regular phone and mobile phone
offerings . C hoic e is a wonderful thing!
You c an find plenty of VoI P alternatives to Skype by G oogling on

"VoI P phone s ervic e." But to get you s tarted s o that you have a
s ens e of what's out there, Table 2 - 1 8 lis ts a grab bag of
s ugges tions for where to s tart looking for the bes t VoI P deals .
Table 2-18. A grab bag of alternative VoIP

providers
http://www.vonage.c om/ http://www.voipbus ter.c om/
http://www.s ipphone.c om/ http://www.s ipgate.de and
http://www.s ipgate.c o.uk/
http://www.voipgate.c om/ http://www.ineen.c om/
http://www.gizmoprojec t.c om/ http://www.lingo.c om/
http://www.freeworlddialup.c om/ http://www.pac ket8 .net/
http://www.wavigo.c om/ http://www.dialpad.c om/
http://www.woize.c om/ http://www.s unroc ket.c om/
http://www.jajah.c om/
M any of thes e are "me too" s ervic es that have s prouted up in

the wake of Skype's s uc c es s . N one of them c omes with any s ort
of tes timonial or rec ommendation from the author or publis her.
Hack 23. Round Call Time to Your
Advantage
By understanding how Skype f igures the cost of your call, you

can save money.
O ver the long run, the way in whic h c all times are rounded c an
make a big differenc e. T his is partic ularly true if your c all volume
is large, as it might be for medium to large organizations that
us e SkypeO ut.
To illus trate why, c ons ider this example. Ten thous and c alls are
made with a random duration of between 1 5 and 6 0 s ec onds .
Firs t, c alls are rounded up to the next 6 - s ec ond interval, and
then c alls are rounded up to the whole minute. U s ing jus t one s et
of randomly generated data, you s hould get res ults s imilar to
thes e: 6 - s ec ond rounding 6 6 ,2 4 0 (approx.) billing units ,
and 1 - minute rounding 1 0 ,0 0 0 (exac t) billing units .
Furthermore, s uppos e c alls are uniformly pric ed at $ 0 .1 0 per
minute (that's $ 0 .0 1 per 6 - s ec ond interval). C learly, 1 - minute
rounding will res ult in a total bill of $ 1 ,0 0 0 . H owever, by
c ontras t, 6 - s ec ond rounding will bring the total bill down to
about $ 6 6 0 . T hat's a big differenc e. Remember, the per- minute
c all rate is the s ame in both c as es ; rounding alone ac c ounts for
the differenc e.
When c alls are rounded not to the next s ec ond, but up to s ome
other time interval, for s ome frac tion of your c alls that fall s hort
of the next full time inc rement, you are effec tively paying for c all
time that you don't us e. To s ee the s ignific anc e of this effec t,
let's again look at s ome res ults from making 1 0 ,0 0 0 random
c alls bas ed on a minimum and maximum time limit for the c alls
(s ee Table 2 - 1 9 ).
Table 2-19. Call-rounding effect: call time paid

for but unused (approx.)
Call time not less Call time not more 6-second 60-second
than (seconds) than (minutes) rounding rounding
15 1 6% 38%
15 3 2 .5 % 22%
15 10 1% 9%
15 15 0 .5 % 6%
15 30 0 .3 % 3%
E ven though SkypeO ut rates are s ome of the lowes t there are,
the downs ide is that Skype rounds c alls to the neares t minute.
So, a c all between 5 s ec onds (not 1 s ec ond, for reas ons
dis c us s ed s hortly) and 6 0 s ec onds will be rounded up to 1 whole
minute for billing purpos es . L ikewis e, a c all of N minutes plus 1
to 6 0 s ec onds will be rounded up to N + 1 minutes and billed
ac c ordingly.
2.12.1. Round Calls and Save Money
SkypeO ut c alls of 4 s ec onds or les s are free (the c loc k s tarts

running onc e you are c onnec ted). So, one way to s ave money is
not to hang around if your c all rec ipient's ans wer mac hine kic ks
in. Skype dis plays c all duration in real time, s o a c areful watc h
and bailout before the firs t 4 s ec onds are up will s ave you a
whole minute's worth of billing. O f c ours e, if you do need to leave
a mes s age, you mus t s ac rific e at leas t 1 minute of SkypeO ut
c redit. But keep the mes s age s hort, and you'll do yours elfand no
doubt the rec ipienta favor.
P ay s pec ial attention to the fac t that only the firs t 4 s ec onds of
a c all are free. O nc e a c all is 5 s ec onds or longer you will be
billed for a full minute. T hereafter, all frac tions of a minutefrom 1
s ec ond to 6 0 s ec onds are rounded to a whole minute for billing
purpos es . So, for example, a c all las ting 6 minutes , 1 s ec ond will
be billed as a 7 - minute c all.
Skype's Terms of Servic e agreement, whic h you c an find at

http://www.s kype.c om/c ompany/legal/terms /tos _voip.html,
s pells out all of this .
What the 4 - s ec ond rule effec tively allows you to do is round

down the firs t minute to zero for c alls las ting 4 s ec onds or les s .
T his will be the only time you have the opportunity to round
down, s o make the mos t of it.
A t 5 s ec onds and thereafter, when the minute mark rolls over

into the next, a bite is taken out of your SkypeO ut c redit every
time; therefore, you may want to forc e c alls to be prematurely
rounded. Whether your c all is s hort or long, keep a c los e eye on
the c all timer. When the next minute mark is approac hing,
c ons ider bringing the c all to a c los e before you roll into the next
minute. Ka- c hing! A nother minute's worth of c redit s aved.
A minute s aved here and a minute s aved there, and pretty s oon
you're into s ome s erious s avings . J us t remember, the
s ys tematic applic ation of thes e rules for c all rounding will s ave
you plenty in the long run.
For thos e readers who would like to analyze the ec onomic effec ts
of c all rounding in more detail, perhaps in c omparis on with an
exis ting c all plan, a Skype C all M inutes Rounding E s timator
s preads heet is available from the book's web s ite at
Hack 24. Manage Bandwidth Costs
The costs of running Skype can mount up if you pay f or Internet

traf f ic by the megabyte.
E ven when not making a c all, Skype c ons umes about 0 .5

kilobytes per s ec ond of bandwidth. I f your mac hine has been
des ignated a s uper node (inc identally, being a s uper node in the
Skype network is n't really s omething over whic h you have any
explic it c ontroleither you are one, or you aren't), bandwidth
c ons umption c an jump tenfold to 5 kilobytes per s ec ond.
O bvious ly, bandwidth c ons umption jumps c ons iderably above
thes e levels when making a c all. H owever, the bandwidth
c ons umed when Skype is idle c an mount up.
Taking the wors t- c as e s c enario, s uppos e your mac hine lives in

an almos t permanent s tate of being a s uper node and that your
c all volume is a negligible proportion of the bandwidth
c ons umed. Five kilobytes per s ec ond trans lates into about 1 3
gigabytes of data trans fer per month.
I n E urope, a monthly c ap of 4 gigabytes on I nternet traffic is not

unc ommon, and bus ting this c ap c an be expens ive. I f your P C is
running c ons tantly, and you us e your I nternet c onnec tion for
other things bes ides Skype, it's not inc onc eivablethough it is
perhaps unlikely, given that we're looking at the wors t c as ethat
Skype may pus h you over your c ap.
N ow, if your I nternet is unmetered, this s hould not be a problem.
H owever, if you pay for your I nternet traffic by the megabyte or
gigabyte, the c os ts of having Skype running c ontinuous ly c an
mount up. P eople who c onnec t to the I nternet via s atellite, for
example, often have a c omparatively low monthly data- trans fer
allowanc e and are c harged a punitive rate for going over their
limit.
C ompanies that deploy Skype to a large number of us ers for

example, a c all c enterwill c ertainly want to keep an eye on how
muc h bandwidth Skype c ons umes , es pec ially if their c all volume
is high. A dditional bandwidth c os ts effec tively inc reas e the c os t
of us ing Skype, s o you s hould fac tor this into your dec is ion to
us e Skype.
T here are two parts to managing Skype's bandwidth c os ts :

monitoring and metering.
2.13.1. Monitoring
M edium to large c ompanies will no doubt have network

monitoring tools already in plac e. For s mall c ompanies and
individuals , s everal c ommerc ial and free applic ations are
available that will help you get a handle on your I nternet
c onnec tion us age patterns .
G oogle on "free network monitor" and you'll be pres ented with a

long lis t of s oftware tools , many of whic h are free.
I f after an extens ive period of monitorings ay, a monthyou

determine that Skype is a problem, you s hould perhaps meter its
us e of your I nternet c onnec tion.
O f c ours e, if you've deemed that Skype bandwidth c ons umption

is not a problem, you're free to move on to other things while
enjoying Skype.
2.13.2. Metering
M etering bandwidth has two as pec ts .
L arge organizations may c hoos e to meter I nternet bandwidth

us age to alloc ate the c os ts of its us e to departments in s ome
proportion to its c ons umption. T he bigges t us ers of bandwidth
get to pay mos t of the c os ts , and the s malles t us ers pay a s mall
proportion of the c os ts . T his is a c ommon approac h in large
organizations .
For s mall organizations and for individuals , metering is normally

a means by whic h to throttle or c hoke off bandwidth. I n this
s ens e, metering is us ed to ration bandwidth c ons umption.
We will look at metering as a means of rationing bandwidth.
2.13.2.1. Run Skype only when needed.
P erhaps the s imples t method of c ontrolling Skype's

c ons umption of bandwidth is to run it only when you need to
make a c all. I f Skype is n't running, it is n't c ons uming bandwidth.
I t's as s imple as that. Bear in mind, however, that you won't be
able to rec eive any c alls when Skype is n't running.
2.13.2.2. Run Skype for only a limited

part of the day.
I f you need Skype for only a limited part of the days ay, 9 a.m. to
5 p.m., or whatever your bus ines s hours areyou c an s tart and
s top Skype bas ed on the time of day (s ee "Run Skype Bas ed on
T ime of D ay" [Hack #41]). T hat way, Skype will be running for
only that part of the day for whic h you need it.
2.13.2.3. Ration bandwidth as part of a

QoS plan.
Quality of Service (Q oS) not only allows you to ration available

bandwidth to Skype's advantage to improve its voic e quality, but
you c an als o us e it to ration bandwidth c ons umption to manage
c os ts (s ee "I mprove Servic e Q uality" [Hack #59]).
Chapter 3. Configure Skype
H ac k 2 5 . Tes t Your Sound Sys tem
H ac k 2 6 . Tes t C all Sound Q uality (ec ho1 2 3 )
H ac k 2 7 . C hoos e and C onfigure a M ic rophone and

Speakers
H ac k 2 8 . C hoos e and C onfigure a U SB H ands et or

H eads et
H ac k 2 9 . C hoos e and C onfigure a Bluetooth H eads et
H ac k 3 0 . C onfigure Skype to U s e Regular P hones
H ac k 3 1 . C onfigure Skype on a L aptop
H ac k 3 2 . C onfigure Skype on a P oc ket P C
H ac k 3 3 . Tes t Your I nternet C onnec tion Bandwidth
H ac k 3 4 . Tes t Your I nternet C onnec tion L atenc y
H ac k 3 5 . Build a Skype Server
H ac k 3 6 . M ake Skype Work with P ers onal Firewalls
H ac k 3 7 . Set U p M ultiple P hone L ines
H ac k 3 8 . Tes t Your C onnec tion for Skype Friendlines s
H ac k 3 9 . E liminate E c ho and N ois e
H ac k 4 0 . Res et Your Skype C onfiguration

H ac k 4 1 . Run Skype Bas ed on T ime of D ay
H ac k 4 2 . Sc hedule When Skype Runs the M ac Way

Skype has gone to great efforts to make ins talling and
c onfiguring its s oftware as eas y and problem free as pos s ible.
Sadly, it is n't there yet. A nd, one c ould argue, thes e proc edures
c an never be truly problem free given the s heer variety of
c omputer hardware already out there and the rapid pac e at whic h
new hardware is introduc ed. Similarly, s oftware in the form of
s ound devic e drivers , Skype add- ons , and operating s ys tem
s ervic es are s o intertwined with Skype that a problem for one of
thos e almos t inevitably is a problem for Skype.
Some end- us er c onfiguration will almos t c ertainly be needed.

H owever, c onfiguration really falls into two dis tinc t c ategories .
T he firs t is c onfiguration to get Skype to s imply work, and this
c hapter helps a little in that res pec t. T he s ec ond is c onfiguration
to get Skype to work the way you want; that is , improving
performanc e and c us tomization. T he foc us of this c hapter is
mos t dis tinc tly on the s ec ond c ategorya foc us that is further
maintained and expanded in C hapter 4 . For the firs t
c ategorygetting Skype ins talled and up and runningrefer to
Skype's own troubles hooting and other res ourc es at
http://www.s kype.c om/, though "Troubles hoot Skype" [Hack
#12] may be of s ome help, too.
A n often- overlooked s imple prerequis ite to us ing any s oftware is

to c hec k that your hardware and operating s ys tem meet the
minimum requirements . T his s imple s tep is too often brus hed
as ide in the headlong rus h to get the applic ation ins talled, only
later to find yours elf was ting a lot of time tinkering with it and
wondering why it does n't work, or does n't work very well. To help
you not to make that mis take, I 've provided Skype's minimum
hardware requirements at the time of this writing in Table P - 1 in
the P refac e.
3.1.1. Internet Connections
N owadays , you c an c onnec t to the I nternet in a multitude of

ways : through dial- up, c able, D igital Subs c riber L ines (D SL ),
wireles s hots pots (WiFi and Bluetooth), mobile phones (G eneral
P ac ket Radio Servic e, or G P RS), and even s atellites ! Bus ines s
us ers have even more c hoic es . So, almos t by nec es s ity, this
c hapter will narrow its s c ope in terms of the I nternet c onnec tion
tec hnologies it will c over.
U nles s s tated otherwis e, this c hapter will as s ume that you have
a broadband c onnec tion that is provided through c able, your
phone line (typic ally s ome flavor of D SL ), or a WiFi or Bluetooth
wireles s link. N ote that while it is pos s ible to us e Skype over a
dial- up c onnec tion, c all quality in that c as e is s uc h a hit- or-
mis s affair that it won't be c ons idered a viable option in this
c hapter.
M oreover, bear in mind while you read the hac ks in this c hapter
that your I nternet c onnec tion s ometimes determines how you
c an and c annot c onfigure Skype the way you want. For example,
if you obtain your I nternet c onnec tion through s ome flavor of
D SL , you will almos t c ertainly have to retain at leas t one regular
phone line no matter what. T he s ame may als o be true if you get
your I nternet c onnec tion through s atellite bec aus e many
s atellite I nternet s ervic es us e a dial- up c onnec tion for s ending
data and a s atellite dis h for rec eiving data (whic h, of c ours e, is
highly as ymmetric and not good for VoI P ).
A flavor of D SL , c alled Dry DSL, does not

require the telephone line on whic h it
operates to be "ac tive." T hat is , it c an
c onnec t you to the I nternet without
requiring a number and a phone s ervic e on
the line over whic h it operates . H owever,
this type of D SL is s till rare, s o I won't
c over it here. But it is s omething to bear in
mindand perhaps res earc has you read the
hac ks in this c hapter.
3.1.2. Ways to Configure Skype
H ow you c onfigure Skype determines , in large part, what you will

get out of Skype. P res ented in this c hapter are hac ks that range
from s imply making Skype c alls while s itting at your c omputer, to
effec tively us ing your exis ting home phone s ys tem with Skype
as a replac ement for regular phone s ervic e. Typic ally, the more
you pus h the envelope with Skype, the more money you c an
s ave. H owever, none of the Skype c onfigurations pres ented in
this c hapter is an all- or- nothing propos ition. You c an mix and
matc h options and run the old in parallel with the new until you
are c onfident that the new will work the way you want!
I n terms of c onfiguring Skype, in many ways you really are

limited only by your imagination. But to get you s tarted, Figure
3 - 1 s hows you a number of c onfiguration options that are linked
to hac ks des c ribing how you c an c onfigure Skype in different
ways to us e the whole range of Skype hardware at your dis pos al.
Figure 3-1. Configuration choices for Skype
Figure 3 - 1 s hows that your firs t c hoic e is whether you are
primarily interes ted in us ing Skype while on the move (mobile),
or from the c omfort of your home or offic e (des ktop).
M obile us ers of Skype have two additional c hoic es : laptop or

P oc ket P C . I c over how to c onfigure Skype for thes e c hoic es in
"C onfigure Skype on a L aptop" [Hack #31] and 'C onfigure Skype
on a P oc ket P C " [Hack #32], res pec tively.
H ome and offic e us ers of Skype really have to dec ide firs t
whether they only want to make and rec eive c alls while they're
s itting at their c omputer, or whether they want the s ame
flexibility that their c urrent phone s ys tem affords . Your c hoic e of
s ound devic e will dic tate into whic h of thes e two c ategories of
Skype us ers you will fall. Sound devic es that tie you to your
c omputer are ones that plug into your mac hine and provide only
one voic e c hannel; and, as thes e devic es typic ally c onnec t to
your c omputer by means of a c able, your freedom of movement
during a c all is nec es s arily c ons trained to the length of that
c able. "C hoos e and C onfigure a M ic rophone and Speakers "
[Hack #27] and 'C hoos e and C onfigure a U SB H ands et or
H eads et" [Hack #28] dis c us s c onfigurations of this kind. Sound
devic es bas ed on Bluetooth or that interfac e to exis ting phone
equipment s pread throughout your home or offic e do not tie you
to your c omputer. Suc h devic es provide func tionality that more
c los ely res embles a regular phone s ys tem; namely, limited
mobility within the c onfines of your home or offic e. 'C hoos e and
C onfigure a Bluetooth H eads et" [Hack #29] des c ribes a hands -
free way of making and rec eiving c alls while walking about, and
'C onfigure Skype to U s e Regular P hones " [Hack #30] des c ribes
a c onfiguration that c an, if you take it to the limit of its
pos s ibilities , res ult in a phone s ys tem driven by Skype that is
almos t indis tinguis hable from your exis ting phone s ys tem.
I t's your c hoic e!
3.1.3. Connecting Hardware to Your

Computer
T his c hapter inc ludes hac ks that will have you playing around
with hardware and pos s ibly tinkering with your exis ting phone
s ys tem and wiring. T herefore, a few guidelines are in order.
When plugging and unplugging hardware for your c omputer, you

s hould follow this proc edure to avoid any unnec es s ary
aggravation:
1. P ower offnot jus t your c omputer, but other peripherals

too.
2. C onnec t new hardware and/or remove old hardware.
3. P ower on peripherals and new hardware.
4. P ower up your c omputer.
E ven though s ome devic e c onnec tion methods (for example,

U SB) are what's known as hot pluggable (meaning that you c an
ins ert and remove the c onnec tor without powering off), I 've
experienc ed fewer problems when following the prec eding
proc edure.
A s s hown in Figure 3 - 2 , you c an attac h s ound devic es to your

c omputer us ing a number of c ommon c onnec tion methods . E ac h
c onnec tor is typic ally as s oc iated with thes e types of s ound
devic es :
3.5mm plug
A s s oc iated with mic rophones (handheld, c lip- on, and

des ktop), s peakers , earphones , and heads ets
(earphones with a boom mic rophone, whic h in this c as e
has two 3 .5 mm plugs ). O ften, 3 .5 mm plugs and the
s oc kets on your c omputer they plug into are c olor-
c oded: pink for mic rophones , and green for s peakers and
earphones . N ormally, the s oc kets on your c omputer
have s mall pic tures of a mic rophone and earphones next
to them to c larify their purpos e.
USB plug
A s s oc iated with des ktop mic rophones , array

mic rophones , earphones , hands ets , heads ets , and
Skype- to- phone adapter boxes .
Bluetooth dongle
T his dongle plugs into a U SB port, but it c ommunic ates

with the s ound devic etypic ally a Bluetooth heads etover
Bluetooth wireles s . I f your c omputer has Bluetooth built
in (and more and more of the newer ones do), you won't
need one of thes e.
RJ11 phone plug

T his the mos t c ommon type of phone c onnec tor (at leas t
in the U .S.) for regular phone hands ets , des ktop phones ,
wireles s phone bas e s tations , and Skype- to- phone
adapter boxes .
Figure 3-2. Sound hardware connectors, left to

right: 3.5mm plug, USB plug, Bluetooth dongle,
and RJ11 phone plug (sockets are shown
beneath the plugs)
3.1.4. Setting the Sound Devices Used by
Skype
O nc e your s ound hardware is c onnec ted, tes ted, and s hown to

be working (s ee "Tes t Your Sound Sys tem" [Hack #25]), jus t
c onfigure Skype to us e it:
Windows
Selec t Skype Tools O ptions … Sound

D evic es .
Linux
Selec t Skype Tools O ptions …

H and/H eads ets .
Mac OS X
Selec t Skype P referenc es … A udio.
Pocket PC
N ormally, the s ound- in and s ound- out devic es are

intrins ic ally part of the devic e and are c onfigured at the
fac tory, s o Skype its elf has no c onfiguration options for
s ound devic es on P oc ket P C . O f c ours e, you c an us e a
Bluetooth heads et with Skype on P oc ket P C , provided it
is Bluetooth enabled (s ee "C onfigure Skype on a P oc ket
P C " [Hack #32]).
M y experienc e has been that it always pays to s pec ify explic itly
the s ound devic es that Skype us es . N owhere is this truer than
for U SB devic es , as oftentimes the las t U SB s ound devic e to be
plugged into your c omputer s eems to as s ume it has a G od- given
right to bec ome your default s ound devic e. T his s ometimes als o
means that it will bec ome your default s ound devic e for Skype
regardles s of whether that was what you wanted. T his is
es pec ially the c as e if your c omputer has s everal s ound devic es
of various types c onnec ted to it.
3.1.5. Safely Cutting Your Phone Lines
To c ut your inc oming phone wires s afely you will need a pair of
wire c utters (or s harp s c is s ors ) with ins ulated handles and a roll
of elec tric al ins ulation tape, and you will need to follow a s imple
proc edure to do the ac tual c utting, as s hown in Figure 3 - 3 .
T he telephone c ompany provides power to your phone wires ;

that's why your regular telephone works during a power c ut. N ow,
even if you've had the phone c ompany "dis c onnec t" you, your
phone wires may or may not s till have elec tric al power.
C ons equently, you mus t be c areful not to s hort the wires when
c utting them. E ven a momentary s hort c an be bad news . T his
c an happen if you c ut two or more wires at the s ame time, Step
1 . T he s olution is s imple: c ut only one wire at a time, Step 2 . A s
you c ut wires , you s hould ins ulate their expos ed ends with
elec tric al tape, Step 3 .
N ow, if this ac tivity looks to be beyond your c omfort zone, you

always have the option of c alling the phone c ompany and having
them s end a tec hnic ian to do the job for you. E ven after paying
for this to be done, your Skype s avings will mos t likely rec oup
the c os t in very little time.
Figure 3-3. Steps for cutting your phone lines.

Step 1: don't cut all the wires at once; Step 2:
cut wires one by one; and Step 3: insulate the
ends of cut wires as you go
I f you have a home alarm s ys tem that is

monitored through your phone line, you
may want to c ontac t your alarm monitoring
s ervic e firs t. D epending on how your alarm
is wired into your phone line, even if you
have c anc elled your regular phone s ervic e,
jus t c utting your phone line may trip your
alarm s ys tem and have the polic e on your
doors tepboth in s hort order! A little
res earc h, organization, and preparation
s hould keep you out of trouble.
Hack 25. Test Your Sound System
Sound is perhaps the number-one problem f or Skype users. Some

quick-and-dirty tests should help you isolate sound problems: is
it your sound system or Skype?
Before attac king a problem, you mus t is olate the problem. J us t

as for a rabid dog, it helps to have the thing c ornered before you
kill it!
I f you experienc e s ound problems when us ing Skype, the firs t

thing to determine is whether the problem lies with your s ound
s ys tem or with Skype. By tes ting your s ound s ys tem
independently of Skype, you'll have a better c hanc e of is olating
the problem. T hes e s imple tes ts s hould help:
Windows
General
Skype us es the s ound devic es ins talled and

c onfigured under Windows . I f you have s et up
Skype to us e the Windows default devic e (Skype
Tools O ptions … Sound
D evic es ), whic h is als o the default for a new
Skype ins tallation, and you s ubs equently add
new s ound devic es for example, by plugging in a
U SB s peaker s ys temyour Windows default
devic e and that us ed by Skype may now be the
newly ins talled devic e and not the phone devic e
you want. To avoid s ound devic e s elec tion
is s ues , it's always bes t to s pec ify explic itly the
audio- in and audio- out devic es within Skype.
Skype provides a us er guide s pec ific ally for
Windows XP s ound s etup, at
http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /s ounds etup_xp
Sound-out
O pen Windows ' Sound Rec order applic ation

(Start A ll P rograms A c c es s ories
E ntertainment Sound Rec order).
Within Sound Rec order, s elec t File O pen
and then navigate to C:\Windows \Media. O pen
any .wav file you find there and c lic k the P lay
button. I f you hear a s ound, the s ound- out
c omponent of your s ound s ys tem is working.
Sound-in
I n Windows ' Sound Rec order, c lic k on the Rec ord

button and s peak into your s ound- in devic e for a
few s ec onds . C lic k the Stop button and then
c lic k P lay. I f you hear your voic e played bac k,
the s ound- in c omponent of your s ound s ys tem is
working.
Sound-in and s ound-out
A n alternative method for c hec king your voic e

input and output devic es in a s ingle tes t is to
us e the Windows Sound H ardware Tes t Wizard
(Start C ontrol P anel Sounds and
A udio D evic es Voic e Tes t
hardware…).
Linux
General
Skype works with the Open Sound Sys tem (O SS)

on L inux, for whic h its s ound input and output
are as s oc iated with the devic e /dev/dsp. Skype
als o works with the Advanced Linux Sound
Architecture (A L SA ) on L inux, but only us ing
A L SA 's O SS emulation layer. C hec k that your
L inux s ys tem s upports one of thes e two s ound
s tandards and, if you have A L SA , that the O SS
emulation layer is ins talled and enabled. A ls o
c hec k that Skype is s et up to us e /dev/dsp as its
audio devic e for c alls (Skype Tools
O ptions … H and/H eads ets ). Skype provides
a us er guide s pec ific ally for L inux s ound s etup;
s ee
http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /s ounds etup_lin
Sound-out
O n L inux, there are us ually s everal audio

playbac k applic ations (s ee http://linux-
s ound.org/ for a c omplete lis t of L inux s ound
s oftware). I n your favorite file brows er, s earc h for
s ome s ound files to play. Try looking for audio
files with thes e extens ions : .mp3, .wav, .ra,. aiff,
or .m4a. O nc e you have found s ome s ound files
c lic k on one of them and it s hould play in the
default player for that extens ion. I f you c an hear
a s ound, the s ound- out c omponent of your s ound
s ys tem is working.
Sound-in
U s e your favorite s ound rec ording utility (mine

is krec ord, whic h is part of the KD E des ktop) to
rec ord your voic e. While us ing the s ame utility,
play bac k your voic e rec ording to yours elf. I f you
c an hear your own voic e, the s ound- in
c omponent of your s ound s ys tem is working.
Mac OS X
General
M ac O S X s ound, like mos t of M ac O S X, is s o

well thought out that s ound is c omparatively
problem free on the M ac . T his s tatement is
s upported by the fac t that Skype has no us er
guide dedic ated to s ound s etup for M ac O S X.
E ven s o, it is always a good idea to s pec ify
explic itly the s ound devic es to be us ed by
Skype (Skype P referenc es … A udio).
Sound-out
Start the A pple Q uic kT ime applic ation and

navigate to a folder that has s ome s ound files
(Q uic kT ime P layer File O pen File…,
and then navigate to /Sys tem/Library/Sounds ),
pic k a s ound, and play it. I f you hear the s ound,
your s ound- out devic e is working.
Sound-in
Start the A pple iM ovie H D applic ation and

c reate an arbitrarily named movie files ay,
tes t_s ound_in. C lic k on the A udio button. A bove
the A udio button will appear a M ic rophone label,
a horizontal s ound level meter, and a round
rec ord button with a red dot in the middle. C lic k
on the rec ord button and s peak into your s ound-
in devic e. While you s peak, you s hould s ee s ome
res pons e from the s ound meter. A fter a few
s ec onds , c lic k on the rec ord button again to
s top rec ording. N ow, drag the s c rollbar at the
bottom of the iM ovie window all the way over to
the left, and then c lic k on your rec ording, whic h
will be labeled s omething like Voic e 0 1 . C lic k on
the P lay button and you s hould hear your own
voic e played bac k to you. I f you do, your s ound-
in devic e is working.
I f you c an hear s ounds when an audio file is played or when your

voic e rec ording is played bac k to you, but not at the level you
des ire, go to the s ound c ontrol panel (s elec t Start C ontrol
P anel C ontrol P anel Sounds and A udio D evic es on
Windows , Sys tem P referenc es Sound on M ac O S X, and
whatever is your preferred s ound hardware c onfiguration tool on
L inux) and make any nec es s ary adjus tments .
I f your s ound s ys tem works properly independently of Skype and

you are experienc ing s ound problems when us ing Skype, it's a
good bet that your s ound problem is c aus ed by Skype.
Hack 26. Test Call Sound Quality
(echo123)
Use the echo service provided by Skype to test your transmit

and receive voice quality.
I f you have jus t ins talled Skype and want to give it a try, or if
you're having problems with your s ound s ys tem or s ound quality,
there is no better way to tes t Skype than to us e its ec ho s ervic e.
ec ho1 2 3 is an E nglis h- s peaking s ervic e;

ec ho- c hines e is a s imilar s ervic e, but in
C hines e (dialec t M andarin, Taiwan);
s oundtes tjapanes e is for J apanes e
s peakers ; and tes tyuyin is another voic e
tes t s ervic e for C hines e (dialec t M andarin,
mainland C hina).
ec ho1 2 3 is nothing more than a Skype us ername s et up by

Skype and linked to an automatic s ound rec ording and playbac k
s ys tem. E nter "ec ho1 2 3 " (or one of its other language variants )
in the Skype addres s bar and s tart a c all. A voic e on the other
end will guide you through the proc es s of rec ording your own
voic e and then playing it bac k to you. I f you c an hear the
automated announc ement and your own voic e when it is played
bac k to you, you will know that your s ound input and s ound
output devic es work properly. A s a further tes t, you c an have
Skype c all you! O pen a c hat s es s ion with ec ho1 2 3 and s end the
text mes s age 'c allme" (enter it without any whites pac e and
without any quotes ), and Skype's ec ho s ervic e will c all you bac k
for a voic e tes t. I t's as s imple as that.
3.3.1. Fix Sound-Quality Problems
I f your ec ho1 2 3 tes t does n't work, you have a problem. While it
is impos s iblegiven the s heer variety of hardware availableto give
s pec ific advic e on how to repair or c onfigure your s ound s ys tem,
there are s ome general guidelines that, if followed, are likely to
fix the problem with the leas t pain (s ee "Troubles hoot Skype"
[Hack #12]).
Hack 27. Choose and Configure a
Microphone and Speakers
Choose and set up a microphone and speaker system f or your PC

or Mac and conf igure them to work with Skype.
M ic rophone options are s hown in Figure 3 - 4 and s peaker options

in Figure 3 - 5 .
Figure 3-4. Microphone choices, left to right:

handheld microphone, clip-on lapel microphone,
desktop microphone, and array microphone
Figure 3-5. Speaker choices, left to right:
desktop speakers (separate power supply,
3.5mm plug), and portable speakers (USB plug
and powered from USB port)
G iven the not- very- high demands plac ed on s ound equipment in

terms of fidelity for voic e c ommunic ation, almos t any
mic rophone and s peaker s ys tem will do the job. Your dec is ion
will be driven, at leas t in part, by what s ound input and output
ports you have available on your c omputer.
N evertheles s , what follows are s ome general guidelines that will

help you make a c hoic e that bes t meets your needs and your
budget. I f your c omputer has a s peaker s ys tem (as mos t now
do), but you mus t buy a mic rophone, you bas ic ally have thes e
c hoic es .
Handheld or clip-on microphone
T hes e are often quite c heap (les s than $ 1 0 ) and us ually

plug into your s ound c ard us ing a 3 .5 mm plug. H owever,
you may quic kly tire of having to hold a mic rophone to
s peak, while a c lip- on mic rophone c an make you feel like
you are on a leas h held by your c omputer!
Des ktop or array microphone
A des ktop mic rophone is s imply a mic rophone with a

s tand. T his type of mic rophone typic ally plugs into your
s ound c ard us ing a 3 .5 mm plug, but the more modern
types plug into a U SB port. G ood des ktop mic rophones
c an be had for $ 3 0 or les s . A rray mic rophones s tand on
your des k, but have direc tionality, a high level of
ambient nois e rejec tion, and oftentimes ec ho
c anc ellation built in. I f you live or work in a nois y
environment, an array mic rophone is a far s uperior
c hoic e to any other mic rophone. C onnec tion options are
the s ame as for des ktop mic rophones , but expec t to pay
$ 5 0 or more for an array mic rophone.
I f you don't have a s peaker s ys tem and you mus t buy one,
almos t any s peaker will do, as the demands for voic e
c ommunic ation are quite low. Bear in mind that you don't s peak
in s tereo, s o a mono s peaker is perfec tly adequate to make and
rec eive c alls with Skype. P erhaps of more c onc ern is how you
want to c onnec t a s peaker to your c omputer. A 3 .5 mm plug is
the mos t c ommon way to c onnec t to a s ound c ard. But if you
don't have a s ound c ard and you do have a s pare U SB port,
s peakers are available that plug into a U SB port and are s elf-
c onfiguring (as a s ound- out devic e), and may indeed be powered
only by the port its elf (needing one les s main power s oc ket).
U s ing a mic rophone and s peaker with Skype will mean s etting up
a c onfiguration like one of thos e s hown in Figure 3 - 6 .
E ac h c onfiguration option s hown in Figure 3 - 6 has its pros and

c ons :
Option 1 and option 2
Us age
Skype us ed as an enhanc ement to your exis ting

phone s ys tem.
Pros
You c an s ave money off your phone bill. Simple

to s et up and c onfigure. O ften us es exis ting
hardware, s o reduc es the c os ts of experimenting
with Skype.
Cons
You c an make and rec eive c alls only while

s itting at your c omputer. M ore likely to s uffer
ec ho problems in c omparis on with other s ound
devic es .
Figure 3-6. Options for configuring

Skype with a microphone and
speaker
Option 3
Us age
Skype us ed as a replac ement for your exis ting

phone s ys tem.
Pros
You c an s ave a lot of money off your phone bill.

Simple to s et up and c onfigure. O ften us es
exis ting hardware.
Cons

s itting at your c omputer. M ore likely to s uffer
ec ho problems in c omparis on with other s ound
devic es . N o 9 1 1 emergenc y s ervic e. N o 4 1 1
direc tory s ervic e. N o s upport for a regular fax
mac hine. C learly, as this option eliminates your
exis ting phone s ervic e, you'd have to be fairly
dedic ated to Skype or s aving money, or both, to
c hoos e this option. But it is a c hoic e!
T he "Snip" s hown in option 3 is only a

metaphoric al 's nip," as all you really need
to do is c anc el your exis ting phone
s ervic e.
Hack 28. Choose and Configure a USB
Handset or Headset
A guide to choosing and setting up a USB handset or headset f or

your PC or Mac with a minimum of f uss.
U SB hands ets c an be either bas ic or advanc ed. Bas ic hands ets

are really jus t a mic rophone and s peaker in the c onvenient form
fac tor of a phone- s haped hands et, whereas advanc ed hands ets
als o have a keypad and s ometimes an L C D readout. D on't
underes timate the importanc e to many people of the familiarity
and c omfort of us ing a hands et, partic ularly thos e who have not
been bitten by the "geek" or 'tec hie" bugs . For many 'ordinary"
people, c alls made from a hands et are s imply more familiar and
therefore more pleas ant, if not in a quantitative s ens e, c ertainly
in a qualitative s ens e.
Your hands et and heads et c hoic es are s hown in Figure 3 - 7 .
Figure 3-7. USB handset and headset choices,

left to right: basic handset, advanced handset,
wired headset, wireless headset and USB base
station, and desktop speakerphone
I n terms of c hoos ing a hands et or heads et for us e with Skype,
you may find the following guidelines of help:
Bas ic hands et
T his type of hands et is the s imples t to c onfigure

bec aus e it is us ually a s elf- c onfiguring U SB s ound
devic e that requires no additional s oftware. A ls o, it is
very c heap; s ome c os t les s than $ 2 0 . H owever, as thes e
hands ets lac k a keypad, all interac tion with Skype has
to be done us ing your mous e and keyboard; that is , you
c an't make, or pic k up, a c all us ing only this type of
hands et.
Advanced hands et
By adding a keypad to a bas ic hands et, you gain extra

features and c ontrol over how Skype works , all from the
hands et its elf. H owever, to take advantage of thes e you
mus t ins tall s oftware that enables the phone to interac t
with Skype. N ormally, this type of hands et allows you to
make and pic k up a c all us ing only the hands et. I n
addition, you may get additional features , s uc h as c all
memory and s peed dial (s eparate from what Skype its elf
provides in this res pec t). A s an added bonus , mos t
advanc ed hands ets have built- in ec ho c orrec tion.
E xpec t to pay $ 3 0 and up for an advanc ed hands et.
Heads et
T he key thing here is c omfort. P ay partic ular c are to

c omfort is s ues if you wear glas s es . I f you make frequent
c alls or long c alls , or both, you'll need to c hoos e a
heads et that's c omfortable for you. O therwis e, after a
s urpris ingly s hort while, you may be forgiven for thinking
your head is held in a vic e! A ls o, if you like to get up and
s tretc h oc c as ionally, or reac h for things c los e by, you
might want to get a heads et with a 1 0 - foot (3 - meter)
c able, or us e a U SB extens ion c ord. T hat way, you'll
have limited mobility around your des k. A heads et that
is unc omfortable is worthles s at any pric e, s o don't
s kimp on this one; good, c omfortable heads ets s tart at
around $ 4 0 .
Wireles s heads et
A wireles s heads et gives you mobility. I n fac t,

s ometimes quite a bit, as s ome wireles s heads ets have
a range of up to a few hundred feet. H owever, mobility
c os ts , and you s hould expec t to pay s omething well
north of $ 1 0 0 for a good wireles s heads et (plus bas e
s tation). C omfort is again an is s ue if you intend to wear
the heads et for prolonged periods . A nd, for thos e of you
who wear glas s es , make s ure that damn thing will s tay
on your ear with your glas s es on!
Des ktop phone
I f having the familiarity of a des ktop phone that c an

make and rec eive c alls us ing Skype is important to you,
expec t to pay for the privilege. D es ktop U SB phones
that are c ompatible with Skype c os t $ 4 0 and up; and,
jus t as for advanc ed hands ets , you may have to ins tall
and c onfigure additional s oftware to exploit its advanc ed
features fully.
When c onfiguring Skype to us e a U SB heads et or U SB hands et,

you have a number of c hoic es bas ed on your type of I nternet
c onnec tion, as s hown in Figure 3 - 8 .
E ac h c onfiguration option s hown in Figure 3 - 8 has its pros and

c ons :
Us age

phone s ys tem.
Figure 3-8. Options for configuring

Skype with a USB handset or a USB
headset (in this figure a USB
handset is shown but the
configuration is the same if you
substitute a USB headset)
Pros
You c an s ave money off your phone bill. Simple

to s et up and c onfigure; oftentimes U SB devic es
are s elf- c onfiguring. U SB hands ets and U SB
heads ets are c omparatively c heap (good ones
c an be had for between $ 2 0 and $ 5 0 ). H ands -
free operation in the c as e of a U SB heads et, and
the c omfort and familiarity of holding what feels
like a phone in the c as e of a U SB hands et.
Cons

s itting at your c omputer, unles s you're us ing a
devic e that c onnec ts wireles s ly to a U SB bas e
s tation. H eads ets c an bec ome unc omfortable if
worn for prolonged periods ; this is partic ularly
true if you wear glas s es (as the hooks over the
ears are s queezed between your ears and s kull).
Option 3
Us age
Skype us ed as a replac ement for your exis ting

phone s ys tem.
Pros
You c an s ave a lot of money off your phone bill.

Simple to s et up and c onfigure; oftentimes U SB
devic es are s elf- c onfiguring. U SB hands ets and
U SB heads ets are c omparatively c heap (good
ones c an be had for between $ 2 0 and $ 5 0 ).
H ands - free operation in the c as e of a U SB
heads et, and the c omfort and familiarity of
holding what feels like a phone in the c as e of a
U SB hands et.
Cons

s itting at your c omputer, unles s you're us ing a
devic e that c onnec ts wireles s ly to a U SB bas e
s tation. H eads ets c an bec ome unc omfortable if
worn for prolonged periods ; this is partic ularly
true if you wear glas s es (as the hooks over the
ears are s queezed between your ears and s kull).
N o 9 1 1 emergenc y s ervic e. N o 4 1 1 direc tory
s ervic e. N o s upport for a regular fax mac hine.
C learly, as this option eliminates your exis ting
phone s ervic e, you'd have to be fairly dedic ated
to Skype or s aving money, or both, to c hoos e
this option. But it is a c hoic e!

metaphoric al 's nip," as all you really need
s ervic e.
Hack 29. Choose and Configure a
Bluetooth Headset
A guide to choosing and setting up a Bluetooth headset f or your

PC, Mac, or Pocket PC, with a minimum of f uss.
Bluetooth is a wireles s tec hnology that allows for ad hoc

c onnec tion of all s orts of elec tronic gadgets . C onfiguring
Bluetooth devic es is c omparatively eas y, but the range is limited
to about 3 2 feet (about 1 0 meters ) or les s , though s ome more-
modern Bluetooth devic es boas t ranges s ubs tantially greater
than 3 2 feet. T he benefits of Bluetooth are that it provides
hands - free operation of gadgets , together with s ome limited
mobility, c ombined with a s tandardized wireles s tec hnology that
s implifies devic e s etup and c onfiguration.
O ne very popular s uc h gadget is the Bluetooth heads et, s hown

in Figure 3 - 9 . Bluetooth heads ets normally c lip over one ear s o
that a mic rophone boom points to your mouth. A s always ,
anything that has to do with your ear c an be a real problem if you
wear glas s es or a hearing aid of s ome s ort. E ven if you c an get
the thing to hang on your ear without a problem, there's the
is s ue of c omfort, as pres umably you'll wear the heads et for
prolonged periods . Battery life may als o be an is s ue if you make
frequent or long c alls , or both; s o, always c hec k the
manufac turer's s pec ific ations before buying (talk time is rarely
les s than 3 hours and may be as muc h as 1 0 hours , and s tandby
time c an s ometimes be 1 0 0 hours or more). Bluetooth heads ets
s tart at $ 3 0 and the more advanc ed models c an c os t well more
than $ 1 0 0 . T he more advanc ed models have more than pic k up
and hang up as features , but thes e are unlikely to work with
Skype unles s the devic e c omes bundled with s oftware to
properly interfac e to Skype (through the Skype A pplic ation
P rogramming I nterfac e, or A P I ).
Figure 3-9. Bluetooth headsets
M any of the more- modern c omputers are already Bluetooth

enabled, whic h is als o true of handheld devic es running P oc ket
P C . H owever, if you want to us e a Bluetooth heads et but your
c omputer or handheld is not Bluetooth enabled, you will firs t
have to inves t in a Bluetooth dongle (whic h plugs into a U SB port
on your c omputer) or a Bluetooth c ard for your handheld. O nc e
your c omputer or handheld is Bluetooth ready, you typic ally
follow this proc edure to make Skype work with a Bluetooth
heads et:
1. L aunc h the Bluetooth c onfiguration utility that c ame with

your c omputer or handheld devic e, or the utility that
c ame with your Bluetooth dongle or c ard. Set your
Bluetooth devic e to dis c over other Bluetooth devic es
that are in range.
2. P ut your Bluetooth heads et into "pairing mode." I f your

c omputer or handheld detec ts your heads et, you will be
reques ted to enter a 'pas s key," whic h is a numeric key
us ed to identify your heads et and s hould be provided by
the heads et us er guide. I f you c an't eas ily find the
proper pas s key, entering "0 0 0 0 " is always worth a try!
3. O nc e your heads et and c omputer or handheld are

"paired" put your heads et in normal operating mode.
4. E xplic itly c onfigure Skype to us e the heads et as your

s ound- in and s ound- out devic e for Skype (Skype
Tools O ptions … Sound D evic es on Windows ,
Skype Tools O ptions … H and/H eads ets
on L inux, or Skype P referenc es … A udio on
M ac O S X).
5. Read the us er guide that c ame with your heads et to find

out how to pic k up and hang up c alls by pres s ing buttons
on the heads et.
6. Try a tes t c all to ec ho1 2 3 . I f you want to prac tic e

pic king up c alls us ing your heads et, s end the c hat
mes s age "c allme" to ec ho1 2 3 and the ec ho s ervic e will
c all you bac k.
7. I f you're having problems making your heads et work, try
obtaining help from the manufac turer. Failing that, you
c an go to the Skype web s ite (http://www.s kype.c om/)
and take advantage of its troubles hooting res ourc es and
c ommunity forums . H owever, before doing that, it's
always worth c hec king that your Bluetooth heads et is n't
s witc hed off or in low battery mode, and a repeat of the
"pairing" proc es s often fixes things .
O nc e your Bluetooth heads et is working with Skype, it's always

a good idea to do a tes t c all and explore the limits of your
mobility without los ing s ignal. A fter a minute or two of walking
around your offic e or home, you'll have a pretty good idea of
where you c an and c annot make and rec eive Skype c alls us ing
your heads et.
3.6.1. See Also
A Bluetooth- s pec ific thread for Windows XP (SP 2 ) on the

Skype forums , at http://forum.s kype.c om/viewtopic .php?
t=1 0 8 2 2 &highlight=8 0 0 .
Hack 30. Configure Skype to Use
Regular Phones
By making your existing phones work with Skype, you not only
eliminate the expense of buying new ones, but you also end up
with a phone system that largely looks and f eels the same as
bef ore.
Works with: Windows and L inux vers ions of Skype.
C onnec ting your exis ting phones to Skype is eas y. U s ing this
hac k, you c an hac k around with your exis ting phone s ys tem in a
variety of interes ting ways , from s imply having the c onvenienc e
and familiarity of a regular phone next to your c omputer for
making and rec eiving Skype c alls , to driving all the exis ting
c opper wiring throughout your hous e us ing Skype in what is
bas ic ally a replac ement of your regular phone s ervic e. I f all this
s ounds s omewhat daunting, don't worry, as even the mos t
advanc ed hac king requires little more than a pair of wire c utters ,
a roll of elec tric al ins ulation tape, and a little c ommon s ens e!
C onfiguring Skype to work with a regular phone requires a

Skype- to- phone adapter box, s hown in Figure 3 - 1 0 , and s ome
as s oc iated s oftware. Skype- to- phone adapter boxes c os t $ 5 0 or
les s (though more- expens ive and feature- ric h units are hitting
the market as I write) and are interfac ed through and s ometimes
powered by your c omputer's U SB interfac e.
Figure 3-10. Skype-to-phone adapter, front and
back
N ormally, getting a Skype- to- phone adapter up and working is

s implic ity its elf. P lug one end of a U SB c able into the bac k of the
adapter, and the other end into an available U SB port on your
c omputer. I ns tall the s oftware and drivers , give the new s oftware
ac c es s to Skype (Skype will prompt you to give your
permis s ion), and then s imply plug a regular phone into the
adapter us ing an RJ 1 1 c onnec tor.
I f you want to be able to s witc h between a regular phone line and

Skype, there's us ually a "line" s oc ket on the adapter that you
c an c onnec t to a phone s oc ket in the wall us ing a regular RJ 1 1
c able (RJ 1 1 plugs on both ends ). D ouble- c hec k that your Skype
s ound- in and s ound- out devic es are s et to your new adapter
(Skype Tools O ptions … Sound D evic es on
Windows , Skype Tools O ptions … H and/H eads ets on
L inux, and Skype P referenc es … A udio on M ac O S X),
and that's it! You're ready to make Skype c alls with a regular
phoneor, indeed, regular c alls through a regular phone line (if you
s till need one, read on).
Skype- to- phone adapters are c learly

des igned with the idea of driving a s ingle
regular phone in mind. H owever, s ome of
the c onfiguration options in this hac k drive
multiple phones from a s ingle adapter. I
have had no problems doing this , as fairly
modern phones draw little power to
operate. But, if you have older phones or
c lunkers that draw a lot of power, you might
overload your Skype- to- phone adapter,
es pec ially if your adapter is powered
s olely by your c omputer's U SB port.
A nyway, a little experimentation with more
than one phone attac hed to your adapter
s hould give you s ome ans wers , and s ome
prac tic al operating guidelines .
O ptions for c onfiguring Skype with regular phones run the whole
gamut from s imply us ing a regular phone hands et while s itting at
your c omputer, to driving your home phone s ys tem with Skype
(s ee Figure 3 - 1 1 ). L ook at the available c hoic es and how you
would like to us e Skype with your exis ting phone infras truc ture.
A nd, as perhaps a key part of your dec is ion making, c ons ider
how muc h money you want to s have off your c urrent phone bill.
C harac teris tic ally, the more you do with Skype and the les s you
us e the s ervic es of your regular phone c ompany, the more
money you c an s ave. L as tly, bear in mind that Figure 3 - 1 1 and
Figure 3 - 1 3 merely s how s ome of the c onfiguration options you
might want to try; don't be afraid to experiment and let your
imagination run free, as Skype and its underlying tec hnologies
are almos t begging to be hac ked!
T he firs t thing to notic e about the options illus trated in Figure 3 -

1 1 and Figure 3 - 1 2 is that you c an c ompletely c onvert your
exis ting phone infras truc ture to Skype only if you obtain your
broadband I nternet c onnec tion through c able or s omething other
than D SL .
H ere are the relative merits of the c onfiguration options :
Option 1, option 2, option 4, and option 5
Us age

phone s ys tem.
Pros
Shaves money off your phone bill. L ooks and

feels like a regular phone s ys tem. E as y to s et
up. U s es exis ting phone infras truc ture and
equipment. Retains 9 1 1 emergenc y s ervic e and
4 1 1 direc tory as s is tanc e (or equivalents
outs ide the U .S.). Works with regular fax
mac hines (attac hed to a regular phone line).
Remote monitoring of your home alarm s ys tem
c ontinues uninterrupted (provided you c ut only
the phone lines not us ed by your alarm
monitoring s ervic e).
Figure 3-11. Options to configure

Skype (regular phone and existing
phone infrastructure)
Figure 3-12. Options to configure
Skype (regular phone and existing
phone infrastructure)
Cons
C an make and rec eive Skype c alls only while

your c omputer is powered up and Skype is
running. I n addition, options 4 and 5 require a
modes t amount of hac king around (D I Y s kills )
with your exis ting phone line wiring.
Us age
Skype us ed as replac ement for your exis ting

phone s ys tem.
Pros
C an s ave a lot of money, perhaps as muc h as

8 0 % or more off your c urrent phone bill (my
s avings , for c omparis on, are 8 2 % ). L ooks and
feels like a regular phone s ys tem. U s es exis ting
phone infras truc ture and equipment.
Cons
C an make and rec eive c alls only while your

c omputer is powered up and Skype is running.
Requires a modes t amount of hac king around
(D I Y s kills ) with your exis ting phone line wiring.
N o 9 1 1 emergenc y s ervic e and no 4 1 1
direc tory as s is tanc e (or equivalents outs ide the
U .S.). D oes n't work with regular fax mac hines .
Requires c areful thought and planning to retain
uninterrupted remote home alarm s ys tem
monitoring.

metaphoric al "s nip," as all you really need
s ervic e.
A dapting your exis ting phone infras truc ture to work with Skype,
in whole or only in part, c an be a c hallenge. But then again, the
payoff c an make the effort worthwhile. I ndeed, with a little
planning, s ome s mall expenditures on new equipment (whic h you
rec oup through your s avings within a matter of months ), and a
willingnes s to experiment, you c an in large meas ure replic ate
your exis ting phone s ys tem and s ervic es , but at a frac tion of
what you pay now. I des c ribe my Skype phone s ys tem in "Build a
Skype Server" [Hack #35]; my es timated s avings us ing this
s ys tem are a little s hy of $ 7 0 0 per year. T hat's $ 7 0 0 this year,
next year, the year after that, and in s ubs equent years big
s avings ! M oreover, with a little ingenuity, there are workarounds
for mos t of Skype's 'limitations "9 1 1 , 4 1 1 , fax, and s o forthand I
pres ent thes e workarounds as hac ks in C hapter 1 0 .
So, pic k a c onfiguration option and get hac king! (A nd s aving! )
Hack 31. Configure Skype on a Laptop
Conf iguration tips to make Skype ready f or the road.
L aptops have advanc ed in features and power s o muc h in rec ent

years that, in terms of performanc e and features , the newer ones
differ little from des ktop mac hines . E ven s o, there are a number
of things to bear in mind, and things to try, when you're
c onfiguring Skype on your laptop.
3.8.1. Copy Your Skype Data
M uc h, but not all, of your Skype data is now s tored on the Skype
network. E xamples of the s tuff you leave behind are voic email
his tory, c hat his tory, and your c all lis t.
So, if when you next log onto Skype on your laptop, you want to
s ee exac tly what you las t s aw on your des ktop, s ync hronize the
Skypename folders on the two mac hines :
Windows
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application
Data\Skype\Skypename
Linux
/home/Username/.Skype/Skypename
Mac OS X
/Users/Username/Library/Application
Support/Skype/Skypename
Username is your login name for the mac hine and Skypename is the
name you us e to log in to Skype.
Skype has s urpris ingly good forward and

bac kward c ompatibility in terms of its
data. H owever, there are limits , and you
will have fewer is s ues if you only trans fer
data between mac hines that run the s ame
vers ion of Skype.
3.8.2. Echo and Sound Quality
G iven the nec es s arily fixed c los e proximity of a laptop's built- in

s peakers and mic rophone, you c an't fix a problem with ec ho by
s imply moving the mic rophone further away from the s peakers ,
whic h is typic ally the firs t thing to try. Frankly, even though a
laptop's built- in s peakers and mic rophone might do in a pinc h,
you will s ave yours elf a lot of pain and frus tration if you s imply
get a good heads et (a c ombination of earphones and a
mic rophone on a boom), or a U SB hands et.
I n terms of heads ets , if your laptop has both U SB ports and a

3 .5 mm audio jac k, you have a c hoic e. For example, you might
c hoos e a headphone with a 3 .5 mm plug to c ons erve U SB ports .
I f you don't have an audio jac k, you pretty muc h have to go with
a U SB heads et, unles s your laptop is Bluetooth enabled, in whic h
c as e us ing a Bluetooth heads et is an option.
Whatever type of heads et you finally adopt, your evaluation

c riteria when c ons idering what type and s tyle of heads et to get
s hould be the following, in order of importanc e:
Comfort
G iven that you may end up wearing a heads et for

prolonged periods , you may find the effec t of an
unc omfortable heads et s omewhat akin to C hines e water
torture: a minor irritation to s tart with and exc ruc iating
pain in the long run! C omfort is s ues are important for
everyone. But if you wear glas s es , c omfort bec omes
doubly important, as the heads et's earphones c ompres s
the arms of your glas s es between your ears and s kull.
A ny time you s pend on c hoos ing a heads et in terms of
as s es s ing its c omfort is time well s pent.
Size
A s you'll be traveling with thes e things , get the s malles t

pair you c an findwith the provis o that c omfort s till c omes
firs t.
Cos t
Voic e c ommunic ation does not put great demands on

audio quality or fidelity. T herefore, unles s you intend to
us e the earphones of the heads et to lis ten to high-
quality mus ic as well, buy the c heapes t s et that meets
your c riteria of c omfort and s ize.
3.8.3. Internet Connection
L aptops c onnec t to the I nternet in one of the following ways :

wireles s (WiFi and Bluetooth), E thernet, or modem.
Wireles s provides the greates t flexibility in terms of making a

c onnec tion to the I nternet us ing a laptop. I f your laptop is
wireles s enabled, you have the opportunity to c onnec t to an
ever- growing c hoic e of free and fee- bas ed wireles s ac c es s
points (s ee "M ake Free C alls While on the M ove" [Hack #64]).
M oreover, if your laptop has both WiFi and Bluetooth wireles s , as
more and more mac hines do nowadays , your c hoic es for wireles s
c onnec tion points are greater s till.
E thernet is s uc h an es tablis hed networking tec hnology that

there is little to s ay, other than don't forget to c arry a patc h
c able! E ven if your primary c onnec tion is wireles s , having a
patc h c able is good bac kup.
A modem is doable, but not rec ommended.

3.8.4. Avoid Being a Super Node
M os t laptops probably need as muc h bandwidth and available

res ourc es as they c an get. H owever, if your mac hine is
nominated by the Skype network to bec ome a s uper node, this
c an put a s train on your laptop, whic h c ould c aus e Skype c all
quality to s uffer.
Skype has not made public the rules by whic h partic ular
mac hines bec ome s uper nodes . H owever, if you dis able Skype's
us e of ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 , you c ertainly lower the probability that
your mac hine will bec ome a s uper node. To dis able ports 8 0 and
4 4 3 , s elec t Skype Tools O ptions … C onnec tion
on Windows and unc hec k the "U s e port 8 0 and 4 4 3 as
alternatives for inc oming c onnec tions " box (s elec t Skype
Tools O ptions … A dvanc ed on L inux; the option is not
available on M ac O S X).
Hack 32. Configure Skype on a Pocket
PC
Conf igure Skype on your Pocket PC so that it has f eatures

similar to those of a mobile phonebut without the three-year
contract, or recurring monthly charges!
Works with: P oc ket P C vers ion of Skype.
M os t P oc ket P C devic es have both s ound devic es and

networking built in. For thos e that don't, s imply adding an
expans ion c ard c an rec tify the s ituation.
Skype gives you relatively few c onfiguration options on P oc ket

P C bec aus e the s ound and network devic es are far more
integrated with the devic e and under more direc t c ontrol of the
P oc ket P C operating s ys tem. To c onfigure both you s hould us e
the c onfiguration fac ilities of P oc ket P C (Start Settings
Sys tem M ic rophone enables you to s et the
mic rophone's gain and enable automatic gain c ontrol, and Start
Settings C onnec tions us ually provides utilities to
c onfigure both Bluetooth and WiFi). Two Skype- s pec ific
c onfiguration options always worth playing with to get the
behavior you want are "P revent devic e s tandby mode when
online" and 'E c ho c anc ellation O N ," both of whic h you c an find
under Skype Tools O ptions .
O ne option that is really us eful, but not available on all P oc ket

P C devic es , is the ability to dis able touc h- s c reen input during a
c all. O therwis e, when you hold the devic e next to your head to
talk and lis ten during a c all, there's a c hanc e that a s tray finger
or other body part that touc hes the s c reen might be mis taken for
the s tylus , and you run the ris k of inadvertently dis c onnec ting
the c all. M y D ell A xim X5 0 v has a s lide- s witc h on the s ide that
you c an c onveniently pus h up and down with your thumb to
dis able/enable all touc h- s c reen input during a Skype c all. Yours
might have a s imilar feature.
3.9.1. WiFi Versus Bluetooth
M any P oc ket P C devic es have both WiFi (8 0 2 .1 1 ) and

Bluetooth. You c an c onnec t to the I nternet us ing either, if a
s uitable wireles s ac c es s point is in range. For WiFi, that us ually
means an I nternet- ready wireles s router is in range, and for
Bluetooth, it us ually means that a Bluetooth- enabled c omputer
with I nternet ac c es s is in range and c an be us ed as a gateway to
the I nternet.
T he tradeoff is that WiFi has greater range, perhaps as muc h as

a few hundred feet, c ompared to Bluetooth's 3 2 feet, but it
c ons umes a lot more power than Bluetooth. O n a handheld
devic e, this c an make a big differenc e to the battery life and
therefore impac ts how long you c an talk with Skype. Bluetooth
power c ons umption in talk mode is typic ally one- fifth that of WiFi
and in s tandby mode it c an be as little as one one- hundredth.
C learly, if you have a c hoic e and range is not an is s ue, dis able
WiFi and us e Bluetooth to c onnec t to the I nternet to us e Skype
for a c ons iderably longer period.
3.9.2. Using Your Pocket PC as a Mobile

Phone
Your P oc ket P C c an effec tively ac t like a mobile phone onc e it's

in range of a wireles s ac c es s point that gives it ac c es s to the
I nternet.
M ore and more public plac es have s ome form of free wireles s
ac c es s (for example, public libraries and c offee s hops ), and
others have paid wireles s ac c es s (for example, Skype's own
Skype Zones s ervic e). M os t workplac es have s ome form of
wireles s c onnec tivity to the I nternet, and the s ame is true of
many homes .
M any readers will no doubt s pend mos t of their waking hours

within range of one form of wireles s I nternet c onnec tion or
another. H ec k, if you're really des perate to us e Skype, you c an
even us e a wireles s modem to c onnec t to the I nternet us ing the
c ellular network; though, in that c as e, bandwidth res tric tions will
limit you to Skype c hat only.
T he point is that given the pervas ivenes s of wireles s

c onnec tivity nowadays , it takes only a little ingenuity, planning,
and organization to turn your P oc ket P C running Skype into a
c los e s ubs titute for a mobile phone. T hink about it. T he c os t
s avings might make the effort worthwhile.
3.9.3. Hacking the Hack
I f you have a Bluetooth- enabled P oc ket P C devic e, you c an try a

few more, neat c onfiguration hac ks .
You c an pair it with a Bluetooth heads et to make it a hands - free

phone (s ee "C hoos e and C onfigure a Bluetooth H eads et" [Hack
#29]).
O r you c an pair your P oc ket P C with a Bluetooth- enabled

des ktop c omputer and c onfigure it s o that it ac ts as a wireles s
hands et for Skype running on the des ktop, whic h is nic e if you
want to move around during a c all. I n this mode, your P oc ket P C
is operating as an audio gateway s o that your handheld devic e's
built- in mic rophone and s peaker, in effec t, ac t as the s ound
devic es for Skype running on the des ktop.
Hack 33. Test Your Internet Connection
Bandwidth
Test to make sure Skype's bandwidth needs are met.
What is bandwidth and why is it important? Bandwidth is a

meas ure of the rate at whic h your c omputer c an exc hange data
with the I nternet. I ts mos t obvious manifes tation is how quic kly
web pages load in your brows er: low bandwidth means s low
loads , and high bandwidth means fas t loads , all other things
being equal. Bandwidth, like money, is s omething of whic h having
more is generally better than having les s . E ven though Skype's
bandwidth needs are s urpris ingly low to have high- quality
c onvers ations over the I nternet, your Skype experienc e will
definitely improve with inc reas ed bandwidth (s ee als o "Tes t Your
I nternet C onnec tion L atenc y" [Hack #34]).
Bandwidth is typic ally meas ured in units of kilobits per s ec ond

(Kbps ), where 1 Kbps = 1 ,0 0 0 bits per s ec ond, or megabits per
s ec ond (M bps ), where 1 M bps = 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 bits per s ec ond. T he
more bits per s ec ond your I nternet c onnec tion s upports , the
fas ter you c an exc hange data over the I nternet. I f you c onnec t
to the I nternet through a regular telephone us ing a modem, your
bandwidth will be meas ured in Kbps , whereas broadband I nternet
c onnec tion s peeds are typic ally meas ured in M bps (or in
multiples of 1 0 0 Kbps ). O ne las t wrinkle for bandwidth
meas urement is that your data exc hange rate might not be
s ymmetric al (that is , it might be as ymmetric ), s o your upload
bandwidth might be different from your download bandwidth. I f
your broadband c onnec tion is as ymmetric , prudenc e dic tates
that you s hould us e the lower of the two numbers when making
dec is ions .
Skype prefers to publis h its bandwidth

us age numbers in kilobytes per s ec ond,
where 8 bits = 1 byte. H ere are s ome
us eful c onvers ion fac tors between
kilobytes and kilobits : 0 .5 kilobytes per
s ec ond = 4 Kbps , 3 kilobytes per s ec ond =
2 4 Kbps , and 1 6 kilobytes per s ec ond =
1 2 8 Kbps .
3.10.1. Skype's Bandwidth Needs
A c c ording to Skype, on average, a s ingle c onvers ation

c ons umes between 3 and 1 6 kilobytes per s ec ond (2 4 1 2 8
Kbps ) of bandwidth. When Skype is idle, it typic ally c ons umes
0 .5 kilobytes per s ec ond (4 Kbps ). A c tual bandwidth us age
depends on s o many fac tors that you s hould think of thes e
numbers as guidelines rather than as s omething s et in s tone. A s
with all unc ertain data, it makes s ens e to build in s ome margin
for error when making your dec is ion.
T he very bes t dial- up modems have a (s ymmetric al) s peed of 5 6
Kbps . M any Skype us ers report that s ound quality at this data
rate is quite good, and is s till us able down to about 2 0 Kbps . But
c learly, dial- up voic e quality is muc h more of a hit- or- mis s affair,
and will degrade rapidly with reduc ing bandwidth. A t what point
Skype bec omes unus able is rather s ubjec tive; but you probably
s hould c ons ider Skype's lower boundary of 2 4 Kbps as the
abs olute bare minimum.
U s ers of P oc ket P C - enabled phones and

P D A s that c onnec t to the I nternet us ing a
mobile phone wireles s I nternet c onnec tion
(for example, G P RS) have reported making
c alls us ing Skype even at bandwidths of
les s than 2 4 Kbps . H owever, s uc h reports
are rather s ketc hy about voic e quality and
c all reliability.
O f c ours e, having too little bandwidth to

make a voic e c all does not s top you from
us ing Skype. You c an always us e Skype-
to- Skype c hat.
I f you intend to us e Skype not jus t for one- on- one

c onvers ations , but als o for c onferenc e c alls , your bandwidth
requirements will nec es s arily inc reas e. Skype c urrently
s upports c onferenc e c alls among up to five parties (you
inc luded) and c hat among up to 5 0 other Skype us ers . C learly, if
you want to us e thes e Skype features , your bandwidth needs will
inc reas e proportionately. C onferenc e c alls and multi- us er c hat
mean that you mus t have a broadband c onnec tion rather than a
dial- up c onnec tion. M oreover, s uc h a broadband c onnec tion
s hould ideally have a bandwidth of greater than 2 5 0 Kbps .
O ne las t thing to remember about Skype's bandwidth needs is

that it s hares whatever bandwidth you have with other s ervic es
and applic ations running on your mac hine. I f you have only a
dial- up c onnec tion, you s hould refrain from doing anything els e
that might rob Skype of bandwidthfor example, brows ing the
I nternet. A broadband c onnec tion might allow you to do other
things while you talk on Skype, but if you detec t that s ound
quality is deteriorating, the firs t thing you s hould do is s top
anything you're doing that might be c ons uming bandwidth.
3.10.2. Measure Your Connection

Bandwidth
T he eas ies t way to get a handle on your I nternet c onnec tion

bandwidth is to us e an online meas urement tool. I deally, us e one
that meas ures both upload and download bandwidth, bec aus e
where Skype is c onc erned, you s hould us e the lower of the two
numbers when dec iding whether your c onnec tion will s erve
Skype's bandwidth needs .
M any web s ites offer to meas ure your I nternet c onnec tion s peed
free of c harge. G oogling on "meas ure I nternet c onnec tion
bandwidth" will produc e a long lis t of s uc h s ites . O ne of the more
c omprehens ive, and free, s ervic es is available at
http://www.numion.c om/. T his s ervic e meas ures the upload and
the download s peeds of your I nternet c onnec tion and, as an
added bonus , meas ures your c onnec tion's latenc y (s ee Figure
3 - 1 3 ).
Figure 3-13. Measuring the bandwidth and
latency of your Internet connection
T he M axSpeed tes t at
http://www.numion.c om/ requires that you
have the J ava 2 P latform, Standard E dition
(J 2 SE ) ins talled on your mac hine. J 2 SE is
free, and you c an download it at
http://java.s un.c om/.
Hack 34. Test Your Internet Connection
Latency
Test to make sure Skype's latency needs are met.
From Skype's point of view, latenc y is a meas ure of the delay

that oc c urs between the moment you s peak and the moment
your rec ipient hears what you s aid. D uring fac e- to- fac e
c onvers ations , the delay is obvious ly not notic eable bec aus e
the dis tanc e your voic e has to travel is s o s hort.
H owever, as this delay lengthens , c onvers ation bec omes more

and more s tuttering and broken, and the likelihood of the c all
partic ipants talking over eac h other inc reas es .
T he A pollo moon landings provided a

dramatic demons tration of latenc y. T he
moon orbits E arth at an average dis tanc e
of 2 3 8 ,9 0 0 miles and the s peed of light is
1 8 6 ,0 0 0 miles per s ec ond. T his meant
that there was a minimum roundtrip delay
of about 2 .6 s ec onds between s omeone in
ground c ontrol as king a ques tion and his
rec eiving an ans wer from an as tronaut
s tanding on the moon. T his meant that
c onvers ations between ground c ontrol and
the as tronauts on the moon were
nec es s arily made more diffic ult by the long
paus es c aus ed by latenc y.
Similarly, people who get their I nternet

c onnec tion via s atellite (s pec ific ally,
geos tationary s atellite) fac e a minimum 0 .
2 4 - s ec ond roundtrip delay between
trans mis s ion and rec eipt of data bec aus e
of the long s ignal path through s pac e.
E lec tronic s and c abling along the end- to-
end path between s ender and rec ipient
s imply add to this delay. Some Skype
us ers talk over a s atellite linkif you live
s omewhere really remote, it might be your
only option to c onnec t to the I nternet and
they report that even though the s ound
quality might be good, the link latenc y is
notic eable and makes for diffic ult
c onvers ation.
3.11.1. Skype's Latency Needs
Skype works by c onnec ting one mac hine to another over great
dis tanc es , s ometimes on oppos ite s ides of the globe. Between
the two mac hines is the I nternet. N ot s urpris ingly, depending on
the s peed of your I nternet c onnec tion and how data is routed
over the I nternet, end- to- end or one- way latenc y (between
c aller and rec ipient) c an grow quite long. A nything over 0 .3
s ec onds will make your c onvers ation more and more forc ed, in
the s ens e that you will have to paus e to know with c ertainty that
the s peaker has s topped s peaking, or ris k talking over one
another. A latenc y of between 0 .1 5 and 0 . 3 s ec onds is
notic eable, but c an be ac c ommodated fairly eas ily provided the
c allers c ooperate; this is es pec ially true if the c allers know eac h
other, as eac h will be s omewhat familiar with the other's
s peaking habits . A nything below 0 .1 5 - s ec ond latenc y and your
c onvers ation will be little different from a good landline
c onnec tion.
A ll of thes e latenc y rules of thumb are

derived from my experienc e. I f you want a
more objec tive s ourc e of guidelines for the
impac t of latenc y on voic e- c all quality, you
s hould c ons ult the I nternational
Telec ommunic ation U nion (I T U ) at
http://www.itu.int/ and get a c opy of
"Rec ommendation G . 1 1 4 : O ne- way
trans mis s ion time." A t the time of this
writing, the c os t was 2 5 Swis s franc s . For
the c urious , here are s ome s ummary
numbers :
L atenc y les s than 0 .1 5 s ec onds :

mos tly ac c eptable.
L atenc y between 0 .1 5 and 0 .4

s ec onds : ac c eptable (maybe).
L atenc y more than 0 .4 s ec onds :
unac c eptable.
A nd for c omparis on, here are s ome

typic al numbers for regular
telephones and mobile phones :
L ong- dis tanc e telephone: les s

than 0 .0 5 - s ec ond latenc y.
I nternational telephone: about

0 .1 - s ec ond latenc y.
Telephone to mobile phone: about

0 .1 5 - s ec ond latenc y.
M obile phone to mobile phone:

between 0 .3 - and 0 .4 - s ec ond
latenc y.
3.11.2. Measure Your Connection Latency

T he eas ies t way to get a handle on your one- way and roundtrip
I nternet c onnec tion latenc y is to us e an online meas urement
tool. O ne s uc h tool is the M axSpeed tes t, whic h you c an find at
http://www.numion.c om/ (refer bac k to Figure 3 - 1 3 ).
Hack 35. Build a Skype Server
Skype needs to be running to place and receive calls. Set up a

stripped-down PC to act as a Skype server that will provide
24/7 operation.
O ne irritating feature of Skype is that it mus t be running on a

c omputer for you to make and rec eive c alls with it. T hat is , when
your c omputer is off, Skype does n't work. M oreover, when you run
Skype on the c omputer you us e day in and day out, Skype's
performanc e (c all quality, reliability, and s o forth) c an s uffer if
you are doing other things that rob Skype or otherwis e deprive it
of the runtime res ourc es it needs . T his is partic ularly true if your
day- to- day c omputer is barely above Skype's minimum
hardware requirements .
P res umably, s ometime in the future we'll s ee Skype- enabled

phones and devic es with Skype embedded and running on its
own proc es s or; a "plug it in and it'll jus t work" s ort of thing. U ntil
then, you c an us e this hac k, whic h des c ribes how to build a
'Skype s erver" that provides 2 4 /7 phone s ervic e with a
minimum of has s le and fus s .
You have two c hoic es when building a Skype s erver: build one, or
c onvert an old mac hine you have c onveniently at hand.
Whic hever route you take, there are a number of c hec kpoints
worth addres s ing firs t:
1. A re Skype's minimum hardware requirements met? See
Table P - 1 in this book's P refac e for Skype's minimum
hardware requirements at the time of this writing.
2. I f your hardware is n't up to s nuff, do you have parts at

hand to bring it up to s pec ific ation, or c an you buy the
parts to do s o? T his es s entially reduc es you to a c hoic e
between upgrading your old mac hine or building a new
mac hine from s c ratc h. Building a new mac hine does n't
have to be c os t prohibitive, as my Skype s erver c os t a
little more than $ 2 5 0 , and that inc luded two Skype- to-
phone adapters (s ee Table 3 - 1 ). Remember, a Skype
s erver needs no mous e, keyboard, monitor, C D - RO M
drive, or floppy driveother than at the time of its
c onfiguration.
3. Where are you going to loc ate your Skype s erver?

I deally, it s hould be s omewhere with ac c es s to power,
good ventilation, an I nternet c onnec tion, your regular
phone lines (RJ 1 1 s oc kets in the U .S.), anddepending on
how hous e- proud you happen to beout of s ight. M y
c hoic e was to ins tall my Skype s erver in my bas ement
(s ee Figure 3 - 1 4 ), whic h is pos s ibly the ideal loc ation,
but not nec es s arily one open to everybody. I f your
c hoic es are more limited, that's all the more reas on to
think long and hard about where to put your Skype
s erver onc e it's built.
4. You s hould fac tor in the c os t of building and running a

Skype s erver into your s avings analys is (s ee "Bac k- of-
the- E nvelope E s timate of Skype Savings " [Hack #13]).
Running c os ts will depend on the mac hine that you
c hoos e to c onvert to, or build, to run Skype 2 4 /7 . A n old
c lunker of a mac hine may c ons ume s o muc h power that
it would be worthwhile building a new mac hine in the long
run. A s always , run the numbers and make s ome
dec is ions .
L et's look at the c os t of running a Skype

s erver 2 4 hours a day, 3 6 5 days a year.
Without a monitor and other peripherals to
guzzle power, a s mall modern c omputer
typic ally c ons umes between 5 0 W and
1 0 0 W. I f your c os t of elec tric ity is $ 0 .1 0
per kWh, the annual c os t of running your
Skype s erver is between $ 4 4 and $ 8 8 .
T hes e are jus t ballpark numbers and you'll
no doubt c ome up with your own, but it
does s how that the c os t of running a Skype
s erver 2 4 /7 is not ins ignific ant. (C os t =
power c ons umed in kWx3 6 5 days x 2 4
hours xc os t per kWh. 5 0 W is 0 .0 5 kW and
1 0 0 W is 0 .1 kW.)
Table 3-1. Typical cost of building a new Skype

server from scratch (author's actual costs of
building a server)
Component Cost
I N - WI N BT 6 1 0 P.1 8 0 BFU 2 Blac k s teel M ic roAT X

$ 3 9 .9 9
c omputer c as e 1 8 0 W power s upply
BI O STA R M 7 V I G 4 0 0 M ic ro AT X motherboard with
$69
A M D D uron 8 0 0 mobile C P U
O C Z value s eries 5 1 2 M B (2 x 2 5 6 M B) 1 8 4 - P in D D R
SD RA M unbuffered D D R 3 3 3 (P C 2 7 0 0 ) dual- c hannel $ 4 3 .7 5
kit s ys tem memory
1 0 G B hard- dis k drive (us ed) $ 1 2 .9 5
Skype- to- phone U SB adapter (two at $ 4 3 .9 0 eac h) $ 8 7 .8 0
L inux operating s ys tem Free
Total $ 2 5 3 .4 9
Figure 3-14. Skype server to provide 24/7

phone service; server is at the top of the photo,
cable modem and wireless router are to the left,
and patch board for household phone wires is to
the right (the large cabinet for household power
distribution in the center of the photo is not part
of the Skype server configuration)
Building and ins talling a Skype s erver for your home is fairly
eas y and requires only a modic um of tec hnic al s kills . I f you c an
ins tall hardware and s oftware on a c omputer and are willing to
wield a s c rewdriver and a pair of wire c utters , you already have
the s kills to do this .
H ere's a s tep- by- s tep guide to getting your Skype s erver up and
running:
1. O rder any new hardware you'll need. A t a minimum, this

will mos t likely mean that you'll need to order a Skype-
to- phone adapter. We'll as s ume you'll get two adapters
to drive two s eparate telephone lines .
2. Build a new c omputer, or rec onfigure an old c omputer to

meet Skype's hardware requirements .
3. Borrow a C D - RO M , floppy dis k, mous e, keyboard, and

monitor from another s ys tem to c onfigure your Skype
s erver.
4. I ns tall and c onfigure s ome flavor ("dis tro") of L inux. For

a Skype s erver you won't need a lot of s ervic es that run
by default, s o trim the lis t of s ervic es s tarted at boot
time to only thos e needed to make Skype work. A ls o,
dis able the s c reens aver (after all, there is n't any s c reen
to 's ave") and power s tandby features , as thes e may
interfere with Skype.
5. D ownload and ins tall Skype. C reate two Skype us er

ac c ounts for example, SkypeU s er1 and SkypeU s er2 .
C onfigure L inux to s tart two ins tanc es of Skype at boot
time automatic ally, under two L inux logon names s ay,
SkypeL inux1 and SkypeL inux2 . C onfigure the s ettings
for Skype; for example, for 2 4 /7 operation you may want
to have your Skype s tatus as permanently "O nline."
Setting up L inux to run multiple ins tanc es of Skype is
s omewhat involved. To keep this hac k to a manageable
length, I provide the details in a tec hnic al note available
from this book's web s ite,
6. C onnec t your Skype- to- phone adapters to U SB ports on

your Skype s erver and ins tall any nec es s ary s oftware.
H ave SkypeU s er1 us e one U SB adapter and
SkypeU s er2 us e the other as its s ound- in and s ound-
out devic e. C onnec t regular phone hands ets and tes t
Skype on both adapters .
7. Sign up your new Skype ac c ounts for SkypeI n and

SkypeO ut s ervic e as needed. I f you already have Skype
ac c ounts c onfigured and ready to go, s imply move thes e
to the Skype s erver (in whic h c as e, c hange the L inux
and Skype us ernames as appropriate).
8. C anc el your regular phone s ervic e.
9. C ut your inc oming phone lines .
10. C onnec t the adapters to your home phone lines via the
RJ 1 1 s oc kets in your wall (in the U .S.; other c ountries
us e different s oc ket types ). Tes t Skype again us ing
phones plugged in throughout your hous e.
11. Remove the borrowed C D - RO M , floppy drive, mous e,

keyboard, and monitor and move the s erver to its new
loc ation. P lug in all the c ables and c onnec tors , and then
power it on. Tes t Skype onc e more.
12. I f all has gone well, you now have 2 4 /7 phone s ervic e on
two phone lines all provided by Skype. You'll never
rec eive a phone bill from your regular phone c ompany
againnow ain't that s omething!
I nc identally, the prec eding s tep- by- s tep guide is not s ome
theoretic al mus ing on how to s et up and c onfigure a Skype
s erver. Q uite the c ontrary, it's the proc edure I us ed to replac e
my exis ting home phone s ys tem c ompletely with Skype (s ee
Figure 3 - 1 5 ).
For thos e readers who are s ec urity c ons c ious and don't trus t
Skype yet, building a Skype s erver has an added advantage. By
plac ing the Skype s erver on your I nternet c onnec tion outs ide
your firewall, you gain the piec e of mind that s hould a hac ker
break into your s erver or c ompromis e Skype s omehow, as the
s erver interfac es with nothing more than c opper phone lines
beyond the firewall, any damage will nec es s arily be c ontained
and limited to the Skype s erver outs ide the firewall. T he wors t
c as e is that you'll need to do a reins tall on your Skype
s erverand, perhaps , a better job of loc king it down from a
s ec urity point of view s o that it c an protec t its elf. I ndeed, if your
firewall is s uffic iently res tric tive that Skype won't work on the
ins ide, plac ing your Skype s erver outs ide your firewall is the
only way in whic h you c an take advantage of Skype's phone
s ervic es .
Hack 36. Make Skype Work with
Personal Firewalls
Skype is rather good at working with f irewalls without the need

f or any additional conf iguration, but sometimes it needs some
help.
M any VoI P applic ations s imply don't work from behind a firewall
or N etwork A ddres s Trans lation (N AT ) devic e. A nd many, if not
mos t, broadband I nternet us ers operate from behind one or the
other, or both!
Skype does a good job of trans c ending thes e barriers to

c ommunic ation, mos tly without any additional c onfiguration, but
Skype is not foolproof in this res pec t. T his hac k will help you if
you're having problems getting Skype to work from behind a
firewall.
Firewall problems are mos t often s ignaled by Skype error

#1 1 0 2 , "Skype c annot be s tarted;" though #1 1 0 1 , 'N o
c onnec tion," and #1 1 0 3 , 'N o c onnec tion," are als o c ommon.
T hes e errors mean that your I nternet c onnec tion is down or
mis c onfigured, you are behind a res tric tive firewall or proxy that
is bloc king Skype's ac c es s to the I nternet, or your network or
I nternet s ervic e provider is s omehow bloc king Skype.
Figure 3-15. Using a Skype server to replace
two existing regular phone lines
To learn more about the nature of your I nternet c onnec tion, and
how it might be bloc king Skype, you c an try thes e tes ts :
Other Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications
A re other P 2 P - type applic ations als o bloc ked? I f the

ans wer is yes , it's more likely that your firewall is
bloc king all P 2 P - type traffic , inc luding Skype.
O therwis e, it is more likely that the problem is a network
problem s pec ific to Skype.
Telnet
From a c ommand or s hell prompt, enter "telnet - ex

yahoo.c om 8 0 ". I f the s c reen goes blank, enter 'x", and
you s hould be greeted with a telnet prompt (s ee Figure
3 - 1 6 ). I f you are, you likely have a Skype- s pec ific
I nternet c onnec tion problem.
Figure 3-16. Telnet prompt

Broadly s peaking, there are two types of firewall: thos e
implemented in s oftware and whic h run on your des ktop mac hine,
and thos e implemented as part of s ome piec e of network
hardware (router, proxy, etc .). Firs t, I 'll dis c us s the general
requirements for all types of firewall needed for Skype to work,
and then I 'll dis c us s s oftware firewalls and hardware firewalls in
turn.
A t a minimum, Skype requires unres tric ted ac c es s to outgoing

Trans mis s ion Control Protocol (T C P ) ports above 1 0 2 4 , or to
ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 s pec ific ally. Skype prefers the former, but c an
live with the latter. Skype's voic e quality and func tionality will be
improved if, in addition, your firewall is open for two- way Us er
Datagram Protocol (U D P ) traffic on all ports above 1 0 2 4 . T hes e
are the firs t things you s hould c hec k.
Whether Skype s hould try to us e T C P

ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 is c ontrolled through its
options . For Windows , s elec t Skype
Tools O ptions … C onnec tion; for
L inux, s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … A dvanc ed. N either M ac O S
X nor P oc ket P C vers ions of Skype provide
for explic it us e of ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 .
When Skype is ins talled, it randomly c hoos es a port above 1 0 2 4

on whic h to lis ten for inc oming traffic . You c an ins pec t the port
Skype has c hos en on your mac hine by s elec ting Tools
O ptions … C onnec tion on Windows ; Tools O ptions …
A dvanc ed on L inux; and Skype P referenc es …
A dvanc ed on M ac O S X (this information is not available for
P oc ket P C ). I f you don't want to open up all ports above 1 0 2 4
for Skype, you c an open only the s pec ific port Skype has c hos en
for T C P and/or U D P traffic .
Software firewalls run on your mac hine and monitor inc oming and
outgoing I nternet traffic for malic ious ac tivity. M oreover,
applic ations that c onnec t to the I nternet from your mac hine are
als o monitored and, indeed, are us ually bloc ked from c onnec ting
until you give them explic it permis s ion. Windows XP (SP 2 ) and
M ac O S X c ome with their own firewalls that are turned on by
default. M os t L inux dis tributions have a firewall inc luded, though
it may not be enabled by default. M oreover, s everal firewall
applic ations are available from independent vendors and from
open s ourc e projec ts .
When you upgrade Skype to a newer

vers ion, this may be detec ted by your
firewall and you may be prompted to give
permis s ion again for Skype to ac c es s the
I nternet.
Skype has a number of us er guides for c onfiguring the following

popular s oftware- only firewalls that run on Windows :
Windows XP SP 2 Firewall
N orton P ers onal Firewall
ZoneA larm P ro
M c A fee Firewall P ro
You c an find thes e guides at
http://www.s kype.c om/help/guides /firewall.html.
G iving advic e on c onfiguring hardware- bas ed firewalls is

problematic bec aus e of the s heer variety of equipment in
exis tenc e. Really, the advic e c omes down to opening the c orrec t
ports for Skype to us e and making s ure that port 8 0 , if us ed, is
not s et to pas s HyperText Trans port Protocol (H T T P ) only. Skype
does n't us e H T T P. For the s pec ific s of how to open ports and
filter protoc ols , you will have to refer to the doc umentation for
your firewall hardware.
A nother known is s ue aris es when your mac hine bec omes a

Skype s uper node, whic h is s omething over whic h you have no
c ontrol. Super nodes are regular Skype c lients that c hange their
behavior, and in the proc es s c ons ume more network res ourc es ,
to make Skype's global network work properly. Without s uper
nodes , Skype would not work as well as it does , or perhaps not at
all. But this may be of little c omfort if you are one of the s uper
nodes ! T he problem aris es when a s uper node has s o many
inc oming network reques ts s pec ific ally, large numbers of T C P
c onnec tions that your router/firewall is overwhelmed. T his is
partic ularly true if your hardware has fairly minimal onboard
proc es s ing power.
3.13.1. See Also
A dditional guidanc e on router/firewall c onfiguration is

available at http://www.s kype.c om/s ec urity/guide- for-
network- admins .pdf.
Hack 37. Set Up Multiple Phone Lines
You can have multiple Skype phone lines by running multiple

instances of Skype on the same machine.
To have s everal phone lines you mus t have s everal ins tanc es of
Skype running. T hes e ins tanc es c an run on different mac hines ,
or on a s ingle mac hine. For this to work, eac h ins tanc e of Skype
mus t run independently from the others . T his hac k gives s ome
s ugges tions on how to s et up and c onfigure multiple phone lines
us ing Skype.
Firs t, a word of c aution. I f all the running ins tanc es of Skype

(whether on the s ame mac hine or s pread ac ros s mac hines )
s hare the s ame I nternet c onnec tion, s etting up multiple phone
lines is an idea that c an be taken too far, bec aus e too many
ins tanc es of Skype s haring the s ame c onnec tion might, at s ome
point, overwhelm it to the degree that c all quality is univers ally
degraded.
3.14.1. Multiple Machines
T he s imples t way to obtain multiple phone lines us ing Skype is

to run Skype on multiple mac hines , eac h with its own s ound
devic e and/or phone hardware attac hed. T his is very eas y to s et
up and c onfigure, as eac h is independent of the other.
For a s mall offic e, or a home with multiple c omputers (D ad has a

P C , M om has a M ac , and J unior has a L inux box, for ins tanc e),
this might be the bes t option.
3.14.2. Multiple Instances of Skype on the

Same Machine
You c an have multiple phone lines through a s ingle mac hine, but
it will require a little bit of forward planning, s etup, and
c onfiguration. H ere's the proc edure:
1. M ultiple phone lines c annot us e the s ame s ound

devic ewell, not without a lot of c onfus ed c alls . So, you
mus t ins tall and c onfigure a s eparate s ound devic e for
eac h phone line (running ins tanc e of Skype) you want.
T his might be as s imple as having a number of different
U SB hands ets , all the way up to multiple U SB Skype- to-
phone adapters driving the phone wires of your home
(s ee "Build a Skype Server" [Hack #35]).
2. N othing is s topping you from running s everal ins tanc es

of Skype us ing the s ame Skype name. I ndeed, there are
s ome advantages for ins tanc e, all lines will ring for the
s ame inc oming c all. H owever, for illus tration purpos es , I
will as s ume that you have c reated two new Skype
ac c ounts for the purpos e of having two s eparate and
dis tinc t phone lines . L et's c all thes e two ac c ounts
SkypeU s er1 and SkypeU s er2 .
3. C onfigure your mac hine to run multiple ins tanc es of

Skype, eac h us ing a different logon name; namely,
SkypeU s er1 and SkypeU s er2 . For two phone lines , log
on to SkypeU s er1 , s tart Skype, and c onfigure it to us e a
s ound devic es ay, U SB H ands et 1 . Similarly, s witc h to
SkypeU s er2 (Start L og O ff Switc h U s er) and
log on, and then do the s ame for what we'll c all U SB
H ands et 2 . N ow, inc oming c alls to SkypeU s er1 will be
handled by U SB H ands et 1 . Similarly, inc oming c alls to
SkypeU s er2 will be handled by U SB H ands et 2 . I t's as
s imple as that! T here is , however, one s mall gotc ha to
this s etup. A s only one us er s es s ion is vis ible at a time
on your monitor, you c an effec tively make outgoing c alls
only from the ac tive s es s ion; unles s , of c ours e, your
s ound hardware c an initiate Skype c alls , whic h is the
c as e for s ome of the more advanc ed Skype- c ompatible
s ound devic es (s uc h as U SB hands ets with keypads and
Skype- to- phone adapters ).
4. Be s ure to c onfigure eac h s eparate ins tanc e of Skype to

us e a s eparate s ound devic e.
Some Skype hardware that us es the Skype

A P I won't work if you have two identic al
devic es attac hed, even if the two
ins tanc es of Skype as s oc iated with the
devic es are running in s eparate us er
s es s ions . C hec k with the manufac turer
before you buy.
3.14.3. Multiple Virtual Machines
T his is really only for s erious tec hies !
When I s et up my Skype Tes t L ab for this book, I was c onfronted

with the diffic ulty of tes ting Skype on a variety of platforms and,
in the c as e of L inux, on a variety of dis tros (SuSE , Fedora C ore
4 , G entoo, D ebian, and others ). To s olve this problem I
s imultaneous ly ran different operating s ys tems in different
virtual mac hines (Windows ) on my c omputer us ing V M ware
Works tation (http://www.V M Ware.c om/). I n eac h virtual mac hine
there was a different ins tanc e of Skype, and with s ome jiggery-
pokery with s ound devic es , you c an make eac h ins tanc e of
Skype in eac h virtual mac hine have a different s ound devic e,
whic h amounts to having s everal independent phone lines , all
provided by a s ingle mac hine!
You c an do the s ame on L inux us ing open s ourc e mac hine-

virtualization s oftware, s uc h as Xen
(http://www.xens ourc e.c om/) and U s er- mode L inux Kernel P ort
(http://s ourc eforge.net/projec ts /us er- mode- linux/).
Hack 38. Test Your Connection for Skype
Friendliness
Skype's perf ormance depends somewhat on how P2P f riendly

your network is. Find out with these tools.
Before tes ting your I nternet c onnec tion for Skype friendlines s ,
it's worth s ummarizing what an ideal P 2 P - friendly c onnec tion
s hould look like:
O utgoing T C P c onnec tions s hould be allowed for remote

ports 8 0 , 4 4 3 , and 1 0 2 4 and above.
O utgoing U D P pac kets s hould be allowed for remote

ports 1 0 2 4 and above.
N AT s hould retain "s tate," whic h means that

trans lations s hould be remembered for a period s o that
other pac kets c an reus e them. I deally, s tate s hould be
kept for an hour or more, but even maintaining s tate for
3 0 s ec onds will improve things .
M ultiple ports (both T C P and U D P ) c an be us ed in

parallel.
U D P pac kets are the preferred method of c ommunic ation for

mos t P 2 P applic ations , inc luding Skype, bec aus e they are fas t
and les s demanding (than, s ay, T C P ) on network res ourc es .
Skype c an work without us ing U D P, but c all quality s uffers .
A quic k and eas y way to tes t the P 2 P friendlines s of your

network c onnec tion is to us e a neat little tool c alled N AT C hec k,
whic h is freely available for Windows , L inux, and M ac O S X from
http://midc om- p2 p.s ourc eforge.net/. N AT C hec k gives a
s ummary of us eful information, whic h is indic ative of the
friendlines s , or unfriendlines s , of your network c onnec tion to
P 2 P applic ations in general, and to Skype in partic ular. H ere's an
example of output from N AT C hec k:
Table 3-2.
TCP RESULTS:
TCP consistent translation: YES (GOOD for peer-to-peer)
TCP simultaneous open: YES (GOOD for peer-to-peer)
TCP loopback translation: NO (BAD for P2P over Twice-

NAT)
TCP unsolicited
filtered:
connections YES (GOOD for security)
UDP RESULTS:
UDP consistent translation: YES (GOOD for peer-to-peer)
UDP loopback translation: NO (BAD for P2P over Twice-

NAT)
UDP unsolicited messages filtered: YES (GOOD for security)
T he prec eding output was generated on Windows by running the

c ommand natcheck > p2p_test.txt in a c ommand prompt window.
A fter the c ommand has finis hed running, you c an find the res ults
of the tes t in the file p2p_tes t.txt.
A s a mini- guide to interpreting the output from N AT C hec k thes e

notes may be of s ome help:
Cons is tent trans lation
Tells you if s tate is maintained. I f "Y E S," input and

output ports are the s ame for c ons ec utive pac kets ,
thereby reduc ing network overhead.
Simultaneous open
P 2 P applic ations , Skype inc luded, typic ally perform

better if they c an operate over s everal ports at onc e. A
"Y E S" here tells you that multiple ports c an be us ed
without a problem.
Loop-back trans lation
I n twic e- N AT, both the s ourc e and des tination

addres s es are s ubjec t to trans lation as pac kets
travers e N AT in either direc tion. A "N O " here means
that your mac hine c annot c ommunic ate with other hos ts
on the s ame private network us ing public (trans lated)
port bindings as s igned by the N AT.
Uns olicited mes s ages filtered
T his tells you whether pac kets originating from an

unknown s ourc e are dis c arded. A "Y E S" here is good
from a s ec urity point of view (errant pac kets are
bloc ked) and in terms of network performanc e (dis c arded
pac kets no longer c ons ume network res ourc es ).
A n alternative to running N AT C hec k on your mac hine is to look

up on the Web whether your firewall/router/N AT is P 2 P friendly
from a lis t maintained at http://bgp.lc s .mit.edu/~dga/view.c gi.
T his is an inferior method to running an ac tual tes t on your
mac hine, but it might provide s ome quic k ans wers . I f your
devic e is lis ted, look at the entry in the U D P C ons is tent
Trans lation c olumn, as a "yes " here will mos t likely mean that
your network c onnec tion is P 2 P friendly.
L as tly, it's preferable for your network hardware to s upport

pac ket fragmentation and reas s emble. T hough not es s ential,
this feature will improve c all quality.
Hack 39. Eliminate Echo and Noise
Improve Skype's voice quality with these tips f or echo

cancellation and noise reduction.
E c ho and nois e are s uc h c ommon problems for Skype us ers that

I would be remis s not to provide a hac k that addres s es the
problem. While the s ymptoms of ec ho and nois e during a
c onvers ation are all too apparent, their c aus es and remedies are
often quite the oppos ite. T he tips in this hac k s hould help you
not only trac k down the c aus e, but als o fix the problem.
A lot of the more up- to- date s ound hardware has built- in ec ho
c anc ellation and nois e reduc tion, often implemented through
digital s ignal proces s ing (D SP ). T his is partic ularly true for array
mic rophones . H aving dec ent s ound hardware is always a good
inves tment for the Skype us er. So, depending on your budget,
upgrading your s ound hardware in the fac e of pers is tent and
inc urable ec ho and nois e is a worthwhile c ons ideration,
partic ularly if the remainder of this hac k does n't c ure the
problem.
A ls o worthy of s ome res earc h on your part is whether your

operating s ys tem, or s ound c ard, or other s ound hardware has
ec ho c anc ellation and nois e reduc tion built in. I f it does , it may,
or may not, be enabled by default.
A s for any problem, you s hould firs t try to is olate it. Tes t your
s ound s ys tem outs ide of Skype (s ee "Tes t Your Sound Sys tem"
[Hack #25]). I f you s till have ec ho and/or nois e problems
outs ide of Skype, there's s omething wrong with your s ound
s etup. O therwis e, you know the problem is with Skype.
I f the problem is with Skype, try s ome of thes e s ugges tions of

what to do to fix things :
Symptom: echo
Fix: if you experienc e ec ho problems during a c all,

before hanging up tell the other party to tes t his s etup
by c alling the ec ho1 2 3 s ervic e. A fter hanging up, you
s hould likewis e tes t your s etup by c alling ec ho1 2 3 . T his
way, you c an find out who ac tually has the ec ho problem:
you or the other party. I f both you and the other party
have no ec ho problems when c alling ec ho1 2 3 , the next
thing to do is to c all a different Skype c ontac t for whic h
you know you've not had ec ho problems in the pas t. I f
ec ho is s till a problem for you, try turning down your
s peaker volume and/or moving the mic rophone further
away from the s peaker. O n laptops , the proximity of the
built- in mic rophone to the built- in s peaker is fixed, s o in
that c as e, you might want to try a heads et ins tead. O ne
c aus e of ec ho not related to your s ound s etup is data
pac ket los s as s oc iated with your I nternet c onnec tion.
Beyond trying to c all at different times (when I nternet
traffic c onges tion might be les s of a problem), there's
not muc h you c an do about this . A tool s uc h as
P ingP lotter (http://www.pingplotter.c om/) may help
is olate this c aus e of ec ho. A c tivity on your c omputer
that c ons umes I nternet bandwidth and res ourc es may
als o be a c aus e of ec ho. I f you are web brows ing,
lis tening to s treaming mus ic , downloading a filebas ic ally,
doing anything that c ons umes bandwidthand you're
c alling with Skype at the s ame time, try s topping the
non- Skype ac tivities and s ee if that improves the ec ho
problem. T he leas t likely c aus e of ec ho is the way in
whic h Skype routes your c alls . You c an forc e Skype to
route your c alls differently by deleting the Skype s uper-
node lis t it maintains in s hared.xml. You c an do this by
s topping Skype from running, deleting s hared.xml, and
then res tarting Skype. O n res tarting, Skype will build a
new s hared.xml file with a different s uper- node lis t.
Symptom: dis torted s ound and/or echo
Fix: Skype c an s ometimes overc ompens ate for your

volume c ontrol as part of its effort to s et your s ound
s ys tem's gain automatic ally. I n config.xml, find the
automatic gain c ontrol tag, <AGC> (there are two entries ,
one under the parent tag <Call> and the other under
<General>), and s et its value to 0 that is , s et both entries
to <AGC>0</AGC>. With <AGC> s et to 0 you mus t adjus t your
s ound volume levels manually to obtain the bes t s ound
quality. A ls o, try toggling the automatic ec ho c ontrol
tag, <AEC>, between 0 and 1 to s ee if that brings any
improvementthat is , toggle bac k and forth between
<AEC>0</AEC> and <AEC>1</AEC>.
Before making any c hanges to config.xml,

s top Skype from running. M ake the
c hanges you want to config.xml, s ave your
c hanges , and then res tart Skype. Failure to
follow this proc edure will mos t likely res ult
in your c hanges being ignored.
3.16.1. See Also
For guidanc e on how to edit Skype's c onfiguration file

s afely, and for s ome additional tweaks to try, s ee "Tweak
Skype by E diting c onfig.xml" [Hack #45].
Hack 40. Reset Your Skype Configuration
Roll back your conf iguration to plain-vanilla def aults without

having to do an uninstall and reinstall.
C onfiguration s ettings for Skype are mos tly c ontrolled from a

file, named config.xml, whic h res ides on your mac hine.
H ere's where you c an find it:
Windows
Data\Skype\Skypename\config.xml
Linux
/home/Username/.Skype/Skypename/config.xml
Mac OS X
Support/Skype/Skypename/config.xml
Pocket PC
\Application Data\Skype\Skypename\config.xml
name you us e to log in to Skype.
Sometimes , if Skype is mis behaving, it is advantageous to res et

your c onfiguration as c los e as pos s ible to the fac tory defaults .
U nins talling Skype and wiping out all us er data will s urely do the
job. But before taking s uc h D rac onian meas ures , try this
ins tead.
Stop Skype from running, delete or rename your exis ting

config.xml file (it always pays to make a bac kup of the file, jus t in
c as e; you'll get this automatic ally if you s imply rename
config.xml), and res tart Skype. Skype will rebuild the config.xml
file with many plain- vanilla defaults . T his might improve Skype's
behavior, but without the heartac he and aggravation of an
unins tall/reins tall.
A fter us ing this tec hnique to res et your c onfiguration, you

s hould go through Skype's options (Skype Tools
O ptions …) one by one and s et them to the way you want. For
example, you might find that Skype now us es the default audio
in/out devic es rather than your previous ly s et up and preferred
devic es .
Skype us es a s ec ond c onfiguration file, s hared.xml, whic h you

us ually c an find here (where Username is the us ername under
whic h you log on to your c omputer):
Windows (vers ion 1.3 and before)
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Skype\shared.xml
Windows (vers ion 1.4 and after)

Data\Skype\shared.xml
Linux
/home/Username/.Skype/shared.xml
Mac OS X
Support/Skype/shared.xml
Pocket PC
\Application Data\Skype\shared.xml
You als o c an res et the s hared.xml file by s topping Skype from

running, renaming or deleting the file, and then res tarting Skype.
When Skype res tarts , it will build s hared.xml with new data and
this may improve things if Skype is behaving unexpec tedly or if
it's s uffering from poor voic e quality and/or s low file trans fers .
Hack 41. Run Skype Based on Time of
Day
Control when Skype starts and stops to ration bandwidth usage,

or to regain explicit control over when you are available online.
By c ontrolling when Skype runs , you c an ration the amount of

I nternet bandwidth your mac hine us es , and therefore c umulative
I nternet traffic , whic h is important if you pay for I nternet
c onnec tivity by the megabyte or even gigabyte. A ls o, at the
s ame time, you regain explic it c ontrol over when you are
available online, whic h may be important if you want to be
available only from, s ay, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., M onday through Friday.
H ere's how you c an s tart and, almos t as importantly, s top Skype

bas ed on the day of the week and time of the day:
Windows
Start Windows ' tas k s c heduler (Start A ll P rograms

A c c es s ories Sys tem Tools Sc heduled
Tas ks ). C lic k on A dd Sc heduled Tas k, name the tas k
Skype Start, and follow the ins truc tions in the Sc heduled
Tas k Wizard to run (s tart) Skype.exe on your c hos en
days and times . N ext, c lic k on A dd Sc heduled Tas k
again, name this tas k Skype Stop, and again follow the
ins truc tions in the Sc heduled Tas k Wizardbut this time,
before you c lic k the Finis h button, c hec k the "O pen
advanc ed properties for this tas k when I c lic k Finis h"
c hec kbox. T his will open a properties window, into whic h
you s hould add the c ommandline option Skype.exe
/shutdown for Skype to s top running on your c hos en days
and times .
Linux
E dit your crontabs file us ing the c ommand crontabs e

(this will c reate a new crontabs file if one does n't already
exis t), and add thes e entries to run Skype between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., M onday through Friday only:
DISPLAY=:0
0 9 * * 1-5 /usr/bin/skype
0 17 * * 1-5 killall skype
N ote that if you omit DISPLAY=:0, you will likely find that
Skype won't be dis played on your s c reen.
Mac OS X
T his als o us es crontabs , but thes e are the entries you

mus t add:
0 9 * * 1-5 open a /Applications/Skype.app/Content

0 17 * * 1-5 killall Skype
N ote that if you don't us e open a as s hown earlier, Skype
will prompt you for your Skype name and pas s word
regardles s of whether you have c hec ked the "Remember
my name and pas s word on this c omputer" c hec kbox. I n
this c as e, if you are not there when c ron s tarts Skype,
Skype will be running, but you won't be logged on!
P ay partic ular attention to s pelling for L inux and M ac O S X, as

they're both c as e s ens itive. O n L inux, the Skype exec utable is
skype (all lowerc as e), and on M ac O S X it is Skype (firs t letter
c apitalized).
Hack 42. Schedule When Skype Runs
the Mac Way
Use iCal and a little A ppleScript to schedule when Skype runs,

and when it does not.
Works with: M ac O S X vers ion of Skype.
For M ac us ers who s hun the c ommand line, or s imply don't know
what crontabs is and don't want to knowthere is a s imple way to
have Skype s tart and s top on the days and at the times you
c hoos e. T hat way, you c an c ontrol when you are available to
rec eive c alls and, at the s ame time, ration Skype's c ons umption
of I nternet bandwidth, whic h may be important if you need it for
other things or if you pay for your I nternet traffic by the
megabyte or gigabyte.
iC al, A pple C omputer's des ktop c alendar, has a really neat

feature that allows you to as s oc iate an A ppleSc ript with an
event in your c alendar. T hat event c an be a one- off event, or it
c an be a rec urring event that you s pec ify for example, M onday
through Friday, at 9 a.m. By defining two events one for when you
want Skype to s tart running, and another for when you want
Skype to s top runningand attac hing s c ripts to thos e events , you
c an c ontrol when Skype runs and, almos t as important, when it
does not. T he s tart event you define runs the s kype_s tart.s cpt
A ppleSc ript and the s top event you define runs s kype_s top.s cpt.
Between thes e two brac keting events , Skype will run. A t all other
times , Skype won't run (unles s you have s et Skype to s tart when
you s tart your mac hine and you reboot during the period of time
outs ide the two brac keting events ).
-- File: skype_start.scpt
do shell script "open a /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/M
-- File: skype_stop.scpt
do shell script "killall Skype"
For example, to run Skype only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eac h day,
open iC al and define a new event (iC al File N ew
E vent). Set the event for 9 a.m. and make it repeat every day.
Set the alarm for this event to run the s c ript s kype_s tart.s cpt "on
date" at exac tly 9 a.m. Set a s imilar event for 5 p.m. and
as s oc iate it with s kype_s top.s cpt. Your c alendar s hould now have
two events that brac ket the period for whic h you want Skype to
run, and it s hould look s omething like Figure 3 - 1 7 .
E ac h day the s tart s c ript will awake at 9 a.m. to s tart running

Skype (whic h you s hould s et up s o that it automatic ally logs you
onto your Skype ac c ount). T hen, at 5 p.m., the s top s c ript will
run and will s hut down Skype. N ow you're available to take
Skype c alls only between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., with the added
advantage that outs ide that time period, Skype is c ons uming
neither I nternet bandwidth, nor mac hine res ourc es (C P U and
memory). A s the s aying goes , "I f you don't need it, don't run it! "
Figure 3-17. Schedule when Skype starts

running, and when it stops running, using iCal
Chapter 4. Tweak and Tune
Skype
H ac k 4 3 . M ake C alls from Your Web Brows er
H ac k 4 4 . A c c elerate Skype U s ing Your Keyboard
H ac k 4 5 . Tweak Skype by E diting c onfig.xml
H ac k 4 6 . Run Skype from the C ommand L ine
H ac k 4 7 . D is play the Tec hnic al D etails of a C all
H ac k 4 8 . Remove U nus ed N ames from the L ogin L is t
H ac k 4 9 . A dd Fas t- D ial Shortc uts to Your M enu or

D es ktop
H ac k 5 0 . Fix Windows Wireles s
H ac k 5 1 . Fix Badly Behaving Routers

I n many ways , this c hapter builds on the previous one. H owever,
the emphas is here is even more on making Skype do the things
you wantthat is , on tweaking and tuning Skype in interes ting
ways . I ndeed, s ometimes tweaking it in ways it mus t be s aidthat
the engineers at Skype probably never intended! T hink of it this
way. T his c hapter's goal is not only to make Skype work in
interes ting and novel ways , but als o to s timulate your
imagination and enc ourage you to experiment with Skype.
Hack 43. Make Calls from Your Web
Browser
Conf igure Internet Explorer so that you can make calls directly
f rom a web page or f rom the browser toolbar.
T here are three ways in whic h you c an make c alls direc tly from
within a web brows er. T he firs t method us es the U RL prefix
s kype: (note the mis s ing //, as this method won't work if you
inc lude //) to c ontrol Skype from within a brows er. T he s ec ond
method us es the callto:// U RL prefix and c an be us ed in a number
of ways to make c alls , inc luding from your brows er's addres s bar
or from a link embedded in a web page. T he third method us es
the Skype Toolbar, whic h is an addon applic ation for I nternet
E xplorer (and is available for M ic ros oft O utlook as well) that you
c an download at http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypetoolbars /.
4.2.1. skype:
You're probably familiar with U RL s s uc h as

http://www.oreilly.c om/. N ow Skype has added its own type of
U RL , whic h looks like this : s kype:echo123. E ntering
"s kype:ec ho1 2 3 " in a brows er's addres s bar will open Skype
and c all the Skype s oundtes t s ervic e.
T he s yntax of the s kype: U RL is s omewhat intimidating, but it is
not as diffic ult to us e as the following s yntax diagram might
make it s eem, as you will s oon s ee when we try s ome examples :
Skype URL = "skype:" [targets] ["?" query ] ["#" fragmen
targets = 1* (target / ";" )

target = identity / PSTN
identity = skypename / alias
skypename = 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT / "." / "," )
skypenames = 1*( skypename / ";")
alias = … ; see ["TechGroup/DataFormats"]
; unicode chars are in UTF-8 and % enco
; see RFC3987 uchar mapping
PSTN = "+" (DIGIT / ALPHA ) *(DIGIT / ALPHA / "-" )
; PSTN supports +800-FLOWERS
query = action [ *( "?" term "=" conditon ) ]
term = 1*ALPHA
condition = 1*unserved ; to be clarified by Skype
fragment = 1*unserved ; to be clarified by Skype
N ote that s kype: won't work with s peed-

dial numbers . For example, s kype:7?call,
where 7 is an exis ting s peed- dial number,
won't work.
s kype: is quite powerfuland quite s imple in prac tic eas the
examples in Table 4 - 1 s how. To try thes e examples , open a
brows er window and enter them in the addres s bar, then pres s
Return.
Table 4-1. Examples of how to use skype: from a

web browser
skype: URL What it does
C alls or c hats with Skype's s oundtes t

s ervic e (it does one or the other
s kype:echo123
depending on what you have s et double-
c lic k to do)
s kype:echo123?call C alls Skype's s oundtes t s ervic e
C alls a regular phone number (you mus t

s kype:+442075551212?
be a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber for this to
call
work)
s kype:echo123?chat C hats with Skype's s oundtes t s ervic e
s kype:s kypehacks linux? L eaves voic email for Skype us er

voicemail s kypehac ks linux
s kype:s kypehacks linux? A dds s kypehac ks linux to your C ontac ts

add lis t
s kype:s kypehacks linux? O pens the File Send dialog to s elec t a
s endfile file to s end to s kypehac ks linux
s kype:s kypehacks linux?

Shows a profile for s kypehac ks linux
us erinfo
O pens an exis ting c hat s es s ion having

s kype:?chat& id=2005- the I D s pec ified (Y Y Y Y- M M -
09-02T12:00:00TZ D D T hh:mm:s s T Z or Y Y Y Y- M M -
D D Zhh:mm:s s )
Foc us es Skype (brings the Skype

s kype: window to the foreground and gives it
foc us )
N ot only c an you enter the U RL s in Table 4 - 1 into a brows er's

addres s bar to make them work, but you als o c an embed them in
H T M L /XH T M L , as the following XH T M L file, s kype.htm,
illus trates . I f you load this file in a brows er and c lic k on the "C all
ec ho1 2 3 " link, Skype will open and c all the Skype s oundtes t
s ervic e (ec ho1 2 3 ). H owever, before you s tart inc luding s kype:
links in all your web pages , you s hould be aware that they only
work for brows ers on mac hines that run Skype and that know how
to handle s kype: s tyle U RL s . I f a us er on a non- Skype mac hine
c lic ks on a s kype: link, it c ertainly won't work and will mos t likely
be treated as an error, as s hown in Figure 4 - 1 .
Figure 4-1. Entering a skype: style URL or

clicking on a skype: link in a web page on a
machine that doesn't know how to handle skype:
URLs will result in an error
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE html
PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" l
<head>
<title>skype: URL</title>
</head>
<body>
<a href="skype:echo123?call">
Skype's sound test service (echo123)</a>

</body>
</html>
You c an even enter s kype: U RL s from the run line (but not from
the c ommand prompt window), and from the Windows E xplorer
addres s bar! For example, s elec t Start Run …, enter
"s kype:ec ho1 2 3 ? c hat", and pres s E nter or c lic k O K. A c hat
window will open, enabling you to c hat with Skype's s oundtes t
s ervic e (ec ho1 2 3 ). E ntering the s ame U RL in the Windows
E xplorer addres s bar will ac hieve the s ame res ult.
4.2.2. callto://
When you enter a web addres s s uc h as http://www.oreilly.c om in

your brows er addres s bar, you are ins truc ting the brows er to us e
the H yperText Trans fer P rotoc ol (H T T P ) to ac c es s the O 'Reilly
web s ite. Similarly, when you enter the web addres s
callto://echo123, you are in effec t telling the brows er to do
s omething with "c allto," and what it does depends on how your
brows er is c onfigured. T his is bec aus e "c allto" c an be
interpreted in many different ways .
When you ins tall Skype on Windows , you are given the c hoic e to
as s oc iate callto:// with Skype. H owever, if you failed to make that
c hoic e during ins tallation, or if callto:// s imply is n't working
properly, you c an eas ily fix it us ing one of two methods .
Firs t, s elec t Skype Tools O ptions … A dvanc ed,
and then under the O ther c ategory c hec k the "A s s oc iate Skype
with c allto: links " c hec kbox. I f that fails to work for you, you may
want to try the s ec ond method (a third method us es the Windows
regis try, but I don't rec ommend it).
Sec ond, from within Windows E xplorer (the file brows er that
c omes with Windows ), s elec t Tools Folder O ptions … and in
the dialog that opens c lic k on the File Types tab. Sc roll down the
lis t of file types until you find U RL : C allTo P rotoc ol; highlight it,
and then c lic k on the A dvanc ed button. I n the E dit File Type
dialog that opens , highlight the "open" ac tion and c lic k E dit….
T hat will open the dialog s hown in Figure 4 - 2 . U nder
"A pplic ation us ed to perform ac tion," enter the c ommand
C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe "/callto:%1" (replac ing
the path to Skype.exe with your own, if required). C lic k O K, and
now, any time I nternet E xplorer (or, indeed, Windows E xplorer)
enc ounters callto://, it will pas s the reques t on to Skype.
A fter s etting up callto:// in this manner, you c an us e it to make

c alls in a number of different ways . T he c hoic e is yours .
I nternet Explorer (or other brows er)
E nter callto://Skypename in the addres s bar and pres s

E nter or c lic k G o.
Windows Explorer
E nter callto://Skypename in the addres s bar and pres s

E nter or c lic k G o.
Figure 4-2. Configuring callto:// so that it
uses Skype
Run…
Selec t Start Run…, enter callto://Skypename, and

pres s E nter or c lic k O K.
Web-page link
A ny web page with a callto://Skypename link embedded in it

forms a hyperlink that you c an c lic k on to s tart a c all
us ing Skype. I f you want to inc lude s uc h links in your
own web pages , the following XH T M L example will s how
you how:

<!DOCTYPE html
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lan
<head>
<title>Skype Callto</title>
</head>
<body>
<a href="callto://echo123">Call echo123</
</body>
</html>
Skypename c an be a Skype us ername or, if you are a SkypeO ut
s ubs c riber, a regular telephone number.
4.2.3. Skype Toolbar
T his neat addon for I nternet E xplorer provides the following

us eful features , all of them available without leaving your
brows er:
I t rec ognizes phone numbers and provides a phone ic on

you c an c lic k on to make a c alleven for phone numbers
that aren't callto:// links (s ee Figure 4 - 3 ).
I t lets you add phone numbers on web pages to your

C ontac ts lis t.
I t lets you c all and c hat to exis ting c ontac ts .
I t lets you c hange your online s tatus .
I f you're a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber, it dis plays your

remaining c redit.
A ll this func tionality is pac ked into a s urpris ingly s mall s pac e on
your I nternet E xplorer toolbar (s ee Figure 4 - 4 ). A nd bes t of all,
the Skype Toolbar is free.
Figure 4-3. Fragment of a web page showing
how the Skype Toolbar makes calling easy from
web pages with phone numbers
Figure 4-4. The Skype Toolbar
Hack 44. Accelerate Skype Using Your
Keyboard
Make Skype f ly, by speeding up common tasks with key

sequences and hotkeys.
I f you're profic ient with the keyboard, s ometimes driving Skype

in this way c an be eas ier, and fas ter, than if you us e the mous e.
E ven if you're not one of thes e people, this hac k will
nevertheles s help you s peed up s ome Skype tas ks .
I f you're vis ually impaired in s ome way, or

if your motor s kills with the mous e aren't
quite what they us ed to be, or if you merely
help s uc h a pers on with their c omputer
ac tivities , you will find this hac k very
us eful in terms of c onfiguring Skype to
make it eas ier to us e.
Skype has the ability to c ontrol a very limited amount of its

func tionality us ing global hotkeys (s ee Figure 4 - 5 ). You c an s et
thes e by s elec ting Skype Tools O ptions …
H otkeys .
Figure 4-5. Skype's global hotkeys option dialog

Skype's global hotkey feature, though us eful, is s omewhat
limited.
A nother option is to drive Skype's G U I us ing key s equenc es . I n

this c as e, there's almos t nothing you c an do with the mous e that
you c annot do with a key s equenc e entered at the keyboard. But
if you want to us e this approac h, your efforts will be made a lot
eas ier if you firs t s et up a hotkey s equenc e to open Skype and
give it foc us . O nc e you do that, it will be a lot eas ier to drive
Skype's G U I via the keyboard.
O ne method is to s et a global hotkey s equenc e to Foc us Skype

(s ee Figure 4 - 5 ). H owever, this method has the annoying habit of
minimizing Skype if it's already open! What we want is a
foolproof way of always bringing Skype to the foreground and
giving it foc us wherever it may pres ently be lurkingbehind
another window, or in the s ys tem tray, or not running at all!
Fortunately, s uc h a method exis ts in the form of a hotkey
s equenc e for a s hortc ut to Skype.exe. C reate a s hortc ut that
points to Skype.exe as its target, and then right- c lic k on the
s hortc ut and c hoos e P roperties . I n the s hortc ut properties
dialog that is dis played, s elec t the Shortc ut tab, c lic k on the
text entry field oppos ite "Shortc ut key," pres s the key s equenc e
you want as your hotkey (for example, C trl- Shift- S), and then
c lic k O K. N ow you have a hotkey s equenc e that will bring Skype
to the foreground of your des ktop and give it foc us no matter
where it might be hiding!
O n my mac hine, I have the hotkey s equenc e C trl- Shift- S s et up

s o that it always opens Skype and gives it foc us . You may have
to c hoos e s omething different if this hotkey s equenc e c onflic ts
with a hotkey s equenc e that already exis ts on your mac hine.
H owever, for the remainder of this hac k, we'll as s ume that C trl-
Shift- S works as des ired; but remember, it does n't really matter
what it is , jus t replac e C trl- Shift- S in this hac k with whatever
you have s et up ins tead.
N ow we're ready to s tart driving Skype. L et's try s ome Skype

keyboard ac c eleration:
Ctrl-Shift-S, Alt-F, Enter, A
Will c hange your online s tatus to A way.
Ctrl-Shift-S, Alt-T, R, Enter
Will reopen your mos t rec ent c hat s es s ion.
Ctrl-Shift-S, Alt-T, L
Will c lear your c all lis t.
Ctrl-Shift-S, Ctrl-Tab (repeat)
Will c yc le through the tabs (C ontac ts , D ial, and C all

L is t) in the Skype applic ation window.
Ctrl-Shift-S, Alt-{down arrow}, Enter
Will repeat the las t c all you made from the Skype
addres s bar.
D on't be afraid to experiment, as it often takes a little trial and
error (and s ometimes a notepad and penc il) to find the right key
s equenc e for what you want to do. T his method works bes t, of
c ours e, when key s equenc es are s hort, as they're obvious ly
eas ier to remember. H owever, even c omplex key s equenc es c an
be put to good us e, and I 'll s how how next.
T hink of the following s imple s c ript, drive_s kype.vbs , as a c ar

you're meant to drive. You don't have to be a mec hanic or look
under the hood to drive a c ar, and s o it is with this s c ript. J us t
download the s c ript from the book's web s ite
(http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html) and
s tart us ing it to make Skype fly!
T his s c ript us es the Windows Scripting

Hos t (WSH ), whic h c omes with Windows XP
but mus t be downloaded (from
http://www.mic ros oft.c om/) and ins talled
s eparately for Windows 2 0 0 0 .
' File: drive_skype.vbs
' Invoke like this from the run-line:

' drive_skype "^+S|%(TO)"
' where "^+S|%(TO)" is the key sequence to be sent to
' the Skype GUI (in this case ctrl+shift+S,
' followed by alt+T then alt+O)
Dim objShell, objArgs, keystrokes, keys, pause

Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set objArgs = WScript.Arguments
keystrokes = Split(objArgs(0), "|")
pause = 1500
For Each keys In keystrokes
objShell.SendKeys keys
WScript.Sleep pause
If pause>100 Then pause=100 End If
next
To run this s c ript, you will need to enter s omething like

"C :\Sc ripts \drive_ s kype.vbs " "^+S| % (T O )" at the run line
(Start Run…), or us e a s imilar c ommand as the target of a
s hortc ut (with or without a hotkey s equenc e as s igned to it). O f
c ours e, if you put drive_s kype.vbs in a folder on your path, you
c an dis pens e with C:\Scripts \.
When I ran drive_s kype.vbs from the

c ommand line in a c ommand prompt
window, it produc ed inc ons is tent res ults .
I t s eems that s ometimes , the c ommand
window grabs foc us away from Skype
before all the keys trokes have been s ent
to Skype. For this reas on, I rec ommend
that you run V BSc ripts that drive Skype's
G U I (s pec ific ally, s c ripts that us e the
SendKeys c ommand) us ing the run line, or
as the target of a s hortc ut.
L et's look at s ome examples and the powerof this s imple s c ript:
drive_skype.vbs "^+S|%(TO)", if made into a s hortc ut and

as s igned a c onvenient hotkey s equenc es ay, C trl- Shift-
O will dis play the options dialog for Skype.
drive_skype.vbs "^+S|%(TO)|{TAB}|{TAB}|{DOWN}|{DOWN}|
{DOWN}|{DOWN}| {TAB}|{TAB}|L|{TAB}|L|{TAB}|L|{TAB}|
{TAB}|{TAB}|{ENTER}" will, in my c as e, s et the s ound input
and output devic e us ed by Skype to L ogitec h U SB
H eads et (note the L in the s c ript). A n identic al key
s equenc e, but with L replac ed with C, will, again in my
c as e, s et the s ound input and output devic e us ed by
Skype to C - M edia U SB H eadphone Set. T hes e two key
s equenc es enable me to hot- s witc h between s ound
devic es in a s napeven during the middle of a c all! To us e
the key s equenc e yours elf, s imply experiment with
replac ing the L.
drive_skype.vbs "^+S|%(TC)|Progress_Report|{TAB}|{DOWN}|
{UP}| +({DOWN}{DOWN}{DOWN}{DOWN})|{TAB}|{TAB}|{ENTER}|
{ENTER}" will s tart a c onferenc e c all with the topic
P rogres s _Report for the firs t four c ontac ts in your
C ontac ts lis t.
C learly, s ome of the examples given here would s tretc h anyone's
memory c apac ity, but when you us e them in c ombination with the
s imple s c ript pres ented in this hac k, as well as with s hortc uts ,
they c an be extremely us eful and great times avers .
To help you explore the full power and pos s ibilities of us ing
drive_s kype.vbs to drive Skype's G U I , here's a s hort c rib s heet
of the pos s ible key s equenc es :
Letter keys
A Z and numbers 0 9 .
Special keys
+ for Shift, % for A lt, and ^ for C trl.
Function keys
{F1 } through {F1 6 }.
Tab and Enter keys
{TA B} and {E N T E R}.
Arrow keys
{U P }, {D O WN }, {L E FT }, and {RI G H T }.
Mis cellaneous keys
{BA C KSP A C E }, {BRE A K}, {C A P SL O C K}, {D E L E T E },

{E N D }, {E SC } es c ape, {H E L P }, {H O M E }, {I N SE RT },
{N U M L O C K}, {P G D N } page down, {P G U P } page up,
{P RT SC } print s c reen, and {SC RO L L L O C K}. I 've
provided des c riptions only for nonobvious keys .
Sequence of keys
To hold down one keys ay, A lt (whic h is repres ented by

% ) and then pres s the keys T and O in s equenc eall
while holding down A lt, s imply put the key pres s es in
round brac kets , like this : % (T O ).
N ow you are in a pos ition to experiment for yours elf. U s ing

keyboard key s equenc es c an really make Skype fly, and all it
takes is a willingnes s to experiment, a s ys tematic approac h
(having a notepad and penc il c los e by helps ), and s ome
imagination. O nc e a key s equenc e has been well thought out and
tes ted, this way of us ing Skype c an be both fas ter and les s error
prone than us ing the manual keyboard or the mous e!
Hack 45. Tweak Skype by Editing
config.xml
conf i g.xml is where Skype stores many of its conf iguration

settings, and by editing it directly, you can have greater control
over how Skype works.
A word of c aution. H ac king around with Skype's config.xml file

c an c aus e problems , es pec ially if you tinker with s ettings not
dis c us s ed in this hac k. Skype, however, has the ability to rebuild
a defaultbut validconfig.xml file when it enc ounters a problem
with the exis ting config.xml file. T his is the c as e even if you
rename or delete config.xmlSkype s imply builds a new one.
U nder s uc h c irc ums tanc es , Skype tries to res tore as many of
your pers onal s ettings and preferenc es in the new config.xml as
pos s ible, but it's always wis e to make a bac kup of your c urrent
config.xml before you make any c hanges . T hat way, if things go
wrong, you c an res tore the old vers ion or c opy ac ros s s elec ted
s ettings from the old to the new. You have been warned!
A lways s top Skype from running (by right-

c lic king on Skype in the s ys tem tray and
c hoos ing Q uit) before making any c hanges
to config.xml (or s hared.xml), bec aus e even
though your editor may tell you it has
s aved your updated vers ion of config.xml,
you may find that Skype ignores your
c hanges and they are mis s ing when you
reopen config.xml. T he proc edure for
editing any of Skype's c onfiguration files
s hould go like this : quit Skype (that is ,
s top it from running), edit (or delete) the
c onfiguration file, s ave the c hanges , and
res tart Skype.
You c an find config.xml on all platforms , though the extent to

whic h you c an edit Skype on eac h varies . I n terms of the
opportunities for tweaking, the platform order, from the greates t
to the leas t extent, goes like this : Windows , L inux, M ac O S X,
and P oc ket P C . Typic ally, you c an find config.xml in thes e
loc ations on eac h platform:
Windows
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Dat
Linux
/home/Username/.Skype/Skypename/config.xml
Mac OS X
/Users/Username/Library/Application Support/Skype
Pocket PC
\Application Data\Skype\Skypename\config.xml
name you us e to log into Skype.
I f you c annot find config.xml (or

s hared.xml) it might not be bec aus e it is
mis s ing. Rather, on s ome platforms , files of
this type are treated as "hidden" by the
applic ation you are us ing to s earc h for
them.
You c an fix this problem on Windows

E xplorer by s elec ting Tools Folder
O ptions … V iew A dvanc ed
Settings , and c lic king on the "Show hidden
files and folders " radio button.
A lternatively, to find config.xml without
having to enable "Show hidden files and
folders ," enter %appdata%\Skype\Skype logon
name\ in the Windows E xplorer addres s bar
and it will dis play all files , regardles s of
whether they're hidden.
M ac O S X Finder dis plays all file types by
default, but you may want to dis play the
.xml file extens ion of config.xml (s elec t
P referenc es A dvanc ed, and c hec k
"Show all file extens ions ").
M os t L inux file brows ers have a s imilar

option to s how hidden files and folders . A s
s uc h a wide c hoic e of file brows ers is
available for L inux, look at the help file for
your favorite file brows er to find how to
dis play hidden files and folders .
T here is another file, s hared.xml, from whic h Skype obtains

c onfiguration information that is c ommon to all us ers of Skype
on the s ame Windows mac hine, to all ins tanc es of Skype running
in the s ame us er s es s ion for L inux and M ac O S X, and to only
one ins tanc e of Skype on P oc ket P C , as P oc ket P C s upports
neither multiple us er s es s ions nor multiple running ins tanc es of
Skype. You als o c an edit this file to tweak how Skype behaves ,
but the s c ope for tweaking is far more limited than for config.xml.
You typic ally c an find s hared.xml in thes e loc ations on eac h
platform:
Windows (vers ion 1.3 and before)
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Da

Windows (vers ion 1.4 and after)
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Dat
Linux
/home/Username/.Skype/shared.xml
Mac OS X
/Users/Username/Library/Application Support/Skype/
Pocket PC
\Application Data\Skype\shared.xml
4.4.1. config.xml Deconstructed
config.xml (and s hared.xml) are what's known as E xtens ible

M arkup L anguage (XM L ) doc uments . XM L files are human-
readable text files that are made up of tags (named identifiers )
that demark elements (items of data) that are organized in the
s truc ture of a tree (a c ollec tion of tags laid out in a root and
branc h fas hion). N ow that's a mouthful! H owever, it's all rather
plain and eas y if we look at an examplein this c as e, a fragment of
config.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" ?>

<config version="1.0" serial="414" timestamp="1123702750.6
<Lib>
<Call>
<IncomingPolicy>everyone</IncomingPolicy>
<MicVolume>255</MicVolume>
<SkypeInPolicy>everyone</SkypeInPolicy>
</Call>
<CentralStorage>
<LastBackoff>0</LastBackoff>
<LastFailure>0</LastFailure>
.
.
.
.
</config>
T he firs t line tells any applic ation that us es this file that it is an
XM L file. From then onward, data is s tored in a hierarc hic al
fas hion, with individual data elements and groups of elements
always brac keted between two matc hing tags . Tags that have no
data element are the exc eption and look like this : <NoDataTag
attrib="value"/>. For tags with a data element, there's always an
opening tagfor example, <Call>and a c orres ponding c los ing tagin
this example, </Call>. Whatever you do, don't break this
matc hed tag s truc ture. O ther than that, XM L files are eas y to
edit. I n fac t, XM L was s pec ific ally des igned to be both eas y to
unders tand and eas y to edit for a human, not jus t for a mac hine.
T his hac k deals with only a s ubs et of the whole config.xml file, as
it is olates only thos e tags that c ontain c onfiguration data that
does s omething us eful from the pers pec tive of a Skype us er.
Table 4 - 2 s ummarizes the tags we'll hac k in this c hapter. You
c an download a more c omplete table of config.xml tags and their
meanings from the book's web s ite,
Table 4-2. Subset of config.xml tags used in this

hack
Parent
Tag Description Platf orm Def ault Values
tag
<Call> A utomatic
<AGC> W 1 0 ,1
<General> gain c ontrol
A utomatic
<AEC> <General> ec ho W 1 0 ,1
c orrec tion
<EC> <Call> E c ho
P 1 0 ,1
c orrec tion
M ic rophone
<MicVolume> <Call> volume WL M P 0255
c ontrol
P op- up
<Calls>
<FriendsPopup> and notific ation W 1 0 ,1
<Messages> from friends
<Calls> P op- up
<OthersPopup> and notific ation W 1 0 ,1
<Messages>
from others
Key: W = Windows , L = L inux, M = M ac O S X, P = P oc ket P C
4.4.2. Editing config.xml
XM L files are text files . H owever, you c an enc ode them in

different c harac ter s ets ; s pec ific ally, wide c harac ter s ets (ones
with more than 2 5 6 c harac ters in them). T his may c aus e
problems on different platforms and with different vers ions of
Skype. O ne way to avoid this is to look at the enc oding of your
exis ting (working) config.xml file. I f you always s ave your
modified vers ion of config.xml (or s hared.xml) us ing the s ame
enc oding, enc oding won't be a problem.
A s a general rule, the default text editor on your platform s hould

be up to the job of editing and s aving config.xml (and s hared.xml)
in a format that Skype will rec ognize. H ere are s ome
s ugges tions , by platform (in all c as es , make s ure you s ave files
in plain- text format without any formatting information of any
s ort).
Windows
N otepad or WordP ad. P erhaps the fas tes t way to edit

config.xml on Windows is to right- c lic k on it in Windows
E xplorer and c hoos e E dit (or highlight config.xml and
then c hoos e File E dit from the menu). T hat will
immediately open config.xml in an editor window, from
where you c an make your c hanges direc tly or s earc h for
and, if nec es s ary, replac e text. Save your c hanges ,
c los e the window, and you're done!
Linux
E mac s or V im.
Mac OS X
V i and E mac s .
4.4.3. Tweaks
A number of tweaks are available to the Skype us er who is

willing to delve into config.xml and s hared.xml and hac k away.
T here are two motivations for doing s o. Firs t, s ome tweaks fix
s omething that is broken with Skype. Sec ond, s ome tweaks add
func tionality to Skype or otherwis e enhanc e or improve it. Both
are c overed in the tweaks that follow, whic h are prefixed with
"Fix" or "E nhanc ement" to help you dis tinguis h between the two.
4.4.3.1. config.xml tweaks.
Fix (Windows ): degraded s ound and/or broken s peech
Find the automatic gain c ontrol tag, <AGC>, and s et its

value to 0 . T here s hould be two entries for <AGC>, one
under the parent tag <Call> and the other under
<General>; if either is mis s ing, add it. When you're done,
both <AGC> enT Ries s hould be s et to 0 , and your
config.xml file s hould look s omething like this :
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config version="1.0" serial="327" timestamp="1125
<Lib>
<Call>
<AGC>0</AGC>
<IncomingPolicy>everyone</IncomingPoli
<MicVolume>173</MicVolume>
<SkypeInPolicy>everyone</SkypeInPolicy
</Call>
.
.
.
</Lib>
.
.
.
<General>
<AEC>1</AEC>
<AGC>0</AGC>
<AdvancedFaF>0</AdvancedFaF>
<AutoAudioSettingsAdjust>1</AutoAudioSetti
.
.
.
</General>
.
.
.
</config>
Fix (Windows ): others cannot hear me
Selec t Skype Tools O ptions … Sound

D evic es , unc hec k the "L et Skype adjus t my devic e
s ettings " c hec kbox, and s ave. Find the mic rophone
volume c ontrol tag, <MicVolume>. T he valid range of
values for this element is between 0 (off) and 2 5 5
(maximum). Try adjus ting this value upward and
downward, eac h time c alling ec ho1 2 3 to tes t the res ult.
A fter a little trial and error, hopefully you will find a
mic rophone volume s etting that enables others to hear
you properly.
Fix (Windows and Pocket PC): echo
Find the automatic ec ho c orrec tion tag, <AEC>, on

Windows (<EC> on P oc ket P C ), and try toggling its value
between 0 and 1 , eac h time tes ting the effec t by c alling
the ec ho1 2 3 s ervic e. O n P oc ket P C , you c an als o
toggle this s etting us ing the us er interfac e (s elec t
Skype Tools O ptions …).
Enhancement (Windows ): dis able pop ups
P op- up notific ations from Skype c an be an irritation,

partic ularly if you're in the throes of s omething
important, like a video game! To dis able pop ups , s et
both <FriendsPopup> and <OthersPopup> to 0 ; that is , s et
<FriendsPopup>0</FriendsPopup> and
<OthersPopup>0</OthersPopup>. N ow your config.xml file
s hould look s omething like this :
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config version="1.0" serial="327" timestamp="1125
.
.
.
<UI>
<Calls>
<AllowMultiCalls>0</AllowMultiCalls>
<FriendsAutoAnswer>0</FriendsAutoAnswe
<FriendsPopup>0</FriendsPopup>
<OthersAutoAnswer>0</OthersAutoAnswer>
<OthersPopup>0</OthersPopup>
<PopupOnAll>0</PopupOnAll>
</Calls>
.
.
.
<Messages>
<AuthPopup>1</AuthPopup>
<CafeMode>0</CafeMode>
<DisplayCallInfo>0</DisplayCallInfo>
<DisplayCallLogLimit>0</DisplayCallLog
<FriendsFlash>1</FriendsFlash>
<FriendsPopup>0</FriendsPopup>
<ImChatStyle>0</ImChatStyle>
<OthersFlash>1</OthersFlash>
<OthersPopup>0</OthersPopup>
<PopupOnAll>0</PopupOnAll>
<ShowTime>1</ShowTime>
</Messages>
.
.
.
</UI>
</config>
4.4.3.2. shared.xml tweaks.
Enhancement (all platforms ): refres h Skype s uper-node lis t
Refres hing your lis t of s uper nodes will c hange the way
in whic h your Skype c lient interac ts with the Skype
network. I t may c hange how c alls are routed and have an
impac t on how many relays (hops from Skype c lient to
Skype c lient) you have. H aving a new and different
s uper- node lis t s ometimes improves how Skype runs . To
refres h your s uper- node lis t, s imply rename or delete
s hared.xml. T he next time Skype s tarts it will build
s hared.xml, and your s uper- node lis t, anew.
4.4.4. See Also
O 'Reilly (http://www.oreilly.c om/) has publis hed a

c omprehens ive range of books on XM L , from beginner to
expert level. P artic ularly noteworthy for s omeone new to
XM L is Learning XML, Second Edition (2 0 0 3 ).
"E liminate E c ho and N ois e" [Hack #39] als o us es s ome

config.xml tweaks .
Hack 46. Run Skype from the Command
Line
You can control how Skype is launched and behaves by running it

f rom the command line with options.
Skype runs in a graphic al Windows environment. N evertheles s ,

for thos e diehards for whom anything but the c ommand line is a
s trange and alien environment, there is good news . You c an run
Skype from the c ommand line with options .
E ven for thos e les s er mortals who are c omfortable with the G U I
in general, and with Skype in partic ular, running Skype from the
c ommand line offers s ome dis tinc t benefits in terms of additional
flexibility. C ommandline options c an be partic ularly us eful when
you c ombine them with s hortc uts (s ee "A dd Fas t- D ial Shortc uts
to Your M enu or D es ktop" [Hack #49]).
Running Skype from the c ommand line with

options is als o a good way for the vis ually
impaired to us e Skype.
4.5.1. Windows
T he Windows vers ion of Skype c urrently s upports the c ommand-

line options s hown in Table 4 - 3 .
Table 4-3. Command-line options for Skype on

Windows
Command-line
What it does
option
/callto:
<Skype user or
telephone P lac es c all to the s pec ified us er or number
number>
/datapath:" Spec ifies where us er pers onal data is to be

<path>" s tored by Skype
/nosplash Stops s plas h s c reen from dis playing
/minimized Runs Skype minimized in the s ys tem tray
E ns ures that nonexis tent paths aren't written to

the Windows regis try and does other
/removable hous ekeeping for running Skype from removable
media
/shutdown Stops Skype from running
H ere are s ome things to try with c ommandline options entered
in a c ommand window (Start A ll P rograms
A c c es s ories C ommand P rompt) or from the run line (Start
Run, but if you c hoos e this method, enter c ommands us ing
quotes , like this : "Skype.exe" "/c allto:ec ho1 2 3 "). A ll of the
following examples as s ume you have put the folder c ontaining
Skype.exe on your path:
Skype /callto:echo123 will plac e a c all to ec ho1 2 3 , or to

anyone els e if you replac e echo123 with their Skype
name.
Skype /callto:+442075551212 will plac e a c all to a regular

telephone number, provided you are a SkypeO ut
s ubs c riber. D on't forget to us e the c orrec t Skype dialing
format ("+" and then c ountry c ode, and then region/c ity
c ode, and then phone number).
Skype /nosplash /minimized will s tart Skype and put it in

the s ys tem tray without anything appearing on the
s c reen.
Skype /shutdown will s top Skype from running (it's the
equivalent of right- c lic king on Skype in the s ys tem tray
and c hoos ing Q uit).
4.5.2. Linux
T he L inux vers ion of Skype c urrently s upports the c ommandline

options s hown in Table 4 - 4 .
Table 4-4. Command-line options for Skype on

Linux
Command-line option What it does
--callto: <Skype user / P lac es c all to the s pec ified us er or

telephone number> number
--disable-api D is ables Skype's A pplic ation

P rogramming I nterfac e (A P I )
--use-session-bus U s es s es s ion bus rather than default

bus
To make a c all from the c ommand line on L inux, enter this at the
prompt in a terminal window, and pres s E nter:
/usr/local/bin/skype --callto:echo123 &

Hack 47. Display the Technical Details of
a Call
Make a small change to your conf i g.xml conf iguration f ile to

have Skype display a wealth of detail about a call.
T his feature, on by default in earlier vers ions of Skype, is now off

by default in the c urrent vers ion of Skype. Why Skype dis abled
this feature is a mys tery, as it c an provide a wealth of detail
about what's happening during a c all. A rmed with this tec hnic al
detail about a c all, you will not only better unders tand what
Skype is doing behind the s c enes , but als o perhaps get s ome
c lues as to why Skype is performing poorly. E ven if Skype is
performing well, the tec hnic al details provided by this hac k
might give you s ome ideas for further tweaking and tuning
Skype's performanc e.
Fortunately, it's eas y to s witc h c all tec hnic al details bac k on. A ll
you need to do is make a one- line c hange to your Skype
c onfiguration file, config.xml. M aking this c hange is s imple,
es pec ially if you follow the guidanc e provided in "Tweak Skype
by E diting c onfig.xml" [Hack #45].
N ote that you will have to quit Skype (right- c lic k on Skype in the
Windows s ys tem tray, and then c hoos e Q uit; s elec t File
C los e on L inux) and res tart Skype for the c hanges to take effec t.
E diting config.xml while Skype is running will res ult in your
c hanges being ignored by Skype. Q uit Skype, and then in your
config.xml file loc ate the appropriate tag and s et its value to 1 ,
like this :
Windows
<DisplayCallInfo>1</DisplayCallInfo>
Linux
<TechCallInf>1</TechCallInf>
With vers ion 1 .4 of Skype for Windows ,

Skype reintroduc ed the option of s etting
<DisplayCallInfo> us ing its us er interfac e
(s elec t Skype Tools O ptions …
A dvanc ed, and then c hec k or
unc hec k "D is play tec hnic al c all info"). O n
L inux, you c an likewis e c hange
<TechCallInf> us ing the us er interfac e
(s elec t Skype Tools O ptions …
A dvanc ed, and then c hec k or
unc hec k "D is play tec hnic al c all info").
N ow, res tart Skype and the ability to dis play c all tec hnic al
details will be enabled, s o when you let your mous e hover over
the pic ture in the middle of an ac tive c all window, it will dis play
the tec hnic al details for that c all (s ee Figure 4 - 6 ). T his works for
both outgoing and inc oming c alls , and for one- on- one and
multipers on c onferenc e c alls (though for the latter, C P U us age is
dis played only in the c as e of the firs t, top- left, c onferenc e c all
partic ipant on Windows , and not at all on L inux).
By ac tivating c all details , you get a lot of us eful information

about c alls . H owever, the format of the information is s omewhat
ters e and c ryptic . So, I 've provided the following explanations to
help you interpret the dis played information:
I nput and Output
D is played are the s ound- in and s ound- out devic es that

Skype is us ing. I f either of the devic es lis ted agains t
input and output does n't matc h the hardware you are
us ing, or intend to us e, for making and rec eiving c alls ,
that's a problem. You c an c hange the s ound devic es
Skype us es by s elec ting Tools O ptions …
Sound D evic es and s elec ting the devic es you want from
the A udio I n and A udio O ut pulldown lis ts . While there,
you may als o want to c hec k the "Ring P C s peaker"
c hec kbox, as that will ac t as an additional notific ation of
an inc oming c all.
Figure 4-6. Display of call technical details

Call s tatus
T he numeric c ode dis played has thes e meanings : 1 =

c onnec ting (you s hould hear a dial tone); 2 = failed c all
(the us er is not on the line); 3 = ringing; 4 = c onnec tion
es tablis hed (the c all is in progres s ); 5 = loc al hold; 6 =
finis hed; 7 = mis s ed; 8 = refus ed; 9 = bus y; 1 4 =
playing voic email greeting; and 1 5 = c onnec ted to
voic email (you c an leave a voic email mes s age, but only
if the rec ipient is a Skype voic email s ubs c riber). A full
lis t of c all s tatus c odes and their meanings is available
as a web extra from the book's web s ite,
Obj I D
T his is an internal referenc e us ed by the Skype

programmers and has little meaning, or s ignific anc e,
from the us er's point of view.
Codec
Codec is an ac ronym that s tands for c ode/dec ode. I t is

the s oftware c omponent of Skype that is res pons ible for
c onverting s peec h into data pac kets that are s uitable for
trans mis s ion ac ros s a network, and at the rec eiving end
for c onverting thos e s ame data pac kets into s ound that
we c an hear. T here are many types of c odec s . For
Skype- to- Skype c alls , one c alled I SA C from G lobal I P
Sound (http://www.globalips ound.c om/) is us ed, and for
SkypeO ut c alls a G .2 7 9 c odec is us ed (G .2 7 9 is a
s pec ific ation from the I nternational Telec ommunic ation
U nion, or I T U , http://www.itu.int/). T his is part of the
internal workings of Skype, s o it is s omething over whic h
the us er has no c ontrol.
Jitter
J itter is a meas ure of the variations between

c ons ec utive data pac kets arriving at the Skype c lient.
T he lower this number is , the better your voic e
c onnec tion will be. T he jitter buffer in your network
router holds inc oming data pac kets until a bunc h of them
have been rec eived and s equenc ed. T hen it s tarts to
releas e the pac kets as an even s tream s o that the
s ound you hear is c ontinuous . M eanwhile, new data
pac kets are being rec eived. T he idea behind the jitter
buffer is that buffering inc reas es the c hanc es that, even
if s ome s ubs equent pac kets arrive late, enough pac kets
will be available in the buffer for the s ound you hear to
c ontinue uninterrupted. C lever algorithms implemented
in firmware within the router detec t and try to
c ompens ate for the effec ts of jitter. I n addition, Skype
does its own jitter c orrec tion internally in s oftware, s o
pres umably, Skype's jitter number is s ome c ompos ite
meas ure of the res idual jitter arriving from the router and
its own efforts at c orrec ting jitter. H igh levels of jitter
c aus e large numbers of data pac kets to be dis c arded by
the jitter buffer. T his may res ult in degraded c all quality.
Skype's jitter meas urement is diffic ult to interpret in any
prec is e way (outs ide of Skype); however, as already
mentioned, the lower this number is , the better your
voic e c onnec tion will be. M any things c aus e jitter, and
the time s pac ing between arriving data pac kets and
other c harac teris tic s of the pac kets thems elves c an
vary for a multitude of reas ons , but c ommon c aus es are
network c onges tion and pac ket route c hanges . Skype's
jitter number c an peak in the thous ands at the beginning
of a c all, but s hould then drop bac k to 3 0 0 or les s . Sinc e
the jitter buffer and its c orrec tive algorithms are built
into your router, the level of jitter you experienc e is in
part a func tion of your router's quality and
s ophis tic ation. U pgrading to a new and improved router
is one way to improve jitter. H owever, before doing this , it
is worth c hec king your c urrent router manufac turer's
web s ite for firmware updates that will improve the
router's performanc e. T he "Roundtrip" s ec tion of this lis t
provides s ome advic e on router s etup that may als o help
with jitter.
Send/Recv packet los s
P ac ket los s and "Send pac ket los s " s hows the
proportion of data pac kets los t at both ends of a c allthat
is , by you and the other partyfor pac kets that are s ent
out. L ikewis e, "Rec v pac ket los s " s hows the proportion
of data pac kets los t at both ends of a c all, for pac kets
that are rec eived. "P ac ket los s " is a meas ure of the
overall number of pac kets los t during the c all. L os s of
data pac kets is the bane of VoI P ! H igh levels of pac ket
los s mean poor voic e quality and even dropouts , where
the c onnec tion goes s ilent for s ec onds at a time. T he
ideal is to have zero pac ket los s , but this is rarely
ac hieved in the real world unles s you and the other
c aller have an outs tanding network c onnec tion. A s a rule
of thumb, a pac ket los s of les s than 5 % (that is , 5 % of
data pac kets s ent, or rec eived, are "los t," and typic ally
have to be res ent) has very little notic eable effec t on
c all quality. A pac ket los s of greater than 5 %
progres s ively degrades voic e quality, to the point that
when pac ket los s ris es higher than 2 5 % , c all quality is
s ignific antly degraded and s oon thereafter bec omes
unus able. You c an addres s high pac ket los s by
improving your network c onnec tion, s pec ific ally by
giving Skype data pac kets higher priority than other
data pac kets , whic h is a tec hnique c ommonly referred to
as Q uality of Servic e (Q oS). See "I mprove Servic e
Q uality" [Hack #59] for ways in whic h you c an improve
your Skype Q oS.
Roundtrip
T his is a meas ure of your network c onnec tion's latenc y

(s ee "Tes t Your I nternet C onnec tion L atenc y" [Hack
#34]). Roundtrip times of 1 5 0 ms to 2 0 0 ms will mean
exc ellent c all quality and that there's very little need for
you and the other c aller to paus e in your c onvers ation
jus t to know the other has s topped talking. When
roundtrip times s tretc h to 3 5 0 ms and higher you will
find yours elf having to leave longer and longer paus es in
your c onvers ation jus t to know, without ambiguity, that
the other party has s topped talking. A nything higher
than 5 0 0 ms and c onvers ations will bec ome s tuttered
and very s trained, as both c alling parties will run the ris k
of talking over one another. I f you us e Skype, and you
us e a geos tationary s atellite link to c onnec t to the
I nternet, you c an expec t this number to be quite high,
but you c an do little about it, as it is a c ons equenc e of
the finite nature of the s peed of light. Similar to jitter
(dis c us s ed earlier), roundtrip data- pac ket trans fer time
is primarily a func tion of the s peed and quality of your
I nternet c onnec tion. A ls o, malware and adware, whic h are
c ommon forms of s pyware (unwanted s oftware ins talled
on your c omputeroften without your knowledge that
c ons umes proc es s ing power and I nternet bandwidth;
s ee http://ars tec hnic a.c om/artic les /paedia/malware.ars /
for a good overview of the topic ), c an have a detrimental
effec t on roundtrip time. A n exc ellent tool for removing
s pyware is SpybotSearc h & D es troy, freely available
from http://www.s afer-
networking.org/en/s pybots d/index.html. A ls o, upgrading
your router firmware to the lates t vers ion c an s ometimes
improve roundtrip time. Finally, if you're a real tec hie,
you c an tinker with the router port s ettings for the ports
Skype us es (you c an find Skype's port s ettings by
s elec ting Tools O ptions … C onnec tion); s ee
"Fix Badly Behaving Routers " [Hack #51] for details on
s etting up port forwarding for Skype.
Corr
T he meaning of this term is unknown.
Ses s ionOut and Ses s ionI n
T hes e are c ounts of the number of U D P data pac kets

both s ent (out) and rec eived (in).
Relays
When a Skype c all is a relayed trans fer, it means that a

direc t c onnec tion between the c aller and c allee c ould
not be es tablis hed, s o data pac kets mus t be routed via
intermediate Skype nodes (peers , jus t like you, in the
Skype network). T he fewer the number of relay nodes ,
the s maller the number of "hops " data pac kets have to
make from node to node, and the better your c all quality
will be. T his is another c all attribute for whic h the lower
it is , the better it is for c all quality. T he ideal is to have
zero relays , in whic h c as e the c all is s aid to be in direct
trans fer. T he mos t c ommon c aus e for relayed trans fer is
bec aus e you, or the other party, are us ing a mac hine
that lives behind a res tric tive firewall or us es Network
Addres s Trans lation (N AT ). T hes e are the areas to look
at if you are s uffering badly from relayed trans fer. N ote
that relayed trans fer not only affec ts voic e- c all quality,
but it als o s everely impac ts file trans fers made through
Skype, as file- trans fer traffic is throttled bac k by Skype
to a meas ly 1 kilobyte per s ec ond (s o a 1 M B file would
take more than 1 5 minutes to trans fer, and larger files
would take c orres pondingly longer). You c an improve
file- trans fer s peed by not talking at the s ame time a
trans fer is taking plac e, bec aus e Skype gives voic e
pac kets priority over data pac kets . A high number of
relays c an als o be a s ymptom of a malfunc tioning or old
router. Sometimes you c an give an old router a new
breath of lifeinc luding reduc ed relays by upgrading its
firmware.
UDP s tatus
T he Us er Datagram Protocol (U D P ) is a s pec ific ation for a

network protoc ol. U D P is one of the two methods by
whic h Skype c ommunic ates with other Skype c lients
(nodes ). T he other is the Trans mis s ion Control Protocol
(T C P ). Together with the I nternet P rotoc ol (I P ), U D P
and T C P /I P provide the network infras truc ture on whic h
Skype runs . Skype us es U D P when it c an bec aus e it is
the preferred protoc ol for s mall data pac kets , like the
ones us ed by Skype. Skype indic ates the quality of your
(loc al) and the other party's (remote) U D P c onnec tion. I f
either end of a Skype c all has poor U D P, c all quality will
s uffer. T he fix is for the offending end to make its network
more U D P friendly.
CPU us age
T his dis plays both your (loc al) and the other party's
(remote) c urrent C P U us age. H igh C P U us age numbers
on either end of a c all s pell problems bec aus e Skype
might not be able to get the proc es s ing power it needs to
do its real- time job of enc ode enc rypt s end
rec eive unenc rypt dec ode. Very high
C P U us age (greater than 9 0 % ) may impac t c all quality.
O ftentimes , high C P U us age is the res ult of other
proc es s es running on your or the other party's mac hine.
I n this c as e, you c an improve things by s hutting down
the other non- Skype proc es s es . Sometimes the problem
is with Skype its elf, in whic h c as e you s hould inves tigate
and troubles hoot (s ee "Troubles hoot Skype" [Hack
#12]).
Hack 48. Remove Unused Names from
the Login List
Need to remove old, unused, or mistyped Skype usernames f rom

the Skype login screen? A little work with f iles will get the job
done.
D id you mis type your us ername when s etting up a Skype

ac c ount? O r were you bored with the old name, s o now you us e a
new us ername? Regardles s of why a Skype us ername bec omes
defunc t, it is a rather s urpris ingly res ilient fellow. I t won't go
away unles s you take s ome direc t ac tion (s ee Figure 4 - 7 ).
Fortunately, removing the no- longer- welc ome us ername is a

breeze. Stop Skype from running (otherwis e, you will find the
direc tory loc ked), and then s imply delete the ac c ount direc tory
as s oc iated with it. For the example in Figure 4 - 7 , delete this
direc tory:
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Skype\
H ere, Username is your Windows login name.
O nc e the direc tory is gone, res tart Skype, and your unwanted
Skype us ername is banis hed from the Skype login s c reen, as
s hown in Figure 4 - 8 .
A word of warning, however: Skype names pers is t "out there" on

the Skype network. So, if at any time, you again log on to
"thewrongname," it will again be added to the Skype login s c reen
and you will have to repeat the prec eding proc es s to get rid of it!
Figure 4-7. Mistyped and old Skype usernames

linger in the login screen, unless you delete them
by hand
Figure 4-8. The unwanted Skype username is
deleted from the login list
Hack 49. Add Fast-Dial Shortcuts to Your
Menu or Desktop
A dd shortcuts to your menu or desktop f or your most f requently

called contacts.
When making a Skype c all, the typic al proc edure goes

s omething like this : double- c lic k the Skype ic on in the s ys tem
tray or the Skype s hortc ut on the des ktop, navigate to the
C ontac ts tab, find the entry for the c ontac t you want to c all, and
then double- c lic k on it. N ow, for s ome people of leis ure, all this
c lic king is a great adventure. For the res t of us who mus t work
for a living, wouldn't it be nic e to make that c all with as little as
jus t one double- c lic k? Fortunately, this is pos s ible with the
Windows vers ion of Skype, as we c an add s hortc uts to the
Windows des ktop or menu for our mos t frequent c alls .
4.8.1. Menu Shortcuts
N avigate to Skype on the Windows menu (s elec t Start A ll

P rograms Skype), and right- c lic k on the Skype ic on. A
popup menu s hould appear, from whic h you s hould c hoos e
C reate Shortc ut. T his will c reate a s hortc ut under the Skype
menu (s ee Figure 4 - 9 ).
Figure 4-9. A newly created menu shortcut for
Skype
N ext, right- c lic k on the new s hortc ut (Skype (2 )) and c hoos e

P roperties . T his will open a window in whic h you c an edit the
properties of the s hortc ut you have jus t c reated (s ee Figure 4 -
1 0 ).
With the Shortc ut properties window open, you s hould follow

thes e s teps :
1. G o to the G eneral tab and rename the s hortc ut. I n the

example in Figure 4 - 1 0 , the s hortc ut has been named
ec ho1 2 3 .
2. G o to the Shortc ut tab and in the Target box, enter a

c ommand s uc h as this : "C:\Program
Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" "/callto:echo123". P ay
partic ular attention to the us e of quotes , and if
nec es s ary, c hange the path to the Skype.exe exec utable.
3. I f you want to as s oc iate a hotkey s equenc e with the

s hortc ut, c lic k on the Shortc ut key text box and enter
the key s equenc e you want to us e for this s hortc utfor
example, ctrl + shift + E.
Figure 4-10. The Shortcut Properties window
H ere's a nifty tip for when you as s oc iate
hotkeys with s hortc uts . I f you have s peed
dial numbers s et up for your Skype
c ontac ts , you c an us e them as part of your
hotkey s equenc es . For example, s uppos e
you gave ec ho1 2 3 the s peed dial number
4 within your Skype C ontac ts lis t. You c an
as s ign the hotkeys ctrl + shift + 4 as its
c orres ponding hotkey s equenc e. T hat way,
your s hortc ut hotkeys matc h your s peed
dials . U nfortunately, as you c an us e only
s ingle digits within a hotkey s equenc e,
this tip works only for s peed dial numbers
between 1 and 9 . But if you as s ign 1
through 9 to your mos t important or mos t
frequently c alled c ontac ts , you'll always
be only a s hort hotkey s equenc e away
from making your mos t important c alls .
4.8.2. Desktop Shortcuts

To c reate fas t- dial s hortc uts on your des ktop, you have a c ouple
of c hoic es .
Firs t, if you already have fas t- dial s hortc uts in your menu, you
c an s imply right- c lic k on any of them and c hoos e Send To
D es ktop. T hat will c reate an identic al s hortc ut, but one that
lives on your des ktop ins tead (s ee Figure 4 - 1 1 ). D ouble-
c lic king on a fas t- dial des ktop s hortc ut will s tart a c all to
whomever you have entered as the /callto: name (or to the
regular phone number, if you're a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber).
Figure 4-11. Desktop fast-dial shortcuts for

Skype and for echo123
Sec ond, you c an s imply right- c lic k anywhere on an unoc c upied

area of your des ktop. From the popup menu that appears , s elec t
N ew Shortc ut. T his will c reate an empty s hortc ut on your
des ktop, as well as open the Shortc ut Wizard. U s e the Brows e…
key to find Skype.exe (s ee Figure 4 - 1 2 ).
Figure 4-12. The newly created desktop shortcut
and the Shortcut Wizard
I n effec t, the s hortc ut we're c reating will run Skype from the
c ommand line, and as s uc h we c an add c ommandline options .
T he c ommandline option we will add is /callto:Skypeuser, where
Skypeuser is the name of the Skype us er we want to c ontac t when
we double- c lic k on the s hortc ut. U nder "Type the loc ation of the
item" in the wizard, add the /callto: c ommandline option after
Skype.exe, like this : "C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe"
"/callto:echo123". P ay partic ular attention to the us e of quotes ,
and if nec es s ary, c hange the path to the Skype.exe exec utable.
C lic k N ext, then name the s hortc ut, and then c lic k Finis h. N ow
you s hould have a fres hly minted fas t- dial s hortc ut on your
des ktop, like that s hown in Figure 4 - 1 1 .
N ote that a c areful naming c onvention for your Skype des ktop
s hortc uts will pay dividends when it c omes to organizing your
des ktop. T his is partic ularly true if you have more than a few
s hortc uts . U s ing a s hort prefix, s uc h as Skype, for s hortc ut
names will mean that when you organize your des ktop ic ons by
name or file type, all your fas t- dial s hortc uts will group together
nic ely as a bloc k. T his s hould make finding and c alling your
mos t frequent Skype c ontac ts quic ker and eas ier s till.
With this hac k, c alls are now jus t a double- c lic k away!
Hack 50. Fix Windows Wireless
Windows Wireless is largely self -conf iguring and mostly problem

f ree. But Windows can sometimes shoot itself in the f oot, and
so it is sometimes with its Wireless Zero Conf iguration Service.
T he Windows Wireles s Zero Configuration Service (WZC S) is meant

to help you, by doing all of the wireles s c onfiguration on your
behalf. But it c an bec ome as muc h of a hindranc e as a help as far
as Skype is c onc erned.
D uring operation, the WZC S c ons tantly hunts around for a better
WiFi c onnec tion, and if it finds one, it s witc hes you to that
c onnec tion and away from your c urrent c onnec tion. H owever, this
s witc h is not ins tantaneous . T his is not a problem if you are, s ay,
brows ing the I nternet, as the momentary dis ruption to your
I nternet c onnec tion is not notic eable. H owever, Skype is
s ens itive to both latenc y and pac ket los s , both of whic h are
advers ely affec ted during the s witc h. if you are in a WiFi "nois y"
loc ation, the WZC S might c ons tantly try to s witc h your mac hine
from one ac c es s point to another, and pos s ibly bac k again. E ven
the WZC S's habit of c ontinuous ly hunting around for a better
wireles s c onnec tion by hopping from ac c es s point to ac c es s
point c an degrade c all quality, as latenc y is injec ted into your
c onnec tion and pac kets are los t.
Fortunately, the WZC S, whic h is s witc hed on by default in

Windows , c an be dis abled, but only after Windows s tartup;
otherwis e, your wireles s s ervic es will fail to s tart. A fter Windows
s tartup, you c an s top the WZC S by s elec ting Start C ontrol
P anel A dminis trative Tools Servic es , right- c lic king
on Wireles s Zero C onfiguration, and c hoos ing Stop.
A lternatively, if you don't want to have to remember this

s equenc e of ac tions every time you s tart Windows , you c an add
the following entry to the Windows regis try us ing RegE dit (s elec t
Start Run…, enter "RegE dit," and c lic k O K) to do the job for
you:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft
Windows
Current Version
Run
WZCS-Killer REG_SZ "c:\windows\system32\net
4.9.1. See Also
I f you have a wireles s or nonwireles s router that is

c aus ing problems , you might want to look at "Fix Badly
Behaving Routers " [Hack #51].
Hack 51. Fix Badly Behaving Routers
Skype works without a problem with most routers, both

wireless and nonwireless. This hack is f or those of you who have
a router that behaves badly with Skype, or vice versa!
I f Skype habitually drops c alls , s uffers from poor c all quality, or

s imply does n't work at all, after tes ting all els e you s hould turn
your attention to your network router. By working your way
through this lis t of things to try, you s tand a good c hanc e of
either fixing the problem or res igning yours elf to buying a new
router!
Res et your router
I f problems have s tarted to oc c ur only rec ently and prior

to that, your Skype c alls were largely trouble free try
res etting your router. You c an do this by either pres s ing
the Res et button (mos t routers have one, though it's
oftentimes tuc ked away s o that the router is not eas ily
res et by ac c ident), or powering the router off and then on
again.
US Robotics router
G o to the c onfiguration s ettings , and under
A c c es s /Spec ial A pp, look for a s etting named P C - to-
P hone. E nable it.
Other routers
L ook for a s etting s imilar to that for the U S Robotic s

router and enable it.
Avoid being a s uper node
Skype us es a lot of s imultaneous port c onnec tions .

When you bec ome a s uper node, the number of
c onnec tions c an inc reas e s ubs tantially. T his might
overwhelm your router, es pec ially if it has very limited
built- in proc es s ing power. I f you s top Skype from us ing
ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 for inc oming c onnec tions (s elec t
Skype Tools O ptions … C onnec tion on
Windows or Skype Tools O ptions …
A dvanc ed on L inux; this option is not available on M ac
O S X or P oc ket P C ), you will very likely not bec ome a
s uper node. H owever, I mus t s ay that Skype is
c ontinuous ly being developed, and the rules by whic h a
regular Skype node (c lient) bec omes a s uper node are
not public , s o you c an never be s ure your node is not
operating as a s uper node.
Enable ports 80 and 443
L etting Skype us e ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 for inc oming

c onnec tions c an improve things , as it gives Skype more
options and flexibility in terms of routing traffic . H owever,
doing s o does inc reas e the probability that you may
bec ome a s uper node, whic h c an c reate problems of its
own (as dis c us s ed earlier). A t firs t glanc e, this
s ugges tion may s eem to c ontradic t the advic e I gave
earlier under the "A void being a s uper node" heading,
whic h argues in favor of c los ing off ports 8 0 and 4 4 3 .
T he point is that both enabling and dis abling ports 8 0
and 4 4 3 has advantages and dis advantages , in both
c as es . I s ugges t you try both approac hes to s ee whic h
brings the greates t net benefit.
Port s canning
Routers s ometimes bloc k Skype bec aus e it us es a large

number of ports (T C P and U D P ). Some malware
programs go from port to port, in a proc es s c all port
s c anning, probing eac h to find a vulnerability to exploit.
Bec aus e Skype tries to us e s o many ports , it c an be
mis taken for port- s c anning malware and therefore be
bloc ked. I f your router bloc ks this type of behavior,
dis able its port- s c anning bloc king feature. H owever, bear
in mind that doing s o might make you more vulnerable to
port- s c anning malware.
Port forwarding
You c an find out the port number, let's c all it N , that

Skype prefers to us e for inc oming c onnec tions , under
c onnec tion options (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … C onnec tion on Windows , Tools
O ptions … A dvanc ed on L inux, or Skype
P referenc es … A dvanc ed on M ac O S X; this option
is not available for P oc ket P C ). I f your mac hine lives
behind a res tric tive N AT or firewall, it might not be
ac c es s ible to other mac hines outs ide on the I nternet, s o
Skype won't work. H owever, by us ing port forwarding,
inc oming c onnec tion reques ts to port N (and/or ports 8 0
and 4 4 3 ) c an be forwarded direc tly to your mac hine,
allowing mac hines on the I nternet to c onnec t with your
mac hine and, in s o doing, enabling Skype to work. You
c an find an exc ellent res ourc e for s upport doc uments
s pec ific ally on port forwarding for individual router
models at http://www.portforward.c om/routers .htm. You
c an find a more general tutorial on port forwarding at
http://www.dlink.c om.au/tec h/drivers /files /modems /D SL-
3 0 2 G _O pen.ports _D M Z.zip. A lthough this tutorial is
s pec ific to a D - L ink router, it nevertheles s has
information us eful to anyone c ons idering opening ports
for forwarding.
Erratic or s trange router behavior
For unknown reas ons , s ome routers (wireles s and

nonwireles s ) behave erratic ally with Skype. C ommon
router models reported to have this problem are the D -
L ink 6 0 4 (nonwireles s ), D - L ink 6 1 4 (wireles s ), L inks ys
BE FSR4 1 (nonwireles s ), and L inks ys BE FSX4 1
(nonwireles s ). T here are others . I f upgrading your router
firmware does n't fix the problem, there's very little you
c an do, other than buy a new router!
Upgrade firmware
T his is always worth a try and it c os ts you nothing. By
upgrading to the lates t firmware for your router (vis it the
manufac turer's web s ite), you might not only c ure all
s orts of problems , but als o boos t your router's
performanc e.
Buy a new router
T his is always a las t res ort, but it's worth c ons idering if
all els e has failed and you're fairly s ure that the problem
is with your router.
4.10.1. See Also
I t might als o be worth tes ting your I nternet c onnec tion

for Skype friendlines s (s ee "Tes t Your C onnec tion for
Skype Friendlines s " [Hack #38]).
You c an get a handle on jitter, pac ket los s , and other

things influenc ed by your router's behavior by looking at
the tec hnic al details of the c alls you make (s ee "D is play
the Tec hnic al D etails of a C all" [Hack #47]).
Chapter 5. Skype at Work
H ac k 5 2 . A utomate Skype I ns tallation
H ac k 5 3 . Set U p a Toll- Free N umber for SkypeI n
H ac k 5 4 . Set U p a C all C enter
H ac k 5 5 . I ntegrate Skype with M ic ros oft O ffic e
H ac k 5 6 . Rec ord and A rc hive C onvers ations
H ac k 5 7 . Trans fer Files A mong D ivers e M ac hines
H ac k 5 8 . D is able Skype File Trans fer
H ac k 5 9 . I mprove Servic e Q uality

I t might be s ome time before large organizations adopt Skype,
partly bec aus e Skype lac ks the features and reliability
demanded by s uc h organizations , and partly bec aus e of s imple
inertiathe bigger the organization, the s lower it moves , or s o it
s eems . Skype is known to be working on "enterpris e" features
and even a s pec ific vers ion of Skype targeted at bus ines s us ers .
E ven s o, Skype as it is now has a lot to offer bus ines s es , loc al
government agenc ies , and c harities that are willing to give it a
try. P erhaps , as happened for ins tant mes s aging, Skype is a
tec hnology that will c ome in through the bac k door!
O ne advantage of Skype is that it's not an all- or- nothing

propos ition, as you c an run it in parallel with exis ting phone
s ys tems , often with very little initial outlay in terms of both c os t
and effort. I n addition to the pos s ible c os t s avings of us ing
Skype, you als o s hould not overlook the tec hnologic al wonders
Skype c an perform, as its c apabilities are utterly different from,
and in my opinion s uperior to, thos e of any regular phone s ys tem
you have s een before. So, if you're thinking of giving Skype a try
in a s mall bus ines s , department, agenc y, or whatever, thes e
hac ks s hould help get you s tarted and give you s ome ideas of
how Skype c an improve your organization's phone s ervic es .
Hack 52. Automate Skype Installation
These tips will simplif y installation if you need to install Skype

on anything more than a handf ul of machines.
Walking from mac hine to mac hine and ins talling Skype c an be a
thankles s tas k. A utomating the ins tallation proc es s makes the
job a lot more palatable, and enables you to c us tomize the
ins tallation eas ily.
To help c us tomize the ins tallation of Skype on Windows , Skype

has thoughtfully provided its ins taller, typic ally a file named
SkypeSetup.exe, with s everal c ommandline options (s ee Table 5 -
1 ).
Table 5-1. Skype's install program command-

line options on Windows
Command-line option What it does
/NoStart D o not s tart Skype when Windows s tarts .
/NoWpFinished Skip the "finis h page" during ins tallation.

/Silent
Show ins tallation progres s only.
/VerySilent Show nothing during ins tallation.
/NoCancel I ns tall c annot be c anc elled.
/Lang=<language> Spec ifies the language for ins tallation.
/Dir="X:\Directory" Spec ifies the ins tallation direc tory.
/NoIcons N o s hortc ut ic on on the des ktop.
U s ing thes e c ommandline options , you c an very eas ily c reate a
Windows batc h file that will s implify the whole ins tallation
proc es s . H ere's a s tep- by- s tep how- to guide:
1. P ut SkypeSetup.exe in a folder on a s hared network drive,

whic h maps to, s ay, S:\Shared\I ns tall\ on all your target
mac hines .
2. C reate a batc h file, ins tall_s kype.bat, and s ave it in

S:\Shared\I ns tall\:
REM File: install_skype.bat
MKDIR C:\Apps\Skype
S:\Shared\Install\SkypeSetup.exe /VerySilent /Lang
NoIcons
3. Send an email to all the us ers whom you want to ins tall
and run Skype. A t a minimum, this email s hould s pec ify
how to run ins tall_s kype.bat and how to s et up a Skype
name. I f you are rolling out Skype, not as a trial, but in a
rather more s ys tematic fas hion, this s ame email s hould
als o perhaps inc lude additional information, s uc h as the
Skype name to be us ed by eac h us er, and advic e on how
bes t to c onfigure their s ound hardware to us e Skype,
among other things .
T his proc edure might look like s omething that Rube G oldberg
(http://www.rube- goldberg.c om/) might dream up, but it beats
wandering from mac hine to mac hine, es pec ially if thos e
mac hines are in different offic es , or even different buildings !
I f you want to roll out Skype, but with res tric ted
func tionalitys uc h as with file trans fer and Skype's A P I
dis abledyou c an ins truc t the batc h file ins taller to do this at the
time of ins tallation.
Firs t, c reate a regis try file, s kype_dis able.reg, and s ave it in

S:\Shared\I ns tall\:
; File: skype_disable.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Skype\Phone]
"DisableFileTransfer"=dword:00000001
"DisableApi"=dword:00000001
N ext, add a line to the exis ting batc h file to c reate a new
ins tallation files ay, ins tall_s kype_reg.bats o that the appropriate
regis try keys to dis able Skype file trans fer and its A P I are
c reated during the ins tallation proc es s :
REM File: install_skype_reg.bat
MKDIR C:\Apps\Skype
S:\Shared\Install\SkypeSetup.exe /VerySilent /Lang=en /Dir
NoIcons
RegEdit.exe /s S:\Shared\Install\skype_disable.reg
For Skype file trans fer and the Skype A P I to be dis abled, the
us ers who run ins tall_s kype_reg.bat mus t have the nec es s ary
privilege to edit the regis try under
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies. I nc identally, this als o
means that they c an s witc h thes e features bac k on if they're
willing to hac k around in the regis try! C learly, this method of
ins talling Skype is not the mos t foolproof if your us ers are
relatively s ophis tic ated and experienc ed with Windows .
5.2.2. See Also

Skype has a briefing doc ument direc ted s pec ific ally at
network adminis trators res pons ible for ins talling and
running Skype; s ee
http://www.s kype.c om/s ec urity/guide- for- network-
admins .pdf.
For details on how to dis able Skype file trans fer, s ee

"D is able Skype File Trans fer" [Hack #58].
For details on how to dis able the Skype A P I , s ee

"D is able the Skype A P I " [Hack #100].
Hack 53. Set Up a Toll-Free Number for
SkypeIn
Set up a toll-f ree number f or your customers and have calls

automatically redirected to your SkypeIn number.
E ven in thes e days of ubiquitous email, many c us tomers expec t

a bus ines s to provide a toll- free number for ordering or s upport.
Sure, you c an als o put a Skype nameSales A tM egaXY ZC orp, or
whateveron your web s ite for people to c all, but you c annot
expec t non- Skype us ers to download and ins tall Skype jus t to
talk with you, c an you?
Toll- free numbers are free to the c aller, but are not free to you,
the rec ipient. E ven s o, c ons ider the advantages of providing
your U .S. c us tomers with a toll- free number:
Cons umers like toll-free numbers
Bec aus e toll- free numbers are free to c all, c us tomers

are more likely to c all you if you provide a toll- free
number.
Toll-free numbers are portable

C hanging your SkypeI n number does n't mean you have
to give up your toll- free number.
You can create the right image for your company
A toll- free number makes your c ompany look

profes s ional and, if you're a non- U .S. c ompany, extends
your reac h globally.
You can widen your markets
A toll- free number lets you s erve c us tomers by having a

national pres enc e in the U .S.
You can pay as you go
M any toll- free plans c harge only for what you us e, s o

your bills grow only in proportion to your bus ines s !
You can do the vanity thing
A vanity toll-free number is a number that s pells

s omething meaningful in relation to your c ompany or
bus ines s . 1 - 8 0 0 - G O - FE D E X is an example of a well-
known vanity number.
Well, thankfully, you c an provide your c us tomers with a toll- free

number that you c an link with your SkypeI n number s o that c alls
made to the toll- free number are redirec ted automatic ally to
your SkypeI n number. I n fac t, you c an have any number of toll-
free numbers redirec ted to the s ame SkypeI n number.
T his als o means that if you're a non- U .S. c ompany, you c an have
a toll- free number in the U .S. (that is , a number with the prefix
8 0 0 , 8 8 8 , 8 7 7 , or 8 6 6 whic h is linked to a U .S. SkypeI n
number), but have thos e c alls redirec ted to wherever you are
loc ated around the globe. N ow, how's that for c onvenienc e for
your U .S. c us tomers ! P lus , it s ays volumes for the global reac h
of your c ompany!
Firs t, you mus t get a U .S. SkypeI n number. T his number will look
like any regular P ublic Switc hed Telephone N etwork (P ST N )
number to a toll- free s ervic e provider. I f as ked whether you have
a P lain O ld Telephone Sys tem (P O T S) or P ST N number (s ee
C hapter 1 ), you c an s imply ans wer yes and give your SkypeI n
number.
N ext, you need to find a toll- free s ervic e provider to give you a
toll- free number and have c alls to that number redirec ted to your
SkypeI n number. G oogle on "" and you'll find yours elf s poiled
with c hoic es . H owever, beware that s ome toll- free plans require a
c ontrac t, perhaps als o an upfront fee, and a rec urring monthly
maintenanc e fee; other plans are s uc h that you pay only for what
you us e (or rather, what your c us tomers us e, to be prec is e). So
s hop around to get the bes t deal bas ed on your needs ; you
s hould find, without effort, a plan that c os ts les s than 5 c ents
per minute. To get you s tarted, here are a handful of toll- free
plans to look at:
http://www.offic edepot.telec oms vc .c om/tollfree/index.as p?

nav=home
http://www.s mart8 0 0 now.c om/

http://www.kall8 .c om/
http://www.teliax.c om/
http://www.get1 8 0 0 .c om/
N one of thes e c ompanies c omes with any rec ommendation or

endors ement from the author or publis her; they're jus t to be
us ed as a rough guide to the s orts of toll- free plans available.
A ll of this s hould take a few days , at mos t, to s et up and begin

working. E xtending your global reac h to your c us tomers has
never been s o eas y.
Hack 54. Set Up a Call Center
A single Skype usernamesay, XYZCorpCustomerServicecan

support many simultaneous callers, theref ore supporting call
center f unctionality at a f raction of the normal cost.
I f you have an exis ting c all c enter, or are thinking of s etting one
up on the c heap, you might be s urpris ed at how s imple Skype
makes this . P res umably, you already have the c omputers and
network infras truc ture in plac e, as no modern- day c all c enter
c an do without thos e, s o it's jus t a ques tion of c onfiguring Skype
to c onnec t your c all c enter with your c us tomers .
O ne partic ularly us eful feature of Skype is its ability to run on

multiple c omputers under the s ame Skype us ernames ay,
XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e. T hen, when s omeone c alls
XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e, all running ins tanc es of Skype
logged on under the us ername XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e will
ring (s ee Figure 5 - 1 ). Whoever pic ks up firs t will take the c all
(s ee Figure 5 - 2 ).
N ow, while that firs t c all is in progres s , s uppos e s omeone els e

c alls XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e. A ll ins tanc es of Skype not
already engaged in a c all will ring (s ee Figure 5 - 3 ). Whoever
pic ks up this s ec ond c all firs t will take that c all (s ee Figure 5 - 4 ),
and s o it goes , until no available ins tanc es of Skype under the
us ername XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e are left. A s c alls are
c ompleted and parties hang up, running ins tanc es of Skype are
returned to the pool of available phone lines for
XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e. Skype's behavior in this regard is
jus t what a c all c enter needs .
Figure 5-1. An incoming call rings all instances

of Skype logged on under the same Skype name
Figure 5-2. Whoever picks up first, takes the call
Figure 5-3. A second incoming call rings all
instances of Skype not already engaged in a call
Figure 5-4. Whoever picks up first, takes the
second call
E ven though s etting up a c all c enter us ing Skype is s implic ity
its elf, you may find it us eful to work through this c hec klis t, in the
order s hown:
1. C hec k your bandwidth and latenc y. A ll the c omputers

that partic ipate in your c all c enter will mos t likely s hare
the s ame c onnec tion to the I nternet. A s the I nternet is
a s hared res ourc e, you mus t make s ure that your
c onnec tion has s uffic ient bandwidth, and low enough
latenc y, to make c all quality ac c eptable. You s hould
budget 1 2 8 Kbps , both ups tream and downs tream, per
c onc urrent phone c all. T hus , for N mac hines (ins tanc es
of Skype), you s hould have a minimum bandwidth of N x
1 2 8 Kbps . L atenc y s hould be les s than 0 .2 of a s ec ond.
You c an meas ure both the bandwidth and the latenc y of
your I nternet c onnec tion us ing "Tes t Your I nternet
C onnec tion Bandwidth" [Hack #33] and "Tes t Your
I nternet C onnec tion L atenc y" [Hack #34].
2. I ns tall Skype on your c omputers and s et them up s o

that the s ame Skype us ername is us ed on eac h one. I f
you have to roll out Skype ac ros s more than a handful of
c omputers , you may find "A utomate Skype I ns tallation"
[Hack #52] us eful.
3. Fit eac h mac hine with heads ets or hands ets . I f us ers are
expec ting to s pend prolonged periods in c alls with
c us tomers , heads ets are probably bes t, as they're both
c omfortable (if well c hos en) and hands free.
4. P ublic ize your c all c enter Skype name to let your

c us tomers know how to c ontac t you. A nd if they're not
already Skype us ers , s ugges t they download and ins tall
Skype.
5. U s ing Skype- to- Skype is c learly the mos t c os t- effec tive

method of Skype- enabling your c all c enter. H owever, if
you think it's unreas onable to expec t all your c us tomers
to us e Skype jus t to talk with you, you c an s et up one or
more SkypeI n numbers for XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e.
What I 've des c ribed s o far is merely the mos t obvious way of
c onfiguring Skype to ac hieve the func tionality c ommonly
as s oc iated with a c all c enter. But don't be afraid to experiment,
bec aus e if you do, you will s urely find new and innovative ways
to us e Skype's tec hnology to rais e to a new level the s ervic es
offered by your c all c enter.
I f your c all c enter is your firs t point of c ontac t for your

c us tomers , you might want to bac k it up with a s ec ond rank,
s uc h as tec hnic al s upport. A gain, Skype makes this very eas y
to do. By giving your tec hnic al s upport s taff Skype names s ay,
XY ZC orpTec h1 , XY ZC orpTec h2 , and s o forthyou c an us e
Skype's c onferenc e c all feature to add tec hnic al s upport s taff to
a c all on an ad hoc bas is .
U s ing our exis ting example, s uppos e that whoever is talking with
the c us tomer on c all 2 dec ides that tec hnic al s upport is needed.
I n this c as e, here are the s teps required to bring tec hnic al
s upport into the c all:
1. P ut the c us tomer, whos e Skype name is , s ay,

XY ZC us tomer, on hold (s elec t Skype C all
H old).
2. C reate a c onferenc e c all with XY ZC us tomer and, s ay,

XY ZC orpTec h1 , as the partic ipants (s elec t Skype
Tools C reate a C onferenc e C all…; in the
c onferenc e c all dialog that appears , add XY ZC us tomer
and XY ZC orpTec h1 and s tart the c onferenc e c all).
3. Wait for XY ZC orpTec h1 to pic k up. O n pic kup, all three

of the c all partic ipants will appear in the c all window.
4. I f nec es s ary, talk briefly with XY ZC orpTec h1 , and then

take XY ZC us tomer off hold (s elec t Skype C all
Res ume C onferenc e with XY ZC us tomer).
5. N ow, all three c onferenc e c all

partic ipants XY ZC orpC us tomerServic e, XY ZC us tomer,
and XY ZC orpTec h1 are able to s peak (s ee Figure 5 - 5 ).
Figure 5-5. Adding someone from technical

support to a conference with a customer
Hack 55. Integrate Skype with Microsoft
Office
Here are some productivity-enhancing tips f or using Skype with

Microsof t Of f ice.
P res ented in this hac k are a handful of ways in whic h you c an

more c los ely integrate Skype with M ic ros oft O ffic e.
T his hac k us es the U RL prefix callto://

extens ively. H owever, with vers ion 1 .4 of
Skype on Windows , a new prefix was
introduc ed: s kype: (note that there's no //,
as s kype: won't work if you us e them). T he
s kype: prefix c an be us ed in plac e of
callto:// and c an do a lot more; for
example, it c an s tart a Skype c hat s es s ion
rather than plac e a c all. See "M ake C alls
from Your Web Brows er" [Hack #43] for
more details .
5.5.1. Skype Toolbar for Outlook
Skype's free toolbar addon for O utlook adds thes e features to

O utlook by means of a c ouple of pulldown menus and buttons
(s ee Figure 5 - 6 ):
A ll your c ontac ts , for both Skype and O utlook, are

together in one plac e.
M ake SkypeO ut c alls (if you're a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber)

to c ontac ts that are not yet us ing Skype.
C all Skype names and phone numbers that appear in
email you rec eive (s elec t O utlook Skype pull down

C all <Skypename> or C all <N umber>); s ee Figure
5 -7 .
C hat with Skype names that appear in email you rec eive
(s elec t O utlook Skype pull down C hat with
<Skypename>); s ee Figure 5 - 7 .
C hange your Skype online s tatus from within O utlook
(s elec t O utlook Skype pull down Status ); s ee

Figure 5 - 6 .
C reate journal entries for inc oming and outgoing c alls ;

s ee Figure 5 - 8 .
…and more (s elec t O utlook Skype pull down
C onfigure)!
Figure 5-6. Skype toolbar for Outlook

Figure 5-7. Call or chat directly with contacts
embedded within email
Figure 5-8. Setting up the Skype toolbar to

create journal entries for outgoing and incoming
calls
You c an download the Skype toolbar for O utlook at
http://www.s kype.c om/produc ts /s kypetoolbars /.
T he Skype toolbar for O utlook is an add-
on that us es the Skype A pplic ation
P rogramming I nterfac e (A P I ).
C ons equently, when you firs t run O utlook
after ins talling the toolbar, Skype will
dis play a window as king you for permis s ion
for the toolbar (s pec ific ally, the file
SkypeOBE.exe) to ac c es s Skype. You mus t
c lic k the radio button labeled "A llow this
program to us e Skype" for the toolbar to
work.
5.5.2. Importing Outlook Contacts
You c an import your O utlook c ontac ts direc tly into Skype.

Simply us e Skype's own c ontac t import fac ility by going to
Skype Tools I mport C ontac ts …, and following the
ins truc tions provided by the I mport C ontac ts Wizard. T his is a
great way to s tart us ing Skype, as you'll have a ready- made
c ontac t lis t to begin with.
Skype's import fac ility for c ontac ts als o works with c ontac t lis ts
s tored in M SN M es s enger, O pera, and O utlook E xpres s .
I f you are us ing the Skype toolbar for O utlook (dis c us s ed

earlier), an alternative way to get your O utlook c ontac ts into
Skype is to us e the toolbar's E xport O utlook C ontac ts to Skype
func tion (s ee Figure 5 - 9 ).
Figure 5-9. Export your Outlook contacts to
Skype using the Skype toolbar for Outlook
5.5.3. Inserting callto:// and skype: Links in

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Documents
I ns erting hypertext links into offic e doc uments that, if c lic ked,
will s tart a Skype c all to the s pec ified Skype name requires
nothing more than a few c lic ks and keys trokes . O f c ours e, for
the links to work, Skype mus t be ins talled and properly
c onfigured to us e callto:// (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … A dvanc ed, and c hec k the "A s s oc iate Skype with
c allto: links " c hec kbox) on the mac hine on whic h the doc ument
is opened.
5.5.3.1. Word.
P lac e your c urs or at the point where you want to ins ert the
Skype link, and then go to I ns ert H yperlink…, whic h will
open an I ns ert H yperlink dialog into whic h you c an enter the text
for the link and its addres s (U RL ). L ater, if nec es s ary, you c an
edit the link by right- c lic king on it and c hoos ing E dit H yperlink…
(s ee Figure 5 - 1 0 ).
5.5.3.2. Excel.
Selec t the c ell into whic h you want to ins ert the Skype link, and
then go to I ns ert H yperlink…, whic h will open an I ns ert
H yperlink dialog into whic h you c an enter the text for the link
and its addres s (U RL ). L ater, if nec es s ary, you c an edit the link
by right- c lic king on the c ell and c hoos ing E dit H yperlink… (s ee
Figure 5 - 1 1 ).
Figure 5-10. Inserting/editing a callto:// link in

a Word document
an Excel document
5.5.3.3. PowerPoint.
To ins ert a Skype hyperlink into a P owerP oint pres entation, you
mus t firs t ins ert an objec t that c an then be as s oc iated with the
link. T he s imples t objec t is a text box with the link text you want
to dis play (s elec t I ns ert Text Box, c lic k on a s lide, and
enter text). N ext, c lic k on that objec t to s elec t it (and s elec t the
text in the box, if you're us ing a text box). T hen from the
P owerP oint menu, c hoos e I ns ert H yperlink…, whic h will
open an I ns ert H yperlink dialog into whic h you c an enter the text
for the link and its addres s (U RL ). L ater, if nec es s ary, you c an
edit the link by right- c lic king on the text and c hoos ing E dit
H yperlink… (s ee Figure 5 - 1 2 ).

a PowerPoint slide
5.5.4. Adding a Skype Me Button to a Web
Page or to Your Outlook Email Signature
You c an add a Skype M e button to any web page. Simply go to

the Skype M e buttons web page, pic k a button s tyle, and then
c ut and pas te the H T M L for that button into your web page
H T M L . A nyone who c lic ks on your Skype M e button in a web
page they are viewing in a brows er, and has Skype ins talled and
properly c onfigured to us e callto:// (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … A dvanc ed, and c hec k the "A s s oc iate
Skype with c allto: links " c hec kbox), will s tart a Skype c all to
you. You c an find the Skype M e buttons web page at
H ere's an example of the H T M L needed for a very s imple web

page, s hown in Figure 5 - 1 3 , that dis plays only your Skype name
and Skype M e button:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Skype Hacks Button</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Skype Hacks
<A href="callto://skypehacksbook>">
<img src="http://goodies.skype.com/gr
border="0">
</A>

</BODY>
</HTML>
Simply replac e skypehacksbook in the prec eding H T M L with your

own Skype name to c reate your own Skype M e button in a web
page. Remember that you c an ins ert your Skype M e button
H T M L (everything between and inc luding the <A> … </A> tags )
into any H T M L web page where ins erting an anc hor (hypertext
link) is valid.
Figure 5-13. A Skype Me button embedded in a

web page
To inc lude a Skype M e button in your email s ignature for
O utlook, go to O utlook Tools O ptions …, and in the
O ptions dialog that appears , navigate to the M ail Format tab and
c lic k on the Signatures … button. T hat will open a C reate
Signature dialog, in whic h you s hould c lic k on the N ew… button.
T hat, in turn, will dis play a C reate N ew Signature dialog. G ive
the s ignature a name, and c lic k on the radio button labeled "U s e
this file as a template." C lic k the Brows e… button and us e the
file navigation dialog that appears to loc ate and us e this
template H T M L file (whic h you c an c reate in N otepad, or
download from the book's web s ite):

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Skype Hacks Outlook Signature</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Skype Hacks
<A href="callto://skypehacksbook>">
<img src="http://goodies.skype.com/gr
border="0">
</A>

</BODY>
</HTML>
Simply replac e skypehacksbook in the prec eding H T M L with your

own Skype name to c reate your own Skype M e button in the
H T M L s ignature template.
I n the C reate N ew Signature dialog, c lic k N ext. T hat will dis play
an E dit Signature dialog that will allow you to edit the s ignature
further, us ing fonts and other elements of your c hoic e. O nc e
you're done editing your s ignature, c lic k Finis h and then c lic k
O K in the C reate Signature dialog. I n the O ptions dialog, c hoos e
the name of your newly minted s ignature in the "Signature for
new mes s ages " pulldown menu and c lic k O K. N ow, any email
you s end will have a s ignature that inc ludes a Skype M e button
on whic h the rec ipient c an c lic k to plac e a Skype c all to you. You
c an c hec k out what your s ignature will look like by s ending
yours elf a tes t email (s ee Figure 5 - 1 4 ). T he rec ipient of an email
from you c an c lic k on the Skype M e button to plac e a Skype c all
to you.
I f you are us ing the Skype toolbar for O utlook (as dis c us s ed
earlier), there's an even eas ier way to ins ert a Skype M e button
as part of your email s ignature. Selec t O utlook Skype pull
down C onfigure E mail, and then us e the s ettings
under Signatures (s ee Figure 5 - 1 5 ).
Figure 5-14. Outlook signature with a Skype Me

button
Figure 5-15. Adding a Skype Me button to your
email signature using the Skype toolbar for
Outlook
5.5.5. See Also
To learn how to add your Skype online s tatus to a web

page or to your O utlook email s ignature, s ee "Show Your
O nline Status in a Web P age" [Hack #88].
For a detailed how- to on importing c ontac ts into Skype,

s ee
http://s hare.s kype.c om/blog/ins ight/importing_c ontac ts /
Several thirdparty Skype add- ons are available that

help integrate it with M ic ros oft O ffic e applic ations . See
the Skype E xtras G allery at
http://s hare.s kype.c om/direc tory/ for details .
Hack 56. Record and Archive
Conversations
There are many reasons f or recording and archiving Skype calls,

f rom conducting online interviews to regulatory requirements.
A ll you need are a f ew simple tools.
T here are many reas ons why you might want to rec ord phone
c onvers ations . H ec k, if the FBI does it all the time, why not the
average c itizen!
H owever, rec ording c onvers ations is (unfortunately) not a feature

c urrently built into Skype. N or is there one s imple tool that will
work on all platforms . So to do it, you will need to hac k around
with s ome additional s oftware and, pos s ibly, s ome hardware.
H ere are s ome s ugges tions for ways of rec ording and arc hiving
c onvers ations , by Skype platform:
Windows
By far, the eas ies t method is to us e the P amela
P rofes s ional Skype addon ( 1 7 .5 0 about

$ 2 2 http://www.pamela- s ys tems .c om/). Rec ording Skype
c onvers ations is jus t one feature of this veritable Swis s
army knife of Skype add- ons . To s tart rec ording and
arc hiving your Skype c alls , go to P amela Tools
O ptions C all rec ording, and s elec t the
rec ording options you want (s ee Figure 5 - 1 6 ). T hen,
every time you make and rec eive a c all, P amela will
rec ord the c onvers ation bas ed on the s etting you c hos e,
and you c an play thos e rec ordings bac k us ing the
P amela applic ation (open P amela and navigate to the
"Rec orded c alls " tab, then s elec t a c all and c lic k on the
P lay button).
Linux
T he method I us e to rec ord Skype c onvers ations on

L inux us es four s oftware c omponents :
Figure 5-16. Configuring the Pamela add-

on for Skype to record conversations
Framework for Us er-Space Devices (FUSD)
P ronounc ed "fus ed," this c omponent enables a us er-

s pac e (rather than a kernel- s pac e) devic e to be c reated
for audio s treams that c an be a J A C Ked c lient
(dis c us s ed next). You c an download FU SD at
http://www.c irc lemud.org/% 7 E jels on/s oftware/fus d/.
JACK
J A C K allows multiple applic ations to c onnec t to a s ound

devic e and s hare audio with eac h other. You c an
download it at http://jac kit.s ourc eforge.net/.
Secret Rabbit Code (a.k.a. libs amplerate)
T his is a s ample rate c onverter for audio, whic h you c an

us e to determine the s ound quality of Skype voic e
rec ordings . You c an download it at http://www.mega-
nerd.c om/SRC /download.html.
os s 2j ack
T his applic ation allows s everal applic ations to us e the

s ame s ound c ard s imultaneous ly. To rec ord Skype c alls ,
you want to c onfigure things s o that the s ame s ound- in
and s ound- out audio s treams are us ed by both Skype
and a rec ording applic ation. You c an download os s 2 jac k
at http://fort.xdas .c om/~kor/os s 2 jac k/.
You als o c an download all of thes e s oftware c omponents
at http://fort.xdas .c om/~kor/os s 2 jac k/.
Mac OS X
T his method us es two s oftware applic ations : WireTap

P ro ($ 1 9 , from
http://www.ambros ias w.c om/utilities /wiretap/) and
D etour ($ 1 2 , from
http://www.rogueamoeba.c om/detour/). WireTap takes an
audio s tream from any applic ation and c onverts it into a
s ound file in any one of a variety of c ommon formats , and
D etouras its name s ugges ts allows you to redirec t the
des tination of audio from any applic ation. For this hac k,
D etour redirec ts s ound from Skype to WireTap s o that
you c an s ave it as a s ound file. Set up D etour to redirec t
s ound in the manner s hown in Figure 5 - 1 7 , and s et up
WireTap to c apture that redirec ted s ound and s ave it as
a file in a s pec ified s ound format (s ee Figure 5 - 1 8 ).
Figure 5-17. Use Detour to redirect sound

on the Mac
Pocket PC
See the next s ec tion, "H ac king the H ac k."
Figure 5-18. Use WireTap to save a redirected

sound to a file in an audio format of your choice
T his is a low- tec h, but utterly reliable, way to rec ord your voic e-
c all c onvers ations . A lot of s oftware s olutions for rec ording
Skype c onvers ations c an be a pain to c onfigure and a pain to
us e, and may let you down when you need them mos t.
T his method is very low tec h, as it us es a s imple $ 1 .5 0 pic kup

mic rophone (available from http://www.alltronic s .c om/) that has
a s uc tion c up on it. J us t s tic k the c up to the hands et, plug the
3 .5 mm jac k into your s ound c ard (or an iM ic if you have a M ac ,
http://www.griffintec hnology.c om/produc ts /imic /index.php), fire
up your favorite (or default) s ound rec order applic ation for your
platform (s elec t Start A ll P rograms A c c es s ories
E ntertainment Sound Rec order, for example, on
Windows ), and rec ord your c onvers ation. T he advantages of this
method are that it's s imple, c heap, and trouble free; and it works
for Windows , L inux, M ac O S X, and P oc ket P C (us ing a P C to do
the rec ording).
T his method works with any U SB hands et us ed by Skype; and as

an added bonus , it works with regular phones too! You c an even
s tic k the pic kup mic rophone onto the bac k of your P D A or
mobile phone to rec ord c onvers ations (s ee Figure 5 - 1 9 ). T his
might bring bac k memories of 1 9 6 0 s - era s py- type B- movies ,
but it does work, and very reliably at that!
Figure 5-19. The low-tech way to record phone

conversations: a stick-on pickup microphone
Hack 57. Transfer Files Among Diverse
Machines
Use the Skype f ile-transf er f eature on a home or of f ice network

to transf er f iles among machines running dif f erent operating
systems.
I f your home or offic e has a divers ity of mac hines , trans ferring
files among them is a s nap if you us e Skype. With Skype
ins talled on eac h mac hine, Windows , L inux, and M ac O S X c an
finally "play nic e" together in terms of s eamles s file trans fer.
To trans fer files among mac hines in, s ay, a hous ehold where D ad
runs Windows , M om runs M ac O S X, and J unior runs L inux, jus t
go to the mac hine that will be the s ourc e of the file, open Skype,
and initiate a file trans fer (there are s everal ways of doing this ;
s ee "Trans fer a File U s ing Skype" [Hack #8]). T hen, walk over to
the des tination mac hine, where a c onfirmation window will be
dis played (s ee Figure 5 - 2 0 ). C lic k on Save A s … and s ave the
file to the loc ation of your c hoic e. Figure 5 - 2 1 s hows an example
of a home having a mix of different mac hines running different
operating s ys tems ; however, the s ame princ iples apply whether
you're trans ferring files among mac hines in a home, a s mall
bus ines s , or a department in a large organization.
File trans fer is that eas y with Skype! N o more FT P 'ing up to a

s erver and then down from the s erver (or from mac hine to
mac hine, in whic h c as e the rec eiving mac hine mus t be running
an FT P c lient/s erver program). N o more playing around with
Samba or N FS, to mount s hared network folders . N o more
burning to C D - RO M , D V D , or zip dis ks and s wapping from drive
to drivein s hort, no more has s le.
M oreover, the mac hines among whic h you want to trans fer files
do not have to be in the s ame phys ic al loc ation; they c an be
s pread around the globe. I n that c as e, it's worth remembering
that Skype file trans fer is enc rypted end to end and therefore is
s ec ure.
Figure 5-20. All Skype file transfers must be

confirmed on the receiving machine
You c annot trans fer a file to yours elf. T hat
is , Skype will trans fer files only among
different Skype names . So, for example, if
you want to trans fer a file between a
Windows mac hine and a mac hine running
M ac O S X, both mac hines mus t have
Skype running, but under a different Skype
logon name.
I nc identally, Skype file trans fer is s uperior to s ending files as

email attac hments , for s everal reas ons . But the two main
reas ons are as follows :
Skype file trans fers are not limited in s ize. E mail

attac hments , on the other hand, are limited to the s ize of
the inbox on your mail s erver (typic ally only 1 0 to 2 0
megabytes ).
Skype file trans fer is enc rypted end to end, s o it is more

s ec ure than email (unles s you firs t enc rypt the
attac hment, in whic h c as e the rec eiving mac hine mus t
have c ompatible dec ryption s oftware ins talled, whic h
introduc es additional s teps into the trans fer proc es s ).
I f any of the mac hines to whic h you want to trans fer files is
loc ated behind a res tric tive P eer to P eer (P 2 P )- unfriendly
firewall or router, Skype will us e what it c alls "relayed trans fer"
and your file trans fer will s low to a c rawl. Relayed trans fer is
s ignaled by "Your trans fer is being relayed" appearing in the
"Sending file" window (s ee Figure 5 - 2 2 ).
Figure 5-21. Use Skype to transfer files among

diverse machines
Figure 5-22. Relayed file-transfer notification
(bottom left)
5.7.1. See Also
"Trans fer Folders , N ot J us t I ndividual Files " [Hack #84]
"Sc an Files Rec eived via Skype for V irus es " [Hack #75]
Hack 58. Disable Skype File Transfer
Perhaps corporate policy dictates it, or perhaps you just think

it's a good idea. In any event, disabling Skype's f ile-transf er
f unction requires only a single registry setting.
With the releas e of vers ion 1 .4 for Windows , Skype inc luded the
ability to dis able file trans fer s elec tively. I n many bus ines s es ,
dis abling this func tion may be dic tated by c orporate polic y, or it
might be at the reques t of your network adminis trator. P rovided
you're willing to hac k the Windows regis try, s elec tively dis abling
file trans fer is a s nap.
O pen RegE dit (s elec t Start Run…, enter "RegE dit," and
pres s Return or c lic k O K) and add this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Skype\Phone. U nder this key,
add a new DWORD value having the name DisableFileTransfer.
Setting DisableFileTransfer to 1 will dis able Skype file trans fer
(s ee Figure 5 - 2 3 ), and s etting it to 0 (or omitting or deleting the
key altogether) will leave file trans fer enabled. N ote that you
don't have to s top and res tart Skype for this c hange to take
effec t.
Figure 5-23. The pop-up window you will see if

Skype file transfer is disabled
O f c ours e, this hac k works s ens ibly only when regular us er
ac c ounts are s et up s o that they c an't edit the regis try under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE thems elves ; that is , s pec ific ally, they s hould
not be able to c hange DisableFileTransfer.
I f you don't want to hac k this regis try s etting yours elf, or if you
have to roll Skype out ac ros s a large number of mac hines , you
might find the following V BSc ript (dis able_file_trans fer.vbs )
helpful:
' File: disable_file_transfer.vbs
Dim objShell
objShell.RegWrite "HKLM\Software\Policies\Skype\Phone\Disa
1, "REG_DWORD"
H ere is the oppos ite (enable_file_trans fer.vbs ), jus t in c as e the

polic y that prohibits file trans fer c hanges :
' File: enable_file_transfer.vbs
Dim objShell
0, "REG_DWORD"
N ote that both s c ripts will, if nec es s ary, c reate the regis try entry
if it does not exis t already.
Hack 59. Improve Service Quality
Supporting several Skype users on the same outgoing Internet

connection may require implementation of bandwidth rationing
(per user) using Quality of Service (QoS) to maintain good call
quality.
T he I nternet is a s hared res ourc e, even for a s ingle us er. Web

brows ing, file downloads , s treaming audio, and Skype c alls are
all vying for us e of the data pipe. When s everal mac hines s hare
the s ame I nternet c onnec tion, this c onflic t over how bandwidth
is s hared among the c ompeting us ers c an be exac erbated.
C ertain ac tivities , s uc h as file downloads , are not bandwidth or
latenc y c ritic al in the s ens e that a s low file download is s till a
file download! I n c ontras t, for VoI P applic ations s uc h as Skype,
being s queezed for bandwidth and latenc y by other applic ations
might res ult in poor c all quality.
C learly, s ome way to prioritize I nternet traffic is needed s o that

VoI P data pac kets get prec edenc e over all other types of data
pac ket. T his is the goal of Quality of Service (Q oS), whic h
s eeks in advanc eto guarantee a c ertain level of s ervic e in terms
of bandwidth and latenc y, plus other s ec ondary c harac teris tic s ,
s uc h as error rates . I n this hac k, I 'll foc us only on Q oS for
bandwidth and latenc y. I mproving bandwidth and latenc y for
Skype VoI P traffic will always improve voic e- c all quality.
What makes Q oS diffic ult in the c as e of Skype is that it does n't

us e any fixed port numbers for outgoing traffic . Q oS normally
works by binding the port numbers us ed by an applic ation to a
Q oS feature built into the router, whic h then takes c are of
prioritizing traffic for thos e fixed ports . H owever, for the outgoing
part of a c all, Skype us es available ports above and inc luding
1 0 2 4 ; that is , it randomly s elec ts the U s er D atagram P rotoc ol
(U D P ) and/or Trans mis s ion C ontrol P rotoc ol (T C P ) ports it
needs between and inc luding port numbers 1 0 2 4 and 6 5 5 3 5 .
Q oS typic ally needs fixed ports to operate, s o traditional Q oS
does n't work for Skype.
H owever, it is pos s ible to s et up a "Q oS- like" s ervic e for Skype

by s elec tively rationing bandwidth.
For a s ingle us er, one way of s etting up a Q oS- like s ervic e is to

us e a bandwidth- s haping tool s uc h as N etL imiter
(http://www.N etL imiter.c om/). U s ing s uc h a tool, you c an divvy
up your available bandwidth among the applic ations running on
your c omputer that require I nternet bandwidth. Spec ific ally, you
c an make s ure there's always enough bandwidth left over for
Skype to work, and work well in terms of c all quality.
L et's look at a c onc rete example. Figure 5 - 2 4 s hows the

available I nternet bandwidth for a mac hine. L et's play it s afe,
and s ay that there's 1 ,4 0 0 Kbps of available bandwidth, both
uplink and downlink. I f we res erve, s ay, 2 5 0 Kbps for Skype, that
means we c an alloc ate the remaining 1 ,1 5 0 Kbps of bandwidth
among the remaining applic ations running on the mac hine that
require I nternet ac c es s . U s ing a tool s uc h as N etL imiter, you
c an do this very eas ily. With the limits s hown in Figure 5 - 2 5 , no
matter what els e is being done on the mac hine, there s hould
always be enough bandwidth left over for Skype to work well.
Figure 5-24. Available bandwidth (as measured

by http://www.auditmypc.com/)
Figure 5-25. Using NetLimiter to ration
bandwidth
For multiple mac hines and us ers that s hare an I nternet
c onnec tion, you c an put a s imilar method of budgeting and
bandwidth rationing in plac e by us ing nothing more than s imple
arithmetic and by running N etL imiter on eac h mac hine. T hat way,
no matter what any mac hine is doing in terms of ac c es s ing the
I nternet, no Skype c all will be s queezed out, s o to s peak, and
good c all quality c an be maintained for all us ers .
M eas uring, budgeting, and enforc ing bandwidth limits with a tool
s uc h as N etL imiter c an bec ome tedious and c an be a les s - than-
optimal way to manage your overall bandwidth when more than a
handful of mac hines are involved. Fortunately, network devic es
are c oming onto the market (s ee Figure 5 - 2 6 ) that effec tively
implement Q oS in hardware by prioritizing I nternet traffic bas ed
on monitoring data pac ket c harac teris tic s , rather than us ing
fixed port numbers .
Figure 5-26. Broadband Booster from Hawking

Technology (http://www.hawkingtech.com/)
Suc h devic es s it between your router and your broadband
I nternet c onnec tion and divide I nternet traffic into s treams of
pac kets having different c harac teris tic s . T hen, they give priority
to thos e pac kets whos e delivery is time s ens itive, s uc h as the
VoI P pac kets Skype us es . Bes t of all, thes e devic es are P lug
and P lay (P nP ), requiring little or no us er c onfiguration.
H awking Tec hnology c laims its H BB1 Broadband Boos ter

provides improvements of up to 4 0 0 % , in terms of uplink
throughput, for c ertain types of applic ations that us e the
I nternet. T he H BB1 improves ups tream traffic only, and does not
differentiate between different mac hines or applic ations , s o you
c an't fine- tune I nternet traffic prioritization as you c an with tools
s uc h as N etL imiter. I t is worth reminding the reader that mos t
as ymmetric broadband I nternet c onnec tions have s ubs tantially
les s uplink bandwidth than downlink bandwidth, s o the H BB1 's
foc us on ups tream traffic improvement makes s ens e. T hes e
units do work (s ee http://www.toms networking.c om/Reviews -
2 1 0 - P rodI D - H BB1 .php for a real- world review) and are an
inexpens ive method for implementing Q oS for a group of Skype
us ers that s hare a D igital Subs c riber L ine (D SL ) or c able
broadband c onnec tion.
Chapter 6. Mobile Skype
H ac k 6 0 . M ake C heap L ong- D is tanc e or I nternational

C alls from Your M obile P hone
H ac k 6 1 . C ommunic ate U s ing Skype, E ven When

Bandwidth I s L ow
H ac k 6 2 . G ive Your M obile P hone an I nternational D ial-

I n N umber
H ac k 6 3 . Run Skype from a U SB M emory Stic k
H ac k 6 4 . M ake Free C alls While on the M ove

T he hac ks in this c hapter might prove us eful to mobile us ers ,
travelers , and people otherwis e on the move that us e Skype.
T hey might als o prove us eful to live- away- from- home s tudents
and their families .
Hack 60. Make Cheap Long-Distance or
International Calls from Your Mobile
Phone
Route calls using Skype, and take advantage of Skype's low

long-distance and international call rates.
M any mobile phone plans offer low- c os t, or even free, limited

c alling within their "home" geographic area. N ot s o with long-
dis tanc e and international c alls , for whic h you normally have to
pay a bundle. U s ing this hac k, you c an effec tively s ubs titute
Skype's very low long- dis tanc e and international c all rates for
the more expens ive c all rates of your mobile plan.
T his hac k takes advantage of three Skype s ervic es :SkypeI n,

SkypeO ut, and Skype c all forwarding. SkypeI n is a prepaid
s ubs c ription s ervic e (s ee "Try SkypeI n, Ris k Free" [Hack #5]),
but is a c omparatively low- c os t way of getting a regular dial- in
phone number. SkypeO ut is likewis e a prepaid s ubs c ription
s ervic e that allows you to c all regular phones anywhere in the
world at very low rates (s ee "Try SkypeO ut, Ris k Free" [Hack
#4]). Skype c all forwarding is a func tion that is built into Skype
and c os ts you nothing. I n fac t, if the international "number" you
want to c all is ac tually another Skype us er, you don't need
SkypeO ut at all!
To make c heap long- dis tanc e and international c alls you need to
s et up Skype on a mac hine at home that bas ic ally routes your
long- dis tanc e and international c alls by forwarding them to a
s pec ified des tination (in fac t, up to three des tinations at onc e).
T he three des tinations you forward to c an be any mix of Skype
us ers , regular phones , and mobile phones . I n the c as e of regular
and mobile phones , you'll need to be a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber and
you will pay the appropriate SkypeO ut c all rate for the
des tination.
N ow, Figure 6 - 1 makes the routing proc es s look rather more

intimidating than it really is , bec aus e c onfiguring Skype to do
this is eas y:
1. C reate a Skype ac c ount for the des ired des tination; for
example, aunt_ peg_in_paris.
2. Sign up the Skype ac c ount aunt_peg_in_paris for SkypeI n

and, if A unt P eg is n't a Skype us er, SkypeO ut als o. L et's
as s ume that A unt P eg is a Skype us er and has the
Skype name aunt_peg and that your new SkypeI n
numberc hos en to minimize the c os t of your mobile phone
c alls to this numberis +1 2 0 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 .
3. Set up aunt_peg_in_paris to forward c alls to aunt_peg

whenever you c all the SkypeI n number you have s et up
for aunt_peg_in_paris (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions C all Forwarding & Voic email), as s hown in
Figure 6 - 2 .
4. H ave aunt_peg authorize aunt_peg_in_paris as a new

c ontac t.
5. A fter you've s et up aunt_peg_in_paris as des c ribed, the

eas ies t way to make this hac k work is to leave the
ac c ount you have s et up for this purpos e logged off at all
times exc ept for intermittently c hec king your SkypeO ut
balanc e, if required. T hat way, your c alls are forwarded
immediately.
6. N ow, whenever you c all +1 2 0 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 on your mobile

phone, the c all will automatic ally be routed to aunt_peg
and your overall c all c os t will be that between your
mobile phone and +1 2 0 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 , plus nothing to
forward the c all to aunt_peg!
N ow, to make all this effort worthwhile, long- dis tanc e or

international c alls from your mobile phone to the des ired
des tination mus t c urrently c os t you more than a SkypeI n
s ubs c ription, plus mobile- to- SkypeI n c all c os ts , plus (perhaps )
SkypeO ut c all c os ts to the final c all des tination. Fortunately,
working out your s avings requires jus t s imple arithmetic , as the
example in Table 6 - 1 s hows .
Figure 6-1. Routing calls from your mobile phone

through Skype, to make cheap international calls
Figure 6-2. Setting up call forwarding
Table 6-1. Figuring your savings for forwarding
mobile calls to a long-distance or international
destination using Skype, rather than dialing
direct (an example)
Cost component Cost
N umber of minutes of talk time per year 1 ,2 0 0
M obile only
P er- minute c all rate to des tination $ 0 .2 0
Total annual c os t $240
M obile plus Skype
M obile- to- SkypeI n c all rate $ 0 .0 5
SkypeO ut- to- des tination c all rate $ 0 .0 3
C all c os ts per year $96

SkypeI n annual s ubs c ription ( 3 0 per year) $ 3 7 .5 0
Total annual c os t $ 1 3 3 .5 0
C os t c omparis on
Total annual s avings us ing this hac k $ 1 0 6 .5 0
P erc entage s avings 44%
SkypeO ut rounds c alls up to the whole

minute, but your mobile phone plan might
have the s ame, or a s horter, rounding time
inc rement. Shorter time inc rements are to
your advantage, and longer time
inc rements are to the advantage of your
phone s ervic e provider (inc luding Skype).
I f your mobile plan rounds c alls us ing a
time inc rement of s ubs tantially les s than 1
minute, you might want to fac tor in the
effec ts of c all rounding (s ee "Round C all
T ime to Your A dvantage" [Hack #23]).
A nother way of looking at the money- s aving potential of this
hac k is to c ons ider a bus ines s s c enario. Suppos e that a
E uropean c ompany has 5 0 s ales repres entatives that travel
throughout the U .S. and c hec k in eac h day with the E uropean
head offic e by mobile phone. O n average, thes e c alls are, s ay,
2 0 minutes in length per s ales repres entative. U s ing
repres entative c os ts , the es timated s avings might look
s omething like Table 6 - 2 .
Table 6-2. Cost savings from using Skype to

forward mobile phone calls from traveling sales
representatives in the U.S. to a European head
office
Cost component Cost
N umber of minutes of talk time per day 1 ,0 0 0
M obile only
P er- minute c all rate to des tination $ 0 .1 0
Total daily c os t $100

M obile plus Skype
M obile- to- SkypeI n c all rate $ 0 .0 5
C all- forwarding c os t (Skype- to- Skype) Free
Total daily c os t $50
C os t c omparis on
Total daily s avings $50
P erc entage s avings 50%
You c an extend this hac k to any number of long- dis tanc e or

international c all des tinations by s etting up a new Skype
ac c ount for eac h. T his might s ound c umbers ome, until you
realize that this hac k works bes t when none of the ac c ounts s et
up for this purpos e is logged in. T hat is , apart from c hec king
your SkypeI n s ubs c ription s tatus and SkypeO ut c redit balanc e
from time to time, you c an jus t forget about them.
6.2.2. See Also
"G ive Your M obile P hone an I nternational D ial- I n

N umber" [Hack #62]
Hack 61. Communicate Using Skype,
Even When Bandwidth Is Low
Even when bandwidth is too low f or voice communication, that

doesn't mean you can't communicate with other Skype users.
Works with: P oc ket P C vers ion of Skype.
M any devic es that c an run Windows M obile 2 0 0 3 , but don't meet

Skype's minimum requirements (s ee Table P - 1 in the P refac e) or
don't have a Wireles s Fidelity (WiFi) c onnec tion, c an s till us e
Skype.
General Packet Radio Service (G P RS) and Enhanced Data rates for
Global E volution (E D G E ) are two mobile phone tec hnologies that
allow mobile phones to c onnec t to the I nternet, but at data rates
ins uffic ient to s upport Skype's voic e- c all features . E ven s o,
when your devic e lac ks the proc es s ing power and/or I nternet
c onnec tion bandwidth for voic e, you c an s till us e Skype c hat.
I t is even pos s ible to make Skype voic e c alls from a G P RS- 3 G

phone, s uc h as the N okia 6 6 3 0 , N okia 6 6 8 0 , N okia 6 6 8 1 , or
N okia 6 6 8 2 . H ow, you as k? Well, if you s trip out all the
enc ryption/dec ryption and other overhead from a regular Skype
c all, even G P RS has jus t enough bandwidth to s upport a voic e
c all, though the quality of that c all may depend a lot on the
quality and s peed of your G P RS I nternet c onnec tion.
To make this work you will need to us e a Skype addon (for

ins tanc e, the U s eful G P RS- 3 G Skype addon s oftware, whic h
you c an get for $ 2 2 from http://www.us eful-
apps .c om/new_page_2 1 .htm) that runs on both your mobile
phone and your home P C . T he addon c lient that runs on your
mobile phone will relay your voic e from your mobile phone to
your home P C , where a s ec ond c omponent of the Skype addon
is running and feeds your voic e into Skype, whic h then relays the
c all to its des tination in the us ual Skype way.
To make Skype voic e c alls , even over G P RS, follow thes e s teps
us ing the U s eful G P RS- 3 G Skype addon s oftware:
1. Before you leave home, make s ure Skype and the P C -

bas ed c omponent of the addon are running.
2. From your mobile phone, c onnec t to the I nternet us ing

G P RS.
3. Start the mobile phone c omponent of the addon.
4. I nput a number to c all (SkypeO ut) or the name of a

Skype c ontac t into the mobile phone addon, and then
c lic k C all (s ee Figure 6 - 3 ).
Your c all s hould be routed to its des tination, with the firs t leg of
the c all being relayed between your mobile phone and your home
P C by the addon over G P RS, and thenc e from your home P C to
its final des tination by Skype.
Figure 6-3. By using Skype add-on software,

even devices that lack the Internet connection
bandwidth for a regular Skype call can still make
voice calls using Skype
Hack 62. Give Your Mobile Phone an
International Dial-In Number
Use SkypeIn and call f orwarding to give your mobile phone one
or more international dial-in telephone numbers.
G iving your mobile phone one or more international dial- in

numbers has a number of advantages , not the leas t of whic h is a
reduc ed c all rate for c allers who are in the s ame c ountry as your
dial- in number, and the fac t that you c an have an international
pres enc e at a dis tanc e.
T his hac k us es three Skype s ervic es : SkypeI n, SkypeO ut, and

c all forwarding. By giving a Skype ac c ount one or more SkypeI n
numbers , you c an us e Skype c all forwarding and SkypeO ut to
automatic ally forward to your mobile phone all c alls that c ome in
to thes e dial- in numbers (s ee Figure 6 - 4 ).
Figure 6-4. Routing calls to your mobile phone

through Skype effectively gives your mobile
phone multiple dial-in phone numbers
To give your mobile phone one or more international dial- in
numbers , follow thes e s teps :
1. Set up a Skype ac c ount jus t for this purpos es ay,

my_mobile.
2. Sign up my_mobile for SkypeI n and SkypeO ut. C hoos e

your SkypeI n number for the c ountry of your c hoic e; for
example, +4 4 2 0 7 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 would be a phone number for
L ondon. SkypeI n is available for many c ountries , and
even regions of thos e c ountries ; s ee
http://www.s kype.c om/ for a c omplete lis t.
3. Set up my_mobile s o that inc oming c alls to your

international SkypeI n number are automatic ally
forwarded to your mobile phone (s elec t Skype
Tools O ptions … C all Forwarding &
Voic email). For this exerc is e, we'll as s ume your mobile
phone number is +1 2 0 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 (s ee Figure 6 - 5 ).
4. L og off of my_mobile. C all forwarding for this hac k works

bes t when the my_mobile Skype ac c ount is logged off.
Figure 6-5. Setting up call forwarding to your

mobile phone
N ow, any c alls to your international SkypeI n number will be
forwarded to your mobile file automatic ally.
U nfortunately, all of this is not free, and you mus t dec ide for
yours elf whether the benefits of having an international dial- in
number for your mobile phone outweigh the c os ts (s ee Table 6 -
3 ).
Table 6-3. Cost of adding an international dial-in

number to your mobile phone (an example)
Cost component Cost
N umber of minutes of talk time per year 1 ,2 0 0
P er- minute SkypeO ut- to- mobile c all rate $ 0 .0 3
C os t of SkypeO ut c alls to mobile $36
SkypeI n annual s ubs c ription ( 3 0 per year) $ 3 7 .5 0
Total annual c os t $ 7 3 .5 0
6.4.1. See Also
"M ake C heap L ong- D is tanc e or I nternational C alls from

Your M obile P hone" [Hack #60]
Hack 63. Run Skype from a USB Memory
Stick
You can take Skype with you wherever you go, by putting it on
a USB memory stick that hangs on your key ring, and then
connecting through any machine having a USB port and Internet
connection.
Wouldn't it be nic e to take Skype with you, wherever you go?

Whether from a bus ines s c enter P C at a hotel, or from an
I nternet c afeindeed, from almos t any P C to whic h you have
ac c es s and whic h has an I nternet c onnec tionyou c an make a
Skype c all by c arrying Skype in your poc ket.
U SB memory s tic ks are a popular way of c arrying your es s ential

data with you wherever you go. But you c an als o c arry
applic ations on a U SB memory s tic k. T his hac k will s how you
how to put Skype on a memory s tic k, run Skype on a borrowed
mac hine, and mos t importantly, c lean up afterward s o that your
data is pres erved but is not left behind on the borrowed mac hine.
Simply running Skype on a mac hine that is

not your own and then logging on to your
Skype ac c ount is dangerous , bec aus e if
you fail to remove your Skype datafiles
properly, s omeone els e might be able to
us e your Skype ac c ount later. You mus t
therefore be c areful to c lean up and delete
your Skype pers onal data from the
borrowed mac hine.
For this hac k, you will need a U SB memory s tic k with enough
s pare memory to ins tall Skype and s ome extra files , and to s tore
your downloaded files s ay, a minimum of 3 2 M B. A nd, unles s you
are c ertain the mac hine you will be plugging your U SB s tic k into
has a mic rophone and s ound output, you will als o need a U SB
hands et or heads et too.
For the file manipulations that follow,

ac tions you perform at the c ommand line
you als o c an perform jus t as eas ily in the
Windows E xplorer file brows er, if you find
that environment more c omfortable. To find
out where the %appdata% environment
variable points to jus t type "ec ho
% appdata% " at the c ommand line.
6.5.1. Loading Skype onto a USB Stick
L oad Skype and your Skype data onto the memory s tic k by
following thes e s teps :
1. Stop Skype from running on your des ktop mac hine

(right- c lic k on Skype in the s ys tem tray, and then
c hoos e Q uit).
2. P lug your memory s tic k into a free U SB port. I n Windows

E xplorer, it s hould appear as a new drive letters ay, F:\.
3. C opy SkypeSetup.exe (whic h you c an download from

http://www.s kype.c om/download/, if you don't have it on
your hard drive) to your memory s tic k's root direc tory.
4. C reate a new direc tory on your memory s tic k us ing this

c ommand: MKDIR F:\Skypename, where Skypename is the
Skype name under whic h you log onto Skype.
5. C opy your Skype data from your des ktop mac hine to the
memory s tic k by running this c ommand: XCOPY /E /H /Y
"%appdata%\Skype\ Skypename" F:\Skypename.
6.5.2. Installing, Configuring, and Running

Skype
I f Skype is n't ins talled on the borrowed mac hine, ins tall it by
running the c ommand U:\SkypeSetup.exe, and following the
ins truc tions of the Skype s etup program.
With Skype ins talled on the borrowed mac hine, here's all you
need to do now to get up and running with Skype:
1. Stop Skype from running on the borrowed mac hine.
2. P lug your memory s tic k into a free U SB port. We'll

as s ume it maps to drive U :\ this time.
3. C reate a new direc tory on the borrowed mac hine by

running this c ommand: MKDIR
"% appdata%\Skype\Skypename".
4. C opy your Skype data to the borrowed mac hine by

running this c ommand: XCOPY /E /H /Y U:\Skypename
"% appdata% \Skype\Skypename".
5. Res tart Skype and log on as Skypename.
6. C hec k that the s ound devic e s ettings are c ompatible

with the borrowed mac hine (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … Sound D evic es ).
7. C hec k that the I nternet c onnec tion s ettings are

c ompatible with the borrowed mac hine (s elec t Skype
Tools O ptions … C onnec tion).
8. C all the Skype s ound tes t s ervic e (ec ho1 2 3 ) and tes t
that everything is working.
6.5.3. Cleaning Up
L eaving your pers onal Skype data on a borrowed mac hine runs
s everal ris ks , from c ompromis ing your privac y, to allowing
others to us e your Skype ac c ount and SkypeO ut c redits . Follow
thes e s teps after you're done with Skype on the borrowed
mac hine s o that your Skype pers onal data goes with you on your
U SB memory s tic k and, at the s ame time, is not left behind on
the borrowed mac hine:
1. Stop Skype from running on the borrowed mac hine.
2. C opy your Skype pers onal data from the borrowed

mac hine bac k to your U SB memory s tic k us ing this
c ommand: XCOPY /E /H /Y "%appdata%\ Skype\Skypename"
U:\Skypename.
3. E ras e your Skype pers onal datafiles from the borrowed

mac hine with this c ommand: RMDIR /S
/Q"%appdata%\Skype\Skypename".
4. U nplug your U SB memory s tic k.
Vers ion 1 .4 of Skype for Windows

introduc ed a c ommandline option that
enables you to s pec ify the loc ation where
Skype will s tore your pers onal data. By
running Skype like this : skype.exe
/datapath:"U:\Skypename" /removable; you
c an have Skype s ave your pers onal data
direc tly to your U SB memory s tic k and s o
avoid having to c lean up on the borrowed
mac hine. T he /removable c ommandline
option ens ures that nonexis tent paths
aren't written to the Windows regis try and
does other hous ekeeping for running
Skype from removable media.
I f you had to ins tall Skype on the borrowed mac hine before you
c ould us e it, you s hould unins tall Skype before s tepping away
from the borrowed mac hine (s elec t Start C ontrol P anel
A dd or Remove P rograms , s elec t Skype from the lis t of
c urrently ins talled programs , and c lic k the Remove button).
6.5.4. See Also
T here is a method of running Skype from a U SB memory

s tic k that maps mos t of your Skype data onto your
memory s tic k. I t us es a thirdparty utility to c reate
Windows "junc tion points ." H owever, the method works
only for N T FS files ys tems and requires a fairly highly
privileged us er ac c ount to get working. See
http://forum.s kype.c om/viewtopic .php? t=2 5 0 5 2 .
I f you like the idea of c arrying Skype on your key ring

wherever you go, but you are not c onfident of your ability
to follow the nec es s ary c onfiguration s teps in this hac k,
c ommerc ial produc ts are available. See
http://www.mplat.c om/ and http://www.ec hos tore.c om/.
Hack 64. Make Free Calls While on the
Move
Skype Zones provides Skype connectivity around the globe, but

at a price. Save money by using f ree alternatives.
Skype provides a s ubs c ription- bas ed s ervic e for Skype us ers

who want to make c alls and c hat while on the move; in fac t,
Skype has partnered with Boingo to provide wireles s ac c es s
points that s pan the globe (s ee "Roam the World with Skype
Zones " [Hack #7]). But free alternatives are available.
6.6.1. Skype WiFi Program
Seemingly in c ompetition with its paid s ubs c ription s ervic e,

Skype Zones , Skype has a free WiFi program. T hrough this
program, Skype as ks that independent providers of wireles s
I nternet ac c es s give free Skype- only ac c es s to Skype us ers ,
and advertis e the fac t in addition to making their wireles s
ac c es s points Skype friendly. Sadly, a lis t of partic ipating
partners and their loc ations is not available, s o you'll have to
keep a s harp eye out for the Skype logo on your travels . To find
out more, vis it http://www.s kype.c om/partners /wifi.html.
6.6.2. Hotspots
Hots pots are public ly available wireles s ac c es s points .

Sometimes hots pots are well public ized and other times you
have to hunt them down, an ac tivity c ommonly known as
wardriving. O nc e you've found a free I nternet ac c es s hots pot,
you may be able to us e Skype to make and rec eive c alls . M any
public libraries offer free wireles s I nternet ac c es s , as do s ome
hotels , c afes , and even metro- area c ommunities . G oogling on
"free wifi ("ac c es s point" O R hots pot)" will return a lis t of
direc tories for free, open- ac c es s hots pots ; here are a c ouple of
web s ites to get you s tarted:
http://metrofreefi.c om/
http://www.wififrees pot.c om/
T he us ual rules about bandwidth and latenc y (s ee "Tes t Your

I nternet C onnec tion Bandwidth" [Hack #33] and "Tes t Your
I nternet C onnec tion L atenc y" [Hack #34]) as well as Skype
friendlines s apply, but this is a great way to make and rec eive
free c alls while on the move.
6.6.3. Use Someone Else's Machine
You c an us e a mac hine with Skype already ins talled by s imply

logging off the c urrent Skype us er, and then logging in yours elf.
O f c ours e, firs t you s hould as k the mac hine owner's permis s ion,
and you s hould be aware of the dangers of leaving pers onal
information behind after you're done (s ee "E ras e a Skype U s er
A c c ount" [Hack #98]). But, this is one of the les s painful ways
to us e Skype on the move, as you're s tarting from the bas eline
from whic h Skype already works on that mac hine!
6.6.4. Carry Skype with You
You c an ins tall Skype on a borrowed mac hine, or run Skype from
a U SB memory s tic k on a borrowed mac hine (s ee "Run Skype
from a U SB M emory Stic k" [Hack #63]). Both methods might
require that you do s ome extra mac hine c onfiguration (s ound,
network, etc .) before Skype is up and running properly, and
there's the danger that you might leave s ome pers onal Skype
information behind on the hard dis k; but with a little patienc e,
mos t mac hines with the right s pec ific ation (s ee Table P - 1 in the
P refac e) and a dec ent, Skype- friendly I nternet c onnec tion c an
be c oaxed into running Skype.
Chapter 7. Skype Fun and
Play
H ac k 6 5 . Fun with Ringtones
H ac k 6 6 . Band Together with Skype
H ac k 6 7 . Stop I nc oming C alls from I nterrupting G ame

P lay
H ac k 6 8 . L earn to Speak a Foreign L anguage
H ac k 6 9 . Build Skype C ommunities

"H ave fun and play with your landline phone! " T hat s entenc e
does n't quite ring true, does it? P erhaps the reas on why is that
your regular landline phone has been in s tas is for dec ades , as
it's bas ed on a boring tec hnology that appears to be dead and
unmoving. T hat's mos t definitely not the c as e with Skype.
Skype is bas ed on new tec hnologies and a new minds et. I t is a

telephony tool that is evolving rapidly and enc ourages indeed,
almos t begs you to experiment and hac k with it. So have fun and
play around with thes e hac ks . I hope they are a s timulus to the
c reative and fun s ide of your imagination. D on't be afraid to
experiment and have fun on your own!
Hack 65. Fun with Ringtones
A re you tired of that boring, old "ring-ring" sound Skype makes?

Change it to something new and f unky!
N ow you c an buy ringtones direc tly through Skype as part of its

P ers onalis e Skype s ervic e:
http://pers onal.s kype.c om/wnf/t7 4 us /0 /m. But at $ 1 .2 0 for eac h
ringtone you purc has e, it's a form of c us tomization that c an get
expens ive quic kly.
T he good news is that you c an very eas ily make your own
ringtones , and this hac k s hows you how.
Skype us es .wav files (that is , files with a

.wav extens ion, whic h denotes a Windows
audio file format) for ringtones . But there
are a c ouple of res tric tions : they mus t be
mono and not s tereo, they mus t be of s hort
duration (s ec onds , not minutes ), and the
rec ordings mus t be made at relatively low
s ample rates , and therefore have a s mall
file s ize.
Ringtones are dis tinc tive s ounds that s ignal c ertain events in
Skype. By going to Skype Tools O ptions …
Sounds (s ee Figure 7 - 1 ) you c an c hange the ringtones that are
as s oc iated with thos e events .
Figure 7-1. Setting up ringtones for specific

Skype events
Few people realize that by default, Windows c omes with a whole
bunc h of "ringtones " that you c an us e with Skype. I n fac t, thes e
"ringtones " are the default s ounds you hear for c ertain Windows
events and other s ounds , but you c an us e them as ringtones
within Skype. To us e thes e ringtones with Skype, go to Skype
Tools O ptions … Sounds , and c lic k on one of the
middle buttons oppos ite the Skype event. So, for example, to
c hange the s ound for "ringtone" to s omething different, c lic k on
the middle button oppos ite the word ringtone. T his will dis play
the M y Sounds window (s ee Figure 7 - 2 ). C lic k on Brows e…, and a
file navigation and s elec t dialog will appear. N avigate to
C:\Windows \Media\ and pic k one of the .wav files s ay, tada.wav.
T he word tada will be added to the lis t in the M y Sounds window.
Selec t it and c lic k O K. N ow, whenever you rec eive an inc oming
c all, Skype will repeatedly play the "tada" s ound until you pic k
up or c anc el the c all. Windows c omes with a s mall but adequate
number of .wav s ound files that you c an us e as ringtones within
Skype. A nd they're all free!
I n terms of c reating your own ringtones for Skype, you have

s everal options . I c over three of them in the following three
s ec tions .
Figure 7-2. Choosing a ringtone sound for a

Skype event (in this case, Ringtone, which is the
sound you hear when an incoming call rings)
N ote that ringtones don't travel. T hat is , if
you log onto Skype on a different mac hine
under your us ual Skype nameand for whic h
you've s et up c us tom ringtones you will
have only the default Skype ringtones
available to you.
7.2.1. Use Windows Recorder
Windows Rec order is a utility that c omes with Windows (s elec t

Start A ll P rograms A c c es s ories E ntertainment
Sound Rec order). T his s imple s ound rec order takes s ound
input from, and outputs s ound to, whatever s ound devic es you
have c onfigured in Windows (s elec t Start C ontrol P anel
Sounds and A udio D evic es ). By feeding mus ic , other
s ounds , or your voic e into Windows Rec order, you c an c reate a
.wav file s uitable for us e as a ringtone for Skype. You even have
the option of applying s ome very bas ic s ound effec ts to your
rec ording (s elec t Windows Rec order E ffec ts ).
To hear a s imple ringtone I made us ing Windows Rec order,
download woop-woop-woop.wav from the book's web s ite,
http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html (s ee
Figure 7 - 3 ).
Figure 7-3. Use Windows Recorder to create

your own Skype ringtones
To us e with Skype the ringtones you c reate us ing Windows

Rec order, s imply put your .wav files in a c onvenient loc ation and
follow the proc edure outlined earlier for Windows ' own .wav files .
7.2.2. Find Free .wav Files to Use as Skype

Ringtones
G oogling on "free .wav (ringtones O R "s ound effec ts ")" will
produc e a lot of hits . H owever, one webs ite I partic ularly like for
its free Skype- c ompatible ringtones is at
http://www.partners inrhyme.c om/. P artners I n Rhyme is a web
s ite that has lots of royalty- free mus ic and s ound effec ts .
C lic king on the Free Sound E ffec ts link on the home page will
dis play a page of s ound effec ts , by c ategory (s ee Figure 7 - 4 ).
P artners I n Rhyme is a s ourc e of literally hundreds of s ounds
that you c an us e either direc tly as Skype ringtones , or as
ringtones after you've c onverted them to the proper audio file
format (dis c us s ed s hortly).
To us e with Skype the ringtones that are freely available on the

I nternet, s imply download .wav- format files (remember, they
mus t be mono, not s tereo) to your hard dis k at a c onvenient
loc ation and follow the proc edure outlined earlier for Windows '
own .wav files .
7.2.3. Convert Ringtones from Other

Formats to .wav
M any c ommerc ial, free, and open s ourc e audio file c onvers ion
utilities are availablejus t try G oogling on "s ound file c onvers ion
s oftware" and you'll be overwhelmed with c hoic es . H owever, one
audio file c onvers ion utility I c an rec ommend is SoX. T his open
s ourc e utility, whic h you c an download at
http://s ourc eforge.net/projec ts /s ox/, boas ts of being the Swis s
army knife of s ound- file c onvers ion utilities . A nd frankly, this is
no idle boas t!
SoX is a c ommandline utility that has a multitude of c ommand-

line options for twiddling with and fine- tuning audio file- format
c onvers ions . From ec ho to reverb effec ts , and from s tretc hing
s ounds to c hanging their s ample rate, SoX c an do it all. E ven s o,
for s imple, no- frills c onvers ions from one audio file format to
another, SoX makes the tas k eas y.
Figure 7-4. The Partners In Rhyme web site has

lots of royalty-free sound effects that you can
download and use as Skype ringtones
H ere's an example of how eas y it is :
1. D ownload a s ound from

http://www.partners inrhyme.c om/ that is n't in .wav
formats ay, guns hots .aiff (an A pple audio format file),
from the Fight Sounds c ategory.
2. O pen a c ommand prompt window (s elec t Start A ll

P rograms A c c es s ories C ommand P rompt).
3. I n the c ommand prompt window, navigate to the

direc tory where you put guns hots .aiff.
4. Run this c ommand at the prompt: sox gunshots.aiff

gunshots.wav.
5. To us e your newly c reated ringtone, guns hots .wav, follow

the proc edure outlined earlier for Windows ' own .wav
files .
O f c ours e, this example as s umes you have already downloaded

SoX-win from http://s ourc eforge.net/projec ts /s ox/ and plac ed
s ox.exe s omewhere on your exec ution path.
Hack 66. Band Together with Skype
A re your band members spread all over the world? No problem,

you can practice and jam together online with Skype.
J amming over the I nternet by us ing Skype might not be your

firs t c hoic e for band prac tic e, but if it's your only c hoic e, it's
worth a try. H ere's how to do it.
Before even thinking about jamming us ing Skype, there are three
things to c ons ider:
Bandwidth
You c an jam with up to four other band members by

means of a c onferenc e c all. But whoever hos ts the
c onferenc e c all s hould have enough available bandwidth
to s upport the c onferenc e c all, whic h roughly s c ales with
the number of partic ipants . So, figure out who in your
band has the bes t bandwidth and nominate that pers on
as the hos t for the jam s es s ion. U s e "Tes t Your I nternet
C onnec tion Bandwidth" [Hack #33] to tes t your I nternet
c onnec tion bandwidth. Whoever is hos ting the jam
s es s ion s hould budget a minimum of 1 2 8 Kbps of
bandwidth per s es s ion partic ipant, uplink and downlink,
and ideally have s ubs tantially more than this
minimums ay, 2 5 6 Kbps per partic ipant.
Latency
T his is the real killer for online jamming. I f the Skype

I nternet c onnec tion of one of your band members has a
latenc y that's greater than 2 5 0 ms , tempo and
s ync hronization will be diffic ult to maintain. U s e "Tes t
Your I nternet C onnec tion L atenc y" [Hack #34] to tes t
your I nternet c onnec tion latenc y.
I nterfacing your mus ical ins trument
A t a minimum, you will probably need a M us ic al

I ns trument D igital I nterfac e (M I D I )- c apable s ound
c ard, and more likely, you will need a full- featured
mus ic - mixing devic e (s omething like an M - A udio
FireWire 4 1 0 ; s ee http://www.m-
audio.c om/produc ts /en_us /FireWire4 1 0 - main.html) for
your P C to make your Skype jam s es s ions really roc k!
O f c ours e, for nonelec tronic ins truments , you'll als o
need a mic rophone.
T his las t item is important bec aus e without it, you fac e two
problems . You'll probably need a preamp to get the raw s ignal
output from your elec tronic ins trument into a form that is
s uitable to feed into your s ound c ard, and you will need to mix
multiple audio s treams at a minimum, your ins trument and
heads etand feed them into and out of Skype (s elec t Skype
Tools O ptions … Sound D evic es ). Both of thes e
problems are neatly s ide- s tepped by many mus ic - mixing
devic es that typic ally interfac e to your c omputer through U SB or
FireWire and c ome with a whole hos t of mus ic al ins trument
interfac es , audio mixing, and s ound driver (s oftware) features
Figure 7-5. Jamming together with Skype

Hack 67. Stop Incoming Calls from
Interrupting Game Play
Skype will switch to the desktop during game play unless you
conf igure it not to interrupt your f un.
M any games run in full- s c reen mode and don't like it when Skype
notific ations , c alls , or c hat interfere with game playfor example,
by minimizing a game at s ome c ritic al moment. T his problem is
exac erbated if you want to us e Skype as part of your online
gaming ac tivities for c ommunic ation with other players .
To minimize interferenc e by Skype with your game play, try thes e

s ugges tions :
Change your online s tatus
C hanging your online s tatus for Skype will affec t how

Skype behaves ; s pec ific ally, whether the Skype window
will open and grab foc us away from your game (s ee Table
7 - 1 ). C learly, s etting your online s tatus to O ffline or D o
N ot D is turb will s top Skype from opening and grabbing
foc us away from your game; but thes e modes als o mean
that you c annot us e Skype to ac c ept inc oming c alls
while you play.
Stop pop ups
You c an s top Skype from popping up windows for

inc oming c alls and c hat mes s ages , whic h c an interfere
with game play. To do this , s top Skype from running
(right- c lic k on Skype in the s ys tem tray and c hoos e
Q uit). Find your config.xml file, whic h is normally loc ated
at C:\Docu-ments and Settings \Username\Application
Data\Skype\Skypename\config.xml, where Username is the
name under whic h you log onto your mac hine and
Skypename is the name that you us e to log onto Skype.
O pen config.xml in N otepad or s ome other text editor.
L oc ate the <FriendsPopup> and <OthersPopup> XM L tags
under both the <Calls> and <Messages> parent tags . Set
their values to 0; that is , s et them like this :
<FriendsPopup>0</FriendsPopup> and
<OthersPopup>0</OthersPopup> under both <Calls> and
<Messages>. Save your c hanges , and then res tart Skype.
N ow your game play won't be interrupted by pop ups .
T hes e s ettings override the behavior des c ribed in Table
7 - 1 . You may als o want to c ombine thes e s ettings with
the s etting you'd us e to have Skype automatic ally
ans wer c alls (s elec t Skype Tools O ptions …
A dvanc ed, and then c hec k the "A utomatic ally
ans wer inc oming c alls " c hec kbox).
Switch off notifications
N otific ations are s mall pop ups that appear briefly, at the
lower right of your s c reen jus t above the s ys tem tray.
T hes e too c an interfere with game play, depending on the
game you're playing. You c an s elec tively s witc h off
thes e notific ations by s elec ting Skype Tools
O ptions … N otific ations (s ee Figure 7 - 6 ).
Multiple monitors
I f your mac hine has multiple monitors attac hed, s ome

games will play in full- s c reen mode on only one monitor,
leaving your other monitors to dis play the remainder of
your des ktop. M oreover, if you las t opened Skype s o that
it was dis played on one of the monitors that is n't us ed
by your game when in full- s c reen mode, and if you s et up
Skype to automatic ally ans wer c alls (by s elec ting Skype
Tools O ptions … A dvanc ed, and
c hec king the "A utomatic ally ans wer inc oming c alls "
c hec kbox), an inc oming c all will open Skype on one of
the free s c reens and ans wer the c all, but it might not
minimize your game in the proc es s , and therefore, it
might not s poil your fun. I s ay it might not minimize your
game bec aus e different games behave differently to
other ons c reen ac tivity, even if on a s eparate monitor.
Run Skype under a s eparate us er on your machine
T his is the only method guaranteed not to interrupt

game play. I f you run Skype in a different us er s es s ion, it
c an't affec t your game play. You s till c an us e Skype to
rec eive c alls and even play a role in your gameplay
ac tivities but without any pos s ibility of interferenc e. See
"Set U p M ultiple P hone L ines " [Hack #37] for details on
how to run Skype c onc urrently in a s eparate us er
s es s ion.
Table 7-1. How your Skype online status affects
Skype's open and focus behavior
Online status Incoming call will…
Skype not running N ot open Skype window
O nline A utomatic ally open and foc us Skype window
O ffline N ot open Skype window
Skype M e A utomatic ally open and foc us Skype window
A way A utomatic ally open and foc us Skype window
N ot A vailable A utomatic ally open and foc us Skype window
D o N ot D is turb N ot open Skype window
I nvis ible A utomatic ally open and foc us Skype window
Figure 7-6. Control what notifications appear,

and don't appear, by selectively enabling and
disabling them
7.4.1. See Also
For advic e on how bes t to edit config.xml and for other

Skype tweaks , s ee "Tweak Skype by E diting c onfig.xml"
[Hack #45].
Hack 68. Learn to Speak a Foreign
Language
Improve your spoken f oreign-language skills by joining a

practice group that includes native speakers, or by f inding
individual Skype users willing to talk with you in any language
of your choice.
You c an think of Skype as an international c ommunity that s pans

the globe. So if you are learning a language and you want to
prac tic e s peaking it with native s peakers of that language, this
hac k will help you.
To us e this hac k s ens ibly, you mus t

properly unders tand what Skype M e as an
online s tatus ac tually means . Skype M e is
rather like hanging out a notic e that s ays ,
"I 'm here and I want to be c ontac ted by
the wider Skype c ommunity." T his mode of
being online dis ables all of your privac y
s ettings , but only for the period when you
are in Skype M e mode. A ls o, this is the
only online s tatus mode that you c an us e
as part of a s earc h for Skype us ers (s elec t
Skype Tools Searc h for Skype
U s ers …, and then c hec k the "Searc h for
people who are in 'Skype M e' mode"
c hec kbox).
I f you're merely interes ted in s peaking one on one with a native

s peaker of a language, by far the fas tes t method of finding
s omeone willing to talk with you is to us e the Skype- M e! forum.
O pen a web brows er, enter the U RL
http://forum.s kype.c om/s earc h.php in the addres s bar, and in the
web page that is dis played type the language you're interes ted
in. T hen s elec t the Skype- M e! forum to s earc h, and c lic k on the
Searc h button (s ee Figure 7 - 7 ). T his will dis play a new web page
(or, more typic ally, s everal web pages ) of Skype us ers and Skype
us er groups who are interes ted in the language you s pec ified and,
mos t importantly, are willing to ac c ept c alls from people they
don't know (s ee Figure 7 - 8 ).
A n alternative way of finding native- language- s peaking partners

and groups of people interes ted in prac tic ing s peaking in a
s pec ific language is to join a Skype c ommunity of language
learners . O ne s uc h c ommunity is the J yve language- learning
group:
http://c ommunity.jyve.c om/lang_learning/language_learning.php.
J yve integrates well with Skype in that it's very eas y to talk and
c hat with other Skype us ers . J yve requires that you regis ter to
us e its Skype- c entric c ommunities , but us ing thes e
c ommunities is free. J yve allows you to foc us your efforts when
s earc hing for Skype foreign- language- s peaking partners ,
bec aus e J yve c aptures a good deal of information on your
language profic ienc y level and learning interes ts . By us ing
J yve's s earc h tools , you c an eas ily and quic kly find fluent
s peakers of your c hos en language, or find others like yours elf
who are at the s ame profic ienc y level and are willing to talk
online us ing Skype to prac tic e s peaking (s ee Figure 7 - 9 ).
Figure 7-7. Search the Skype-Me! forum for

native speakers of a language ( in this case,
Russian)
Hack 69. Build Skype Communities
Create a directory of Skype users who share similar interests,

theref ore building a community.
Figure 7-8. Native Russian speakers willing to

talk with other Skype users
A re you pas s ionate about a partic ular area or s ubjec t? T hen why
not build your own Skype c ommunity around that interes t to
s hare information, talk and c hat, and generally form a c ommunity
of like- minded Skype us ers !
You firs t enc ountered Skype c ommunities in "L earn to Speak a

Foreign L anguage" [Hack #68], where J yve
(http://www.jyve.c om/) was introduc ed. H owever, J yve is far more
than jus t a c ommunity for language learners , as you c an us e it to
c reate your own interes t groups . H ere's a s tep- by- s tep guide to
c reating your very own Skype- c entric c ommunity:
1. Firs t, you mus t regis ter with J yve. To regis ter with J yve
you mus t either be a Skype us er, or c ommit to ins talling
Skype and bec oming a us er in the near future. J yve, after
all, is an online c ommunity that us es Skype as the
"glue" that binds the c ommunity together. D uring the
regis tration proc es s , you mus t give up s ome pers onal
information (s ee Figure 7 - 1 0 ); but no one c hec ks the
ac c urac y of this information, s o you don't need to
divulge anything you don't feel c omfortable with.
2. N ext, go to the G roup area in J yve and s elec t from one of

the top- level c ategories lis ted. For example, c lic k on
C omputers & Tec hnology.
3. Below the top- level c ategories , you will us ually find a

number of s ubc ategories that further s ubdivide the
interes t area. C ontinuing our example, c lic k on Software.
4. T he Software c ategory is further s ubdivided into

additional c ategories . L et's c lic k on the M obile
C omputing c ategory.
Figure 7-9. Jyve has built communities of

Skype users around specific interests,
including learning a foreign language
5. U nder M obile C omputing, there are no more
s ubc ategories . For our example, let's now c reate a new
group c alled H ac king M obile D evic es . O n the web page
at H ome C omputers & Tec hnology Software
M obile C omputing, whic h is where we've navigated
to s o far in our example, there's a Start N ew G roup for
M obile C omputing button. C lic k on it and you'll be
pres ented with a web page in whic h to s et up the new
group (s ee Figure 7 - 1 1 ).
Figure 7-10. Information captured by Jyve

during the registration process
6. O nc e you've c reated your new group, you c an c us tomize
it with s uc h things as your own logo, invite others to join
the group, and otherwis e manage the group's ac tivities
(s ee Figure 7 - 1 2 ).
N ow you have a new Skype c ommunity whos e members are free

to c all and c hat with eac h other us ing Skype, as well as us e
other J yve online features s uc h as c ommunity forums , a s hared
c alendar of events , and muc h more.
Figure 7-11. Creating a new Jyve interest group

Figure 7-12. Newly created Skype community
for Hacking Mobile Devices
J yve is c urrently the mos t Skype- c entric c ommunity available

for Skype us ers . But other s uc h c ommunities are s ure to follow.
I n addition, you s hould perhaps not overlook alternative ways of
forming Skype c ommunities .
Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.c om/) and G oogle

(http://www.google.c om/) have their own group features : Yahoo!
G roups and G oogle G roups . A s earc h of either us ing the s earc h
term "Skype" s hows groups and ac tivities that are c entered on
Skype us ers (s ee Figure 7 - 1 3 ). Yahoo! G roups and G oogle
G roups are not as Skype- c entric , or as well integrated with
Skype as J yve. But they've been around longer, have a larger
us er bas e, are probably more familiar to mos t people, and in
many ways have better and more mature tools and features for
managing online c ommunities and groups . I f being Skype-
c entric is not that important to building your online Skype
c ommunityremember, anyone c an make their Skype name
available by inc luding it with their ordinary name in mes s age
pos tings Yahoo! G roups or G oogle G roups is worth c ons idering.
Figure 7-13. Yahoo! Groups already has several

active Skype communities
Chapter 8. Skype Chat and
Voicemail
H ac k 7 0 . L og C hat Ses s ions O uts ide of Skype
H ac k 7 1 . A utomatic ally Forward Voic email
H ac k 7 2 . L is ten to Voic email U s ing a U SB H ands et
H ac k 7 3 . Run C ommands Remotely U s ing C hat

Sometimes it is eas y to forget that Skype is about more than
jus t voic e c alls . Skype c hat and voic email are key features of
Skype in their own rightand both are well worth hac king!
T he V BSc ripts in this c hapter us e a neat

C O M c omponent c alled A c tiveS, whic h
you c an download free of c harge from the
Khaos L abs web s ite,
http://www.khaos labs .c om/ac tives .php. I t
is available in both s ourc e c ode and binary
form under a BSD - s tyle lic ens e.
V BSc ripts run us ing Windows Scripting

Hos t (WSH ), whic h is available by default
on Windows XP, but whic h you mus t ins tall
s eparately on Windows 2 0 0 0 . You c an
download WSH at
http://www.mic ros oft.c om/downloads /. U s e
the keyword "WSH " to find the appropriate
download page.
Hack 70. Log Chat Sessions Outside of
Skype
Skype can keep a history of your chat sessions, but there are
many reasons why you might want to log chat sessions outside
of Skype: to publish to a blog, or as an RSS f eed, or just as a
permanent record, f or instance. This hack shows you how to
build your own simple chat logger.
T here are a multitude of reas ons why you might want to keep a
permanent rec ord of your c hat s es s ions outs ide of Skype in the
form of a s imple text file. H aving s uc h a file might be us eful if
you want to publis h your c hats to a blog, or as an RSS feed, or
jus t for your rec ords . Whatever the reas on, s witc hing c hat
logging on and off is a s nap us ing this hac k.
You c an s et up Skype to keep a his tory of your c hat s es s ions

(s elec t Skype Tools O ptions P rivac y Keep
c hat his tory), but eac h s es s ion is kept s eparately. So if you want
the text for a partic ular c hat s es s ion, or all c hat s es s ions , you'd
better brac e yours elf for a lot of c ut and pas te! T his hac k
provides a means of c reating a s ingle logfile outs ide of Skype for
all of your c hat s es s ions .
T his hac k us es two s c ripts , s tart_chat_log.vbs and

s top_chat_log.vbs , to s tart and s top logging of c hat s es s ions ,
res pec tively.
U s e this s c ript, s tart_chat_log.vbs , to s tart logging a Skype c hat
s es s ion:
' File: start_chat_log.vbs
' To use this script yourself, you will need to change

' the path and filename of the chat log file stored
' in the variable strLogFile.
Dim objFSO, objLogFile, objSkype, objSemaphore

Dim strTempFolder, strSemaphoreName, strLogFile
Set objFSO = WScript.CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObj
Set objSkype = WScript.CreateObject("SkypeAPI.Access", _
"SkypeAPI_")
strLogFile = "C:\Temp\Skype\ChatLog.txt"
Set objLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(strLogFile, 8, True)
' Skype event handlers

Sub SkypeAPI_ChatMessageSent(ChatMessage)
Dim msg_from
Set msg_from = ChatMessage.MessageFrom
objLogFile.WriteLine("Chat sent by " & msg_from.Handle
" at " & Now & ":")
objLogFile.WriteLine(ChatMessage.Body)
objLogFile.WriteLine("")
End Sub
Sub SkypeAPI_ChatMessageReceived(ChatMessage)
Dim msg_from
Set msg_from = ChatMessage.MessageFrom
objLogFile.WriteLine("Chat received from " & msg_from.
" at " & Now & ":")
objLogFile.WriteLine(ChatMessage.Body)
objLogFile.WriteLine("")
End Sub
' Main script begins here

strTempFolder = objFSO.GetSpecialFolder(2)
strSemaphoreName = objFSO.BuildPath(strTempFolder, _
"chat_logging.tmp")
Set objSemaphore = objFSO.CreateTextFile(strSemaphoreName,
objSemaphore.Close
objSkype.ConnectAndWait 15000
Do While objFSO.FileExists(strSemaphoreName)
WScript.Sleep 500
Loop
objLogFile.Close
U s e this s c ript, s top_chat_log.vbs , to s top logging a Skype c hat

s es s ion:
' File: stop_chat_log.vbs

Dim objFSO, strTempFolder
objFSO.DeleteFile objFSO.BuildPath(strTempFolder, _
"chat_logging.tmp")
T he eas ies t way to us e thes e s c ripts is to turn them into

s hortc uts and as s ign them hotkeys . C reate a s hortc ut named
Start C hat L og that points to s tart_chat_log.vbs as its target,
then right- c lic k on the s hortc ut and c hoos e P roperties . I n the
s hortc ut properties dialog that is dis played, s elec t the tab
named Shortc ut, c lic k on the text entry field oppos ite "Shortc ut
key," pres s the key s equenc e you want as your hotkey (for
example, Shift- A lt- L for "L og"), and then c lic k O K. D o the s ame
for s top_chat_log.vbs , giving its s hortc ut the name Stop C hat
L og and a different hotkey s equenc e (for example, Shift- A lt- O
for "O ff"). N ow, beforeor even duringa c hat s es s ion, you c an
s witc h logging on and off us ing only a c ouple of hotkey
s equenc es !
Hack 71. Automatically Forward
Voicemail
Have all incoming voicemail f orwarded to an email address of

your choice as soon as it arrives.
T his is one of thos e features you feel s ure s hould be built into
Skype, but is n't. U ntil it is , you'll need a Skype addon to do the
job, and for automatic ally forwarding all your voic email to an
email addres s , there is no better tool than P amela P rofes s ional (
1 7 .5 0 , about $ 2 2 , from http://www.pamela- s ys tems .c om/).
Skype us es a proprietary and

undoc umented (outs ide of Skype, at leas t)
format for its voic email audio files , whic h
have a .dat file extens ion and c an normally
be found in this folder: C :\D oc uments and
Settings \Username\Application
Data\Skype\Skypename\voicemail, where
Username is the name us ed to log on to the
mac hine and Skypename is the name us ed to
log on to Skype. T his is unfortunate, as it
means you c annot eas ily lis ten to, arc hive,
or exc hange Skype voic email outs ide of
Skype.
Setting up voic email forwarding in P amela is s implic ity its elf.

Selec t P amela Tools O ptions E mail forwarding,
and s et up how, and to what email addres s , you want your
voic email forwarded (s ee Figure 8 - 1 ).
Figure 8-1. Setting up voicemail forwarding

using Pamela
P amela forwards your voic email as .wav files , whic h you c an play
eas ily by opening them (in your default playbac k applic ation for
.wav files ) from direc tly within the rec eived email (s ee Figure 8 -
2 ), or by s aving them to dis k for later. J us t right- c lic k on the
.wav file attac hment and c hoos e O pen or Save A s ….
P amela us es a format for the name of the attac hed voic email
audio file that tells you a good deal about who left you voic email,
and when. I ts format is ms g_ skypename_dd_mmm_yyyy_hh_mm_ss.wav,
where skypename is the name of the Skype us er who left the
voic email, dd_mm_yyyy is the date on whic h the voic email was left,
and hh_mm_ss is the time at whic h the voic email was left.
Figure 8-2. Playing voicemail (in this case, using

RealPlayer) forwarded by Pamela, directly from
the email message
Hack 72. Listen to Voicemail Using a USB
Handset
A re you tired of switching f rom your USB handset to your PC

sound system just to hear your voicemail? With this hack, you
don't have to switch f rom your USB handset to listen to
voicemail.
U ntil I c ame up with this hac k, I had to s witc h my playbac k

audio devic e within Skype (by s elec ting Skype Tools
O ptions … Sound D evic es ) jus t to hear my voic email
mes s ages . A nd if I forgot to s witc h bac k to my U SB hands et for
audio- out, no s ound would c ome out of the hands et during my
next c all. A ll very irritating.
T he good news is that you c an lis ten to your voic email

mes s ages us ing a U SB hands et that has a keypad, if you do the
following. Firs t, s witc h to the D ial tab. O therwis e, when you
pres s the # key on your hands et, Skype will mos t likely s tart a
c all if you are in either the C ontac ts or the C all L is t tab.
P res s ing the # key on your hands et while in the D ial tab will
effec tively put the hands et into lis ten and s peak mode, but as
there's no number or c ontac t to dial from within the D ial tab, no
c all will be s tarted. N ow s witc h to the C all L is t tab and s elec t the
voic email mes s age to lis ten to, and then c lic k the P lay button.
O nc e you're done lis tening to your voic email mes s age, hang up
in the us ual way and everything will be bac k to the way it was .
N o longer will you have to s c ramble to s witc h audio devic es in
the middle of a c all bec aus e you're able to s peak into your
hands et, but you c an't hear the pers on at the other end of the
c all.
O n many U SB hands ets , the # key tells

Skype to s tart a c all and effec tively puts
the hands et into lis ten and s peak mode.
H owever, if your hands et does n't us e the #
key for this func tion, you may have to
experiment to find the c orrec t key to do
the s ame thing.
N ow you c an lis ten to your voic email us ing your U SB hands et.
So why not als o rec ord your voic email greeting us ing a U SB
hands et that has a keypad, ins tead of having to us e a
mic rophone or heads et?
T his hac k is a variation of the firs t part of the hac k, and the
s ame c omments and warnings for that hac k apply here.
Rec ording your voic email mes s age us ing your U SB hands et,
without all the fus s and without needing to s witc h the audio- in
devic e bac k and forth from within Skype, is s imple, if you follow
thes e s teps .
Firs t, s witc h to the D ial tab. P res s the # key on your U SB

hands et to put it into lis ten and s peak mode. N ow, go to Skype
Tools O ptions … C all Forwarding & Voic email
and c lic k on the Rec ord button (s ee Figure 8 - 3 ). Speak your
greeting into your hands et to rec ord it. Stop rec ording by
c lic king the Stop button. C lic k the P laybac k button to replay
your mes s age us ing your hands et s peaker. I f you're s atis fied,
s ave your voic email rec ording and hang up as you would
normally. You've rec orded your voic email greeting, without the
fus s of s witc hing audio devic es .
Hack 73. Run Commands Remotely
Using Chat
Have you ever wanted to run a shell command on a remote

machine? This hack shows a simple way you can do this using
Skype chat as the communications mechanism.
H ave you ever wanted to run a c ommand on a remote mac hine?

I f s o, this hac k is for you.
By leaving Skype and this s c ript, run_command.vbs , running on a

remote mac hine, you c an us e Skype c hat to s end c ommands in
fac t, any c ommand you c ould run from the c ommand line were
you s itting at that c omputerto be exec uted on the remote
mac hine. M oreover, as c ommands will be exec uted only for a
named Skype us er, and bec aus e Skype c hat is enc rypted end to
end, you c an run the c ommands in a relatively s ec ure fas hion.
Figure 8-3. Record and play back your voicemail

greeting
' File: run_command.vbs
' To use this script yourself, you will need to change:

' 1) The name of the Skype user, held in strSkypeHostName,
' on the host machine that will run commands.
' 2) The name of the remote Skype user, held in
' strSkypeRemoteName, who is allowed to run commands
' on the host machine.
Dim objShell, objSkype, objExec, strChatID

Dim strSkypeHostName, strSkypeRemoteName
Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WSCript.shell")
"SkypeAPI_")
' Only process commands on this host for this remote user
strSkypeHostName = "ajtsheppard"
strSkypeRemoteName = "skypehackswindows"
' Initialize
strChatID = ""
Set objExec = Nothing
' Skype event handler
On Error Resume Next

Dim objMsgFrom, objChat
Set objChat = ChatMessage.Chat

strChatID = objChat.Name
Set objMsgFrom = ChatMessage.MessageFrom
If objMsgFrom.Handle = strSkypeRemoteName Then

Set objExec = objShell.Exec(ChatMessage.Body)
If Err <> 0 Then
objSkype.SendBlockingCommand("CHATMESSAGE " &
strChatID & _
" Unable to run:
ChatMessage.Body)
strChatID = ""
End If
Else
objSkype.SendBlockingCommand("CHATMESSAGE " & _
strChatID & _
" You are not authori
" to run: " & ChatMes
strChatID = ""
End If
End Sub

Do While True
WScript.Sleep 500
' Send a chat message back when the command has comple
If Not (objExec Is Nothing) Then
If objExec.status <> 0 Then
strChatID & _
" StdOut: " & _
objExec.StdOut.Re
strChatID & _
" StdErr: " & _
objExec.StdErr.Re
strChatID = ""
End If
End If
Loop
T he s c ript run_command.vbs will c ontinue running until it is

either killed explic itly, you log off, or you s hut down your
mac hine.
Running c ommands remotely has never been s o eas y. For

example, by running Skype and run_command.vbs on the target
(or hos t) mac hine with "ajts heppard" logged onto Skype,
"s kypehac ks windows " on a different mac hine c an s end a
c ommand as a c hat mes s age to "ajts heppard"s ay, calc (whic h is
what you would enter at the c ommand line on the remote target
mac hine to run C alc ulator, were you s itting there)and it will run
and pop up "C alc ulator" on the remote target mac hine (s ee
Figure 8 - 4 ). Running C alc ulator on a remote mac hine is jus t an
example, bec aus e any c ommand you c ould enter and run at the
c ommand line while s itting at the remote target mac hine, you
c an now run remotely us ing this hac k.
Figure 8-4. Running Calculator on a remote

machine using Skype chat
I t's als o important to realize that while the target mac hine mus t
be running Windows to take advantage of this hac k, any other
vers ion of Skype running anywhere c an be us ed to s end
c ommands to that target mac hine us ing c hat.
Chapter 9. Security and
Privacy
H ac k 7 4 . M anage Your Skype P rivac y Settings
H ac k 7 5 . Sc an Files Rec eived via Skype for V irus es
H ac k 7 6 . M anage (or D elete) Your Skype P ublic P rofile
H ac k 7 7 . A void Skype "Spammers "
H ac k 7 8 . C hoos e the Right U s ername to A void Being

H aras s ed
Skype, like any s oc ial c ommunity, has its plus es and minus es ,
its pros and c ons . I t is als o a c ommunity with a truly global
reac h. T here probably is n't a c ountry in the world that does n't
have s ome s ort of repres entation within the Skype c ommunity,
and for s ome c ountries thos e numbers are now very large.
H owever, like all s oc ial c ommunities and networks , Skype
repres ents all s orts of people, both good and bad. For that
reas on, you mus t take res pons ibility for, and c ontrol over, how
you interac t with the Skype c ommunity at large. T he hac ks in
this c hapter will help you do exac tly that, as they addres s
s ec urity and privac y is s ues aris ing from us ing Skype.
H aving s aid that, I s hould make you aware of two additional

s ec urity is s ues that I dis c us s els ewhere in this book. File
trans fer has the potential to infec t your c omputer with a virus , an
is s ue I dis c us s in this c hapter. H owever, it is pos s ible to dis able
Skype's file- trans fer func tion altogether (s ee "D is able Skype
File Trans fer" [Hack #58]). Similarly, the Skype A pplic ation
P rogramming I nterfac e (A P I ) has the potential to be mis us ed by
malic ious Skype add- ons , and c an s imilarly be dis abled (s ee
"D is able the Skype A P I " [Hack #100]).
Hack 74. Manage Your Skype Privacy
Settings
Manage your privacy settings to avoid being contacted by

people with whom you don't want to speak or chat.
You c an think of Skype as a large online c ommunity of people

that s pans the globe. T his c an be a wonderful res ourc e and an
almos t inexhaus tible s ourc e of s oc ial c ontac ts . H owever, if you
value your privac y, or are s imply les s interes ted in the s oc ial
as pec ts of Skype, us e the advic e in this hac k to tailor your
privac y s ettings s o that you have the vis ibility within the Skype
c ommunity that you des ire.
Before I dis c us s the s pec ific s of Skype's privac y s ettings , you

need to unders tand how your online s tatus , whic h is available to
other Skype us ers , affec ts how you interac t with others in the
Skype online c ommunity:
Online (default)
You c an make and rec eive c alls , c hat, and voic email.
You c an als o s end and rec eive files . Who c an c ontac t
you depends on your privac y s ettings .
Offline
T his s huts down Skype's c onnec tion to the I nternet, s o

no traffic flows between Skype running on your mac hine
and the Skype network. T his means you c an't make and
rec eive c alls , c hat, and voic email. N or c an you s end and
rec eive files .
Skype Me
T his is like hanging out a notic e that s ays , "I 'm here and
I want to be c ontac ted by the wider Skype c ommunity."
T his mode of being online dis ables all your privac y
s ettings , but only for the period in whic h you are in
Skype M e mode. A ls o, this is the only online s tatus
mode that you c an us e as part of a s earc h for Skype
us ers (s elec t Skype Tools Searc h for Skype
U s ers …, and in the s earc h window c hec k the "Searc h for
people who are in 'Skype M e' mode" c hec kbox).
Away
T his mode lets people know you are online, but that
you're away from your c omputer. You c an s et this online
s tatus to ac tivate automatic ally after a period of
inac tivity (s elec t Skype Tools O ptions …
G eneral, and enter the number of minutes of inac tivity
after whic h you want to automatic ally s witc h to A way
s tatus ; the default is 5 minutes , but entering a value of
0 will mean that you'll never automatic ally s witc h to
A way).
Not Available
T his is s imilar to A way, but indic ates that you are away
from your c omputer for a prolonged period. You c an s et
this online s tatus to ac tivate automatic ally after a
period of inac tivity (s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … G eneral, and then enter the number of
minutes of inac tivity after whic h you want to
automatic ally s witc h to N ot A vailable s tatus ; the default
is 2 0 minutes , but entering a value of 0 will mean that
you'll never automatic ally s witc h to N ot A vailable).
Do Not Dis turb
To others you are "O nline," but you will not be dis turbed
by ringing or popup notific ations for inc oming c alls or
c hat. A ll that you will s ee is a different Skype ic on in the
s ys tem tray indic ating that an event has oc c urred.
I nvis ible
To others you are O ffline, but you c an c ontinue to us e

Skype freely. H owever, you only look O ffline, and in
reality, your privac y s ettings for being O nline are in
effec t.
You c an c hange your online s tatus us ing the following methods :
Windows
U s e the pulldown menu in the lower- lefthand c orner of

the Skype window (s ee Figure 9 - 1 ). O r, from the menu
bar, s elec t Skype File C hange Status and
pic k one of the s ettings .
Linux

the Skype window. O r, from the menu bar, s elec t Skype
File C hange Status and pic k one of the
s ettings .
Mac OS X

the Skype window. O r, from the menu bar, s elec t Skype
A c c ount C hange Status and pic k one of the
s ettings .
Pocket PC
C lic k on the online s tatus button at the bottom of the

s c reen, and then pic k one of the s ettings .
Figure 9-1. Changing your online status using

the pull-down menu
Skype has s everal privac y- related s ettings that are under your
c ontrol. U nfortunately, you c an't s et them en mas s e, s o to
s peak. So you c an't, for example, s imply c lic k on a s ingle button
or menu item and have your privac y s ettings be s et to "high."
You have to s et privac y s ettings one by one. H owever, to help
you c ons truc t a privac y polic y of your own that is c ons is tent
with "very high," "high," "medium," and "low" privac y, you may
find Table 9 - 1 helpful. L ikewis e, thes e des c riptions of the terms
us ed in the table may als o be helpful:
Anyone
A s its name s ugges ts , this privac y s etting means
anyone c an c all you or s end c hat to you.
Contacts only
N o one outs ide your C ontac ts lis t c an c all or c hat with

you. I n this c as e, people who try to c all you will be
refus ed, but with an informative mes s age (s ee Figure 9 -
2 ).
Authorized people only
T his means that only people you have explic itly

authorized c an c all or c hat with you. When s omeone
reques ts authorization, you have three c hoic es : allow
the pers on to s ee and c ontac t you (in whic h c as e, you
als o have the c hoic e of whether to add them to your
C ontac ts lis t); allow the pers on to c ontac t you, but don't
notify them when you're online; and bloc k the pers on
from c ontac ting you.
Known numbers
Known numbers are numbers that you have s et up in

your SkypeO ut lis t. Skype will ac c ept only inc oming
c alls from thes e numbers .
His tory
Your c hat his tory may c ontain s ome private exc hanges
with others , s o it is s omething you might want purged
from your c omputer from time to time.
Show my picture
You c an c hoos e for whic h c ontac ts your profile pic ture

s hould appear during a c all or c hat.
Enable Bonj our
Bonjour is a zero- c onfiguration wireles s c onnec tion

tec hnology from A pple. You c an auto- authorize Bonjour
c ontac ts for us e within Skype.
Figure 9-2. When you tell Skype to restrict the

calls you receive, any nonauthorized caller
normally gets an informative message as to why
their call failed
You always have the option of ac c epting or
rejec ting file- trans fer reques ts . C learly,
don't ac c ept any file trans fer from anyone
you don't know. I n fac t, think twic e about
ac c epting file trans fers from people you do
know! A c c epting files from anyone, known
or unknown, runs the ris k of infec ting your
c omputer with a virus . T hat is why you
s hould s c an every file you download for
virus es . I dis c us s this topic in another
hac k in this c hapter (s ee "Sc an Files
Rec eived via Skype for V irus es " [Hack
#75]).
Table 9-1. Suggested privacy settings for "low,"

"medium," "high," and "very high" privacy
Privacy
Def ault Low Medium High Very high
setting
O nline
s tatus :
O nline
O nline
s tatus :
Skype M e
O nline
s tatus : D o
N ot D is turb
O nline
s tatus :
I nvis ible
C alls :
A nyone
C alls :
C ontac ts
only
C alls :
A uthorized
people only
SkypeI n:
A nyone
SkypeI n:
Known
numbers
SkypeI n: M y
c ontac ts
C hat:
A nyone
C hat:
C ontac ts
only
C hat:
A uthorized
people only
C hat: O ne Two
Forever N one
H is tory month weeks
Show my
pic ture (M ac A uthorized A nyone C ontac ts C ontac ts A uthorized
only)
E nable
Bonjour (M ac
only)
You c an s et privac y options for SkypeI n

only if you are a SkypeI n s ubs c riber. A nd
even if you are a SkypeI n s ubs c riber, you
c an't s et SkypeI n privac y options us ing
the P oc ket P C vers ion of Skype.
You c an c hange your online s tatus us ing one of the methods
des c ribed earlier in this hac k. You c an s et the other options in
Table 9 - 1 as follows .
Windows and Linux
Selec t Skype Tools O ptions … P rivac y

Mac OS X
Selec t Skype P referenc es … P rivac y, and

Skype P referenc es … C hat for c hat his tory.
Pocket PC
Selec t Skype Tools O ptions ….
Figure 9-3. Privacy options (if you are not a

SkypeIn subscriber, the category "Allow
SkypeIn calls from" does not appear)
Relations hips c hange. P artners hips c hange. For this reas on,
Skype allows you to c hange the authorization s tatus of exis ting
c ontac ts and, if nec es s ary, bloc k them. N ote that deleting a
c ontac t does not nec es s arily bloc k the c ontac t, as that depends
on your privac y s ettings . For example, if you allow c alls from
"A nyone," a deleted c ontac t c an s till c all. I n c ontras t, bloc ked
us ers c annot s ee your online s tatus , nor c an they c ontac t you in
any way.
To bloc k unwanted c alls , c hats , and SkypeI n c alls , you mus t

either rais e the level of your privac y s ettings , or bloc k s pec ific
Skype us ers . To do the latter, you have the following methods
available to you.
Windows and Linux
I n the C ontac ts or C all L is t tab, right- c lic k on a c ontac t

or c all and c hoos e "Bloc k this U s er." T his will dis play a
dialog that will enable you to bloc k and, if des ired,
remove the s elec ted us er from your C ontac ts lis t (s ee
Figure 9 - 4 ). A lternatively, or to manage your c omplete
lis t of bloc ked us ers , s elec t Skype Tools
M anaged Bloc ked U s ers …or (Windows only) Skype
Tools O ptions … P rivac y and c lic k on
"M anage bloc ked us ers ."
Mac OS X
I n the C ontac ts or C all L is t tab, c lic k on a c ontac t or
c all, and then s elec t Skype C ontac ts Bloc k.
To manage your c omplete lis t of bloc ked us ers , s elec t
Skype C ontac ts M anage Bloc ked U s ers ….
Pocket PC
I n the C ontac ts or L og tab, c lic k and hold the s tylus on

a c ontac t or c all, and then from the popup lis t, c hoos e
"Bloc k this U s er." For the P oc ket P C vers ion of Skype,
there is no option available to manage your c omplete lis t
of bloc ked us ers . You mus t bloc k and unbloc k eac h us er
from within the C ontac ts or L og tab.
Figure 9-4. Blocking a user

I f nec es s ary, you c an unbloc k bloc ked us ers . T he proc edure is
more or les s identic al to that for bloc king a us er, exc ept you will
need to c hoos e "U nbloc k this U s er" at the s ame points at whic h
you were previous ly given the c hoic e to "Bloc k this U s er."
Hack 75. Scan Files Received via Skype
for Viruses
Check f iles you receive via Skype f ile transf er immediately f or

viruses.
File trans fer us ing Skype is both s imple and s ec ure. Sec ure in
the s ens e that files are trans ferred us ing end- to- end enc ryption,
not in the s ens e that they are free from virus es .
You s hould never ac c ept file trans fers from s trangers . But even
rec eiving files from friends and c ontac ts is not without s ome
ris k. Whoever is s ending you a file might be doing s o from a
mac hineunknown to themthat is infec ted with virus es . By
s ending you a file, they may unwittingly infec t your mac hine too.
Skype is well aware of this potential vector (means of infec tion)
for virus es , and that is why the rec ipient of a file trans fer always
has the option of ac c epting or rejec ting the file trans fer.
M oreover, Skype is quite explic it about the need to s c an
rec eived files for virus es (s ee Figure 9 - 5 ).
Figure 9-5. Skype warns of the potential for

infecting your machine with a virus by accepting
a file transfer (Linux)
Fortunately, s c anning files for virus es and, in s ome c as es , fixing
them is eas y with mos t of today's antivirus s oftware. M os t
antivirus s oftware has a nic e G U I that allows you to s c an your
whole mac hine, or a s pec ific file or folder. So, immediately after
rec eiving any file, you s houldbefore opening its c an it for virus es .
By default, Skype depos its trans ferred file into thes e folders :
Windows
C:\Documents and Settings \ UserName\My Documents\My

Skype Received Files
Linux
/home/ UserName
Mac OS X
/home/ UserName/Library/Application
Support/Skype/SkypeName
UserName is the us ername you us e to log on to your mac hine, and

SkypeName is the name under whic h you s igned into Skype.
I f you are the type of pers on who s huns the G U I , you always
have the option of s c anning rec eived files at the c ommand line.
H ere are s ome examples of s c anning from the c ommand prompt:
Windows (A V G Free E dition, http://free.gris oft.c om/)
cd C:\Documents and Settings\Andrew Sheppard\My Do

Received Files
AVG /clean /arc /report scan.log /scan *.*
L inux (C lam A ntiV irus , http://www.c lamav.net/)

cd /home/shep
clamscan-recursiveremove --stdout . > scan.log
M ac O S X (C lam A ntiV irus , http://www.c lamav.net/)
cd /home/shep/Library/Application Support/Skype/sk
clamscan-recursive-removestdout . > scan.log
I n thes e examples , I us ed the free antivirus s oftware lis ted.

H owever, if you us e s omething different, c hec k your produc t's
doc umentation, as you will mos t likely find that you c an run it
from the c ommand line.
Sc anning trans ferred files c an s oon bec ome a c hore you c ould
do without. Fortunately, automating the proc es s is eas y, as
thes e s c ripts demons trate. E ac h time a new file appears in your
default file- trans fer folder, it will be s c anned and, if pos s ible,
c leaned of any virus es . O r, if nec es s ary, the file will be removed
(deleted).
A ll the s c ripts pres ented in this hac k will

s tart s c anning files in your default Skype
file- trans fer folder only after they s tart
running. I n the c as e of Windows and L inux,
you c an have the s c ripts do an initial s c an
on s tartup as well by c hanging the initial
file c ount outs ide the do- while loop, like
this : num_files = 0 (Windows ), numfiles = 0
(L inux).
9.3.1.1. Windows (VBScript, AVG Free

Edition).
' File: virus_scan.vbs
' To use this script yourself, you will need to

' change skype_file_transfer_folder and
' run_anti_virus to be compatible with folder
' locations and the anti-virus software you
' have installed on your computer. Files infected
' with a virus are cleaned automatically.
Dim objShell, objFSO, objFolder, objFiles, objExec
Dim skype_file_transfer_folder, num_files, run_anti_virus
skype_file_transfer_folder = "C:\Documents and Settings\"
............................ "Andrew Sheppard\My Documents
............................ "My Skype Received Files"
run_anti_virus = "C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Free\AVG.ex
................ "/clean /arc /report scan.log /scan *.*"
Set objFolder = objFSO.GetFolder(skype_file_transfer_folde

Set objFiles = objFolder.Files
num_files = objFiles.Count
Do
....If objFiles.count > num_files Then
........objShell.CurrentDirectory = skype_file_transfer_fo
........Set objExec = objShell.Exec(run_anti_virus)
........Do While objExec.Status = 0

............WScript.Sleep 100
........Loop
....End If
....num_files = objFiles.count
....WScript.Sleep 5000 ' Go to sleep for 5 seconds
Loop While True
9.3.1.2. Linux (Python, Clam AntiVirus).
#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: iso-8859-15 -*-
# File: virus_scan.py
# To use this script yourself, you will need to

# change the paths to be compatible with folder
# locations and the anti-virus software you
# have installed on your computer. Files infected
# with a virus are removed automatically.
import os, time, sys
def num_files():
....file_count = 0
....for root, dirs, files in os.walk('/home/shep/skype_fil
........file_count += len(files)
....return file_count
def main():
....numfiles = num_files()
....while 1:
........if num_files() > numfiles:
............output = os.popen('clamscan --recursive ' \
............+ '--remove --stdout ' \
............+ '/home/shep/skype_file_transfer').read( )
............file = open(r'/home/shep/' + \
............'skype_file_transfer/scan.log', 'a')
............file.write('---- START SCAN ----\n\n')
............file.write(output)
............file.write('\n---- END SCAN ----\n\n')
............file.close( )
............print output
........numfiles = num_files( )
........time.sleep(5)
....return 0
if __name__ == "__main_ _":

....main( )
9.3.1.3. Mac OS X (AppleScript, Clam

AntiVirus).
T his A ppleSc ript, virus _s can.s cpt, c an be attac hed to a folder-

ac tionin this c as e, the "new item alert" ac tionthat will run the
s c ript every time a new file is added to your default folder for file
trans fers . T his means that every time you ac c ept a file trans fer
to this folder, the s c ript will run and c hec k it for virus es .
To s et up a folder- ac tion, in the Finder applic ation loc ate the

default Skype file- trans fer folder, C trl- C lic k on it, c hoos e A ttac h
a Folder A c tion…, and then attac h the virus _s can.s cpt s c ript.
N ow, every time you ac c ept a file trans fer, you know it will be
s c anned for virus es immediately. T his s c ript will run on ac tion
until you dis able or delete the folder- ac tion with whic h it is
as s oc iated. E ven after rebooting, it'll s till be there doing its job!
To have virus _s can.s cpt available as a folder- ac tion s c ript, you

mus t put it in the folder- ac tion s c ripts folder,
/Library/Scripts /Folder Action Scripts /:
-- File: virus_scan.scpt
-- To use this script yourself, you will need to

-- change the path to be compatible with folder
-- locations and the anti-virus software you
-- have installed on your computer. Files infected
-- with a virus are removed automatically.
do shell script "cd /home/shep/Library/Application Support
skypehacksmac ; clamscan-recursive-remove -stdout . >> sca

Hack 76. Manage (or Delete) Your Skype
Public Profile
Having a comprehensive online public prof ile f or Skype can be a

great way f or people to f ind you, but you should be caref ul in
terms of what you make public and what you keep private.
Your public profile is how you advertis e whom and what you are
to the Skype c ommunity. A s s uc h, it c an be a great res ourc e.
But like any res ourc e, it s hould be managed.
Before dis c us s ing how to manage (or delete) your Skype profile,
it's worth paus ing a moment or two to unders tand how Skype
maintains your profile. Without s uc h an unders tanding, you
c annot manage your profile intelligently.
Your profile is s tored on the Skype network. T his is good in the

s ens e that your profile follows you wherever you go: fly halfway
around the world and log onto Skype, and there it will be; the
s ame profile you las t s aw at home.
But bec aus e of how Skype's peer- to- peer tec hnology works ,
your profile typic ally pers is ts for only around 7 2 hours following
your las t us e of Skype. T hat is , after 7 2 hours of being offline,
s omeone who is s earc hing for you by means of the profile you
s tored on the Skype network might not find you.
A nother thing to bear in mind is that Skype names pers is t

forever; that is , names are never rec yc led or reus ed. So, in s ome
s ens e, you never c an delete a Skype name. L ater in this hac k, I
will s how you how to get as c los e as pos s ible to eradic ating a
Skype ac c ount from the fac e of the E arth!
9.4.1. Manage Your Profile
You manage your profile through the M y P rofile dialog (s elec t

Skype File M y P rofile…on Windows , Skype File
Your P ers onal P rofile…on L inux, or Skype A c c ount
M y P rofile…on M ac O S X; managing your profile is not
available on P oc ket P C ); s ee Figure 9 - 6 .
When c reating and later managing your Skype profile, you s hould
think c arefully about the following:
A ll profile information is optional.
Your profile is what you make public to the Skype

c ommunity. Be c areful not to give too muc h away.
E verything in your profile, exc ept your email addres s , is
available for any Skype us er to s ee. H owever, even your
email addres s c an be us ed in a Skype us er s earc h (in
whic h c as e, the pers on s earc hing mus t c learly already
know it).
Figure 9-6. Updating your Skype profile

Your profile follows you wherever you go, but your avatar
pic ture will not.
Some people don't ac c ept c alls or c hat from anyone who

does n't have a fairly c omplete profile. T he rationale is
that if you're willing to s hare details about yours elf,
you're les s likely to be a mis c hief- maker and people c an
find you more eas ily.
T he information you put in your profile does n't have to

be true (whic h negates the prec eding point to s ome
degree), as it's not c hec ked or validated by Skype, or by
anyone els e.
A ll profile data is s igned digitally, to make it impos s ible

to tamper with it.
9.4.2. Delete Your Profile
Bec aus e your profile as s tored on the Skype network typic ally
expires after 7 2 hours of being offline, one option to "delete"
your Skype profile is s imply to let it expire and die a natural
death. H owever, as Skype is a c los ed s ourc e applic ation and its
polic y of how profile data is s tored is s ubjec t to c hange, how c an
you really know when, and if, all your profile data was deleted?
For this reas on, and for peac e of mind, I rec ommend overwriting
your entire profile with junk data and updating your online profile.
9.4.3. Hacking the Hack (Windows Only)
To help you to delete (overwrite) your Skype profile with a s imple

c lic k of the mous e, you c an us e the following keys troke
s equenc e. N ote that this keys troke s equenc e us es the V BSc ript
drive_s kype.vbs , whic h you'll need to have on your mac hine and
on your path (s ee "A c c elerate Skype U s ing Your Keyboard"
[Hack #44] for details ). Simply make the following c ommand the
target of a s hortc ut, or run it from the run line (s elec t Start
Run…), and your profile will be his tory in a few heartbeats ! T his
c ommand might be partic ularly us eful if you have, or as part of
your job are res pons ible for, s everal Skype names , and all of
them need to have their profiles zapped. I f you don't want to
enter this c ommand by hand and would prefer to us e c ut and
pas te, you c an download the c ommand as a text file,
delete_profile.txt, from the book's web s ite,
drive_skype.vbs "^+S|%(FM)|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{
{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL
{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|^A{DEL}|{T
{ENTER}|{TAB}|{DEL}|{TAB}|{ENTER}"
Hack 77. Avoid Skype "Spammers"
Skype, like any other online service, has its dark side. Here are
some tips on how to avoid spammers.
U nles s you have inc redibly res tric tive Skype privac y s ettings ,
you will at s ome time or another experienc e s ome form of
unwanted attention from s pammers . T he term s pammer, as us ed
in this hac k, is a pers on who c ontac ts you (or attempts to
c ontac t you, pos s ibly repeatedly) by voic e (phone c alls or
voic email mes s ages ), c hat, or file trans fer and who wants
s omething from you. C harac teris tic ally, this attempt to
c ommunic ate with you is uns olic ited on your part.
Fortunately, Skype provides s everal tools to thwart s pammers .

T hes e, in c ombination with s ome c ommon s ens e, c an do a lot to
make s pammers only an oc c as ional nuis anc e, rather than a
c ontinuous annoyanc e. H ere's a c hec klis t of things to do to
thwart s pammers :
C hoos e a s ens ible Skype name. A void anything

provoc ative or that might attrac t unnec es s ary attention.
C onfigure your Skype privac y s ettings as des c ribed

earlier in this c hapter.
C ontrol when you are online, by us ing your online s tatus
or by c ontrolling when Skype runs . N ever make your
s tatus "Skype M e," as that temporarily ignores your
privac y s ettings .
I f you have a SkypeI n number (whic h allows people with

regular telephones to c ontac t you), be c areful whom you
give it to. A ls o, add your number to a regis try that lis ts
your number as not wanting uns olic ited c alls from
telemarketers . Suc h regis tries inc lude
https ://www.donotc all.gov/ in the U .S., and
http://www.tps online.org.uk/tps / in the U K. You c an
lodge c omplaints through thes e web s ites too.
Some SkypeI n c alls lis t the number that is c alling in the

c all window. T his number als o is rec orded in your c all
lis t. I f the s pammer is partic ularly offens ive or
pers is tent, or both, you c an always pas s this number on
to the polic e and s ee what they c an do. I n this c as e, you
might want to rec ord s ome of the c alls as evidenc e.
D on't let c hildren us e Skype without c los e parental

s upervis ion.
U nfortunately, there is no meaningful mec hanis m for reporting

s pammers to Skype s o that it c an take ac tion on your behalf. A s
a las t res ort, you always have the option of s etting up a new
Skype name and a new SkypeI n number, as there's no res tric tion
on how many you c an have of either of thes e. T his may be
inc onvenient for c ontac ts you want to c all, as you need to inform
them of your new Skype name (and SkypeI n number, if you are a
s ubs c riber), but hopefully, it will s olve your old s pammer
problem. O f c ours e, you s till run the ris k that new s pammers will
find you!
9.5.1. Hacking the Hack (Windows Only)
Spammers might be more reluc tant to target you repeatedly if

you c an fight bac k. P erhaps they might be more reluc tant to c all
again if you c an tell them that you have their I P addres s , whic h
in s ome c as es , c an be us ed to trac e where they are c alling from.
H ere's how you c an find a s pammer's I P addres s (voic e c all or

c hat):
1. E nable "D is play tec hnic al c all info" (s elec t Skype

Tools O ptions … A dvanc ed, and c hec k the
"D is play tec hnic al c all info" c hec kbox), as this will allow
you to determine during a phone c all whether the other
party is c onnec ted direc tly with you or whether the c all
is being relayed. U nfortunately, this does n't work for
c hat, s o you'll have to as s ume a direc t c onnec tion. T his
method of finding a s pammer's I P addres s works only if
your c onnec tion is direc t and is not being relayed.
2. Keep the other pers on talking or exc hanging c hat

mes s ages while you follow s teps 3 through 6 , as this
proc edure works only while there is a c ommunic ations
link between you and the other pers on.
3. C hec k whether the pers on you are talking to has a direc t

c onnec tion with you. With "D is play tec hnic al c all info"
enabled, let your mous e hover over their avatar pic ture
in the c all window and the tec hnic al details of the c all
will be dis played in a popup window. L ook at the number
of "Relays " you have; for direc t c ommunic ation, you will
s ee a value of 0 .
4. O pen a c ommand prompt window (s elec t Start

A c c es s ories C ommand P rompt), enter the
c ommand netstatb, and pres s Return. You s hould s ee
s omething s imilar to that s hown in Figure 9 - 7
(inc identally, the figure s hows a fake I P addres s ).
5. A rmed with the output of netstat, you c an enter the I P

addres s you found in an "I P loc ator" web page (G oogling
on "I P loc ator" will provide a lis t), whic h may then be
able to tell you the c aller's phys ic al loc ation (s ee Figure
9 - 8 , whic h s hows the output you get from the I P loc ator
at http://www.geobytes .c om/I pL oc ator.htm). You s hould
be aware that this is not an exac t s c ienc e, and finding
s omeone's loc ation from their I P addres s is by no
means c ertain; indeed, s ome I P loc ators give an
es timate of the c ertainty with whic h they have loc ated
the remote I P addres s (s ee the C ertainty box in Figure
9 - 8 ).
6. Send this c hat mes s age if c hatting, or s ay this if in a

c all: "I know where you are, you're c alling from X"
(s ubs titute the loc ation you obtained from the I P loc ator
for X). T his might be a s uffic ient deterrent for s c aring
away s ome s pammers .
Sadly, like many weapons , netstat and I P loc ator are like a two-
edged s word, in that another pers on c an us e them to find out
where you are! T his is one oc c as ion in whic h s itting behind a
res tric tive and P eer- to- P eer (P 2 P )- unfriendly firewall works to
your advantage, as it is more likely that your c alls will be
relayed rather than direc ted.
Figure 9-7. Running netstat during a call or chat
session can sometimes reveal the other party's
IP address
Figure 9-8. Output from an IP locator that

indicates the physical location of an IP address
9.5.2. See Also
"M anage Your Skype P rivac y Settings " [Hack #74]
"C hoos e the Right U s ername to A void Being H aras s ed"

[Hack #78]
"Run Skype Bas ed on T ime of D ay" [Hack #41] or

"Sc hedule When Skype Runs the M ac Way" [Hack #42]
Hack 78. Choose the Right Username to
Avoid Being Harassed
Choosing the wrong Skype username can cause you a lot of

aggravation, particularly if you are a woman. Follow these
simple rules to make yourself a less likely target f or
harassment.
T his hac k begins with a true s tory. A fter I 'd been us ing Skype for
about a year, I dec ided to s et up a Skype ac c ount and us ername
for my wife. For her Skype name, I c hos e the nic kname by whic h
s he is known at work, whic h happens to inc lude the word girl in it.
Within four hours of s etting up the name, s he had rec eived five
authorization reques ts , all c learly from men, all c learly
reques ting s ome form of intimate c ommunic ation (or wors e), and
from all over the world. I don't s peak Finnis h, I talian, or D utc h,
but the two mes s ages in E nglis h that ac c ompanied the
authorization reques ts were explic it. A ll of this oc c urred in the
s pac e of four hours , pres umably bec aus e my wife's us ername
inc luded the word girl! I n s tark c ontras t, the previous year I had
rec eived only one unwanted reques t for authorization, and that
reques t very obvious ly c ame from s omeone who c learly knew
s omeone els e with the s ame name.
I n my mind, this quic kly drove home the mes s age that there are
large numbers of men out therein the Skype c ommunitywho do
little els e than s earc h for Skype us ers having s educ tive female
names . I 'm not s aying that thes e men are over- repres ented in
the Skype c ommunity, only that they're there, jus t as they are in
s oc iety.
Before working through a c hec klis t of what makes for a good

Skype us ername, let's firs t review the rules of c ons truc ting a
valid Skype name. Suc h a name:
M us t be at leas t 6 c harac ters in length and, at mos t, 3 2

c harac ters
M us t s tart with a letter (digits [0 through 9 ] c an be us ed

anywhere, exc ept as the firs t c harac ter)
C annot have any s pac es or tabs
C an inc lude unders c ores (_), hyphens (- ), periods (.),

and c ommas (,)
C annot inc lude the following c harac ters : ! @ # $ % ^ &

* ()[]{}+=| \~`:;" ' <>? /
I f you want to avoid being haras s ed jus t bec aus e of the words
us ed in your Skype name, you c an follow this "rec ipe" of things
to leave out of your Skype name:
What s ex you are
A void j ane_s ingle_female.

What faith you are
A void mus lim_j ane.
Where you live
A void j ane_branford_ct_us a.
How old you are
A void fourteen_year_old_j ane.
What ethnicity you are
A void chines e_j ane.
Where you work
A void j ane_s mall_xyz_corp.
What you do
A void j ane_the_phys ician.
How wealthy you are

A void loads _of_money_j ane.
I t's s trange that s omething as s imple as your Skype name c an

make you a target for haras s ment and ne'er- do- wells , but as my
wife's experienc e proved, it mos t c ertainly c an. C learly, anyone
c an be a target if he's not c areful about how he c hoos es his
Skype name. A s for me, I s eem to be doing rather well us ing the
Skype name grumpy_old_man_naff_off!
9.6.1. See Also
To s et up your privac y s ettings within Skype, s ee

"M anage Your Skype P rivac y Settings " [Hack #74].
Chapter 10. Quirks, Gotchas,
and Workarounds
Sec tion 1 0 .1 . H ac ks 7 9 8 5 : I ntroduc tion
H ac k 7 9 . A void P roblems with I nterac tive Telephone

Servic es
H ac k 8 0 . Find a Fax A lternative
H ac k 8 1 . Workarounds for 9 1 1 E mergenc y Servic e
H ac k 8 2 . Workarounds for 4 1 1 D irec tory A s s is tanc e
H ac k 8 3 . Workarounds for H ome A larm Sys tem

M onitoring
H ac k 8 4 . Trans fer Folders , N ot J us t I ndividual Files
H ac k 8 5 . D ial with M ore T han J us t D igits

Skype is a s ophis tic ated piec e of s oftware and bundle of
s ervic es . But it ain't perfec t, as the s aying goes .
T his c hapter deals with Skype's s hortc omings the ugly

underbelly of Skype, s o to s peak. T he good news is that Skype is
c ontinuous ly improving, s o many of the quirks and gotc has that
are with us today will be fixed over time. But in the meantime,
the following workarounds may be of help.
Hack 79. Avoid Problems with Interactive
Telephone Services
Skype is known to have real problems when interacting with

telephone systems that instruct callers to enter key codes by
pressing numbers on the phone's keypad. A t best, it is
unreliable, and at worst, it doesn't work at all. But a neat Skype
add-on called KhaosDial might do the trick.
Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (D T M F) is the term us ed to des c ribe

the tones you hear when you pres s the keys on your phone's
keypad. E ac h key generates a different tone that c an be us ed to
repres ent the numbers 1 through 9 , the letters A through Z, and
the c harac ters * and # to an I nteractive Voice Res pons e (I V R)
telephone s ys tem. I V R telephone s ys tems provide s ervic es
without another human being at the other end of the line. When
they work, they are a very c onvenient and effic ient way of
delivering s ervic es . When they don't work, they s uc k!
Skype is known to have real problems working with I V R

s ys tems jus t vis it the Skype c ommunity forums
(http://forum.s kype.c om/) to get a glimps e of the pain and
s uffering the mis behavior of this feature has c aus ed.
When us ing Skype from your c omputer, the normal way of

entering D T M F c odes is to us e the buttons on the D ial tab (s ee
Figure 1 0 - 1 , right). A lternatively, if you us e a phone hands et to
make and rec eive c alls us ing Skype, you c an try the keypad on
the hands et to enter your D T M F c odes (s ee Figure 1 0 - 1 , left).
Figure 10-1. Keypad of a regular phone (left)

and Skype's Dial tab (right)
N either of thes e two methods of interac ting with an I V R s ys tem

s eems to be terribly reliable. C learly, the D T M F tones that
Skype generates and trans mits bec ome dis torted s omewhere
along the way to their des tination, s o they are often
unrec ognizable by the time they arrive at the I V R s ys tem.
H owever, if you are a Windows us er of Skype, there is a neat little

addon c alled Khaos D ial (http://www.Khaos L abs .c om/) that you
c an us e to enter D T M F c odes with s ome degree of reliability
(s ee Figure 1 0 - 2 ). I t might all s eem rather Rube G oldberg- is h to
be playing D T M F tones from your s peakers into your mic rophone
or from the earpiec e to the mic rophone boom of your heads et;
but until Skype fixes its own D T M F problems , it's worth a try.
Khaos D ial requires that you have

M ic ros oft .N E T 1 .1 ins talled on your
mac hine. To find out if you have .N E T
ins talled and, if s o, what vers ion, navigate
to Start C ontrol P anel A dd or
Remove P rograms , and s c roll down the lis t
of c urrently ins talled programs , looking for
an entry for M ic ros oft .N E T Framework
1 .1 . I f you don't have it, download and
ins tall it from
http://www.mic ros oft.c om/downloads /.
Hack 80. Find a Fax Alternative
Skype doesn't work with regular f ax machines. Here are the

alternatives.
Skype does not work with fax. Fax is not s upported, regardles s of
whether it is a s oftware or a hardware fax devic e. T his might
c hange, but right now, Skype does n't s upport fax.
Figure 10-2. KhaosDial can generate DTMF

codes independently of Skype
Suppos e you've c onnec ted your regular fax mac hine to a U SB
box that ac ts as an audio devic e for Skype, and that you've
s igned up for SkypeO ut. When your fax dials out to another fax,
you c an hear the wailing res pons e from the remote fax mac hine
and…nothing happens . Fax s imply does n't work over a Skype
c onnec tion. T he s ame is true for inc oming fax trans mis s ions to
your fax mac hine if it's c onnec ted to a SkypeI n number.
T he reas on why fax does n't work with

Skype is c omplex, but it c omes down to
the fac t that fax mac hines are far les s
tolerant of any degradation in s ound
fidelity, even if s uc h degradation is only
trans ient. Skype c odes and unc odes your
voic e (us ing a codec, s o c alled bec aus e it
c odes /dec odes ) at either end of the
trans mis s ion c hannel. T he c odec us es
c ompres s ion and other tric ks to get your
voic e s queezed down into the s malles t
number of trans mis s ion pac kets . But as a
res ult, s ound fidelity s uffers . T his is n't
s uc h a big problem for voic e trans mis s ion
bec aus e the human ear and brain do a
fantas tic job of filling in anything that's
mis s ing. Fax, being a mindles s mac hine
tec hnology, is n't s o forgiving.
Fax might be a tec hnology in dec lineas I nternet c onnec tivity
bec omes pervas ivebut it s till has its plac e. Whereas the
I nternet promis es to bec ome pervas ive s ometime in the future,
the s imple fac t is that fax tec hnology is pervas ive now. A ls o, fax
doc uments with a s ignature (or even without) have legal forc e in
many c ountries , whic h c annot be s aid for mos t types of
elec tronic file trans fer (Skype inc luded).
A c c ording to analys ts , fax traffic peaked in

2 0 0 0 and has been in dec line s inc e then (s ee
http://www.open-
mag.c om/features /Vol_3 7 /FeM ail/femail.htm).
Fortunately, you have a lot of c hoic es when it c omes to

workarounds for Skype's lac k of s upport for fax.
10.3.1. Keep Your Fax Machine
T hroughout the book, I have emphas ized that s witc hing to Skype
is not an all- or- nothing propos ition. You c an c hoos e to mix and
matc h Skype s ervic es with other VoI P offerings or even with
your P lain O ld Telephone Sys tem (P O T S). I f you retain one or
more regular telephone lines , c onnec t your fax to one of them
and Skype's inability to work with fax is s ides tepped nic ely.
T he Skype forums have reported that even
though Skype's L ondon offic e has no
regular telephones , it nonetheles s has a
fax mac hine plugged into a regular
telephone outlet. I think we c an s urmis e
from this that Skype has n't lic ked the
problem of fax c ompatibility, at leas t not
yet.
10.3.2. Use Skype File Transfer Instead
I f the doc ument is in elec tronic form, ins tead of printing it and
faxing it, c ons ider s ending it (or a P D F repres entation of it) via
Skype's file- trans fer func tion. O f c ours e, this will work only if
your rec ipient is als o running Skype. A nother plus in favor of this
workaround is that it c os ts nothing (other than bandwidth) to
s end files via Skype, whereas regular fax c os ts money. O f
c ours e, s imply attac hing a doc ument to an email is already a
popular alternative to fax. But if your doc ument c ontains
s ens itive material, s ending it via Skype has the advantage that
it is s ec ure (enc rypted), whereas email is typic ally not s ec ure.
10.3.3. Online Fax Services
T he move away from traditional fax mac hines s tarted long before
Skype even appeared. C ons equently, G oogle on "fax s ervic e"
and you'll be pres ented with a plethora of different types of fax
s ervic es that don't require you to have a regular fax mac hine to
s end or rec eive faxes . Some of thes e s ervic es are free, but mos t
are available at low c os tit s ure is a c ompetitive market s egment,
whic h is , of c ours e, to your benefit.
10.3.4. Consider Alternative VoIP

Providers
Some VoI P providers (s ee "G et the Bes t D eal for VoI P

Telephony" [Hack #22]) do provide fax- c ompatible s ervic es ,
though us ually at an additional c os t. You might want to c ons ider
one of thes e providers ins tead of, or as a c omplement to, Skype.
Hack 81. Workarounds for 911
Emergency Service
Skype doesn't provide emergency service calls. But there are

some workarounds.
Skype does not provide any ac c es s to emergenc y s ervic e. I f you

dial 9 1 1 (or the equivalent outs ide the U .S.) to c all emergenc y
s ervic e, you will not be c onnec ted. P eriod.
Skype its elf is quite explic it on this is s ue, and therefore markets
its s ervic es as an "enhanc ement" to regular telephone s ervic es .
H owever, for thos e who s witc h to Skype c ompletely, making it
their s ole (nonmobile) telephone s ervic e provider, s ome
workarounds are available that c an provide "9 1 1 - like" s ervic e.
P erhaps it is worth repeating that the

workarounds are only "9 1 1 - like" and are
in no way a direc t s ubs titute for real 9 1 1
s ervic e. You mus t weigh the pros and c ons
of fully s witc hing over to Skype in light of
the fac t that Skype c annot provide 9 1 1
s ervic e. Switc hing to Skype as your s ole
telephone provider is a dec is ion that you
alone c an make, and that you alone mus t
live with and bear res pons ibility for.
10.4.1. 911You May Have It by Default
M os t people get their broadband I nternet s ervic e through one of

two means : c able T V or telephone.
C able T V us es the s ame phys ic al c able through whic h you

rec eive your T V c hannels , s o it is independent of your telephone
s ervic e. You c an have c able I nternet ac c es s without having a
telephone, and vic e vers a.
Telephone c an als o provide broadband I nternet ac c es s , us ually

at an additional c os t to your regular telephone s ervic es . T he
mos t c ommon tec hnology for providing I nternet ac c es s through
your telephone line is Digital Subs criber Line (D SL ). T here are
many flavors of D SL the mos t c ommon being As ymmetric Digital
Subs criber Line (A D SL )mos t of whic h are bundled with and ride
atop a regular telephone s ervic e. M os t, but not all.
I f you obtain your I nternet c onnec tion through a flavor of D SL

that rides atop a regular telephone s ervic e you already have real
9 1 1 s ervic e as part of your regular telephone s ervic e. T hus , if
you have A D SL or another flavor of D SL that piggybac ks on top
of your regular telephone s ervic e, you will have 9 1 1 emergenc y
s ervic e by default (s ee Figure 1 0 - 3 ).
Figure 10-3. Most DSL Internet broadband

servicesADSL being the most commonpiggyback
on top of a regular telephone line and service
G etting your broadband I nternet c onnec tion through D SL with
telephone s ervic es does not s top you from s witc hing to Skype in
large part to s ave money. Your loc al telephone c ompany might
not promote lower- c os t s ervic e pac kages ; indeed, it may not
mention them at all! H owever, mos t telephone c ompanies do
offer "bas ic " or "emergenc y- only" s ervic e at muc h lower c os t
than their more vis ible offerings . I n the c as e of "emergenc y-
only" s ervic e, the c os t may be as low as $ 1 0 to $ 1 5 per month.
D epending on your loc al telephone c ompany, this may be
c ombined with D SL to reduc e your regular telephone c os ts to the
bare minimum, leaving Skype to bec ome your princ ipal low- c os t
telephone provider.
10.4.2. Set Up a "911-like" Service
I f you obtain your I nternet c onnec tion through s ome mec hanis m
other than A D SL s ay, c ableyou c an s witc h to Skype as your s ole
telephone s ervic e provider (s ee Figure 1 0 - 4 ).
Figure 10-4. Getting broadband Internet access

through cable means you can make Skype your
only telephone service provider (for this
configuration, you don't really have to snip your
telephone wire, just cancel service instead)
SkypeO ut is a paid s ervic e that enables Skype us ers to c all
regular telephones . M os t loc al polic e departments and fire
s ervic es have telephone numbers s eparate from the 9 1 1
s ervic e. M oreover, thes e numbers are typic ally manned 2 4 hours
a day. So, in an emergenc y, you c an c all your loc al polic e or fire
s ervic e and your reques t for help will s urely be heeded.
A s a matter of c onvenienc e, you s hould add your loc al polic e

s tation to your C ontac ts lis t and as s ign it a s peed- dial number.
Sadly, Skype does not s upport three- digit s peed- dial numbers if
it did, the mos t logic al c hoic e would be to as s ign 9 1 1 s o, the
bes t you c an do is to as s ign 9 1 to your loc al polic e department
(s ee Figure 1 0 - 5 ). I n addition, you may want to add a s hortc ut
to your des ktop (s ee "A dd Fas t- D ial Shortc uts to Your M enu or
D es ktop" [Hack #49]) for quic kly dialing your loc al polic e
department in an emergenc ywhen s ec onds might c ount!
A s s igning the s peed- dial number 9 1 to your loc al polic e

department has an added advantage: if you us e a U SB hands et
or if you have c onnec ted Skype to the hands ets throughout your
home (s ee C hapter 3 ), you c an s imply dial 9 1 # to phone your
loc al polic e department. I t's not quite "9 1 1 ," but it's c los e. A s a
c ourtes y to others who might vis it your home, you may want to
attac h a label to all your hands ets s aying "I n an emergenc y c all:
9 1 #" (s ee Figure 1 0 - 6 ).
Figure 10-5. Add your local police department to

your Contacts list
Figure 10-6. Add a label such as this to your
handsets, telling people how to call your local
police in an emergency
10.4.3. Test Your Emergency Phone

Number
T his is where the 9 1 1 - like s ervic e has a dis tinc t advantage over
the traditional 9 1 1 s ervic e. You c an tes t it whenever you like.
Your 9 1 1 s ervic e may not work when you des perately need it.
You'll probably never know until you really need it. C alling 9 1 1
oc c as ionally to make s ure it's working, if not agains t the law, is
s urely in bad form and might get you into trouble.
O n the other hand, nothing is s topping you from dialing 9 1 # from

time to time and as king, for example, when the next polic emen's
ball or fundrais er is going to take plac e. A t leas t you'll know it
works !
10.4.4. Use a Mobile Phone As a Backup
A ll U .S. mobile phones s upport 9 1 1 s ervic e. So, if your home is

in an area with good mobile phone rec eption, it's always worth
keeping your mobile phone c harged and ready s hould you need it
in an emergenc y.
I ndeed, you c an even us e an old mobile phone that is no longer

s upported by a paid c alling plan from a mobile phone c ompany.
You c an us e any mobile phone to c all 9 1 1 without paying
anything at all. M obile phones are regulated by the Federal
C ommunic ations C ommis s ion (FC C ), and the FC C mandates
that all mobile phones , regardles s of the s tatus of s ervic e (or
even the lac k of s ervic e), mus t be able to dial 9 1 1 . Whether you
have a telephone number or not or whether you have s igned up
for s ervic e or not, a mobile phone c an c onnec t to 9 1 1 .
10.4.5. Location
O ne c lear advantage of regular 9 1 1 emergenc y s ervic e is that

when you plac e an emergenc y c all from a regular phone, the
dis patc her knows where you are loc ated. T his is not the c as e
when you plac e any s ort of emergenc y c all us ing SkypeO ut, as
the nature of Skype's tec hnology means that your loc ation is
unknown.
H owever, if you us e a mobile phone to plac e a c all to 9 1 1

emergenc y s ervic e, in many ins tanc es the dis patc her will know
where you are (at leas t approximately), as many mobile phone
networks have built- in loc ation detec tion.
Hack 82. Workarounds for 411 Directory
Assistance
Skype doesn't provide access to 411 directory assistance. But

there are some workarounds.
I n the U .S., you c an ac c es s direc tory as s is tanc e by dialing 4 1 1 .

T his is us ually a paid s ervic e (read moneymaker for your
telephone c ompany), and $ 1 .2 5 per direc tory as s is tanc e c all is
typic al.
Skype does not s upport 4 1 1 direc tory as s is tanc e. D ial 4 1 1 and

you'll get nothing but an error mes s age. T hat's the good news ,
as you'll never have to pay for 4 1 1 c alls again.
T he bad news is that Skype does not s upport 4 1 1 direc tory

as s is tanc e. So, where are you to go now for direc tory
as s is tanc e? I f you are us ing Skype as an adjunc t to a regular
telephone line, you c learly retain the option (albeit an expens ive
option) of c alling 4 1 1 on that line. Similarly, if you s imply have
money to burn, you c an even dial 4 1 1 on your mobile phone to
get direc tory as s is tanc e.
A free alternative is to us e one of the many online 4 1 1 s ervic es

that are now available. A s earc h on G oogle with the keywords
"4 1 1 direc tory as s is tanc e" will s pit out a long lis t of s uc h
direc tory as s is tanc e web s ites . But perhaps the firs t plac e to go
is the lis t of online direc tory as s is tanc e s ervic es maintained by
the Telec ommunic ations Res earc h & A c tion C enter (T RA C ,
http://www.trac .org/tips /direc tory_as s is tanc e/direc tory-
as s is tanc e- via- the- internet.html), a nonprofit watc hdog that
promotes the interes ts of res idential telec ommunic ations
c ons umers . G iven the c harter under whic h T RA C operates , the
s ervic es lis ted there are among the les s annoying web s ites for
getting direc tory as s is tanc e.
Hack 83. Workarounds for Home Alarm
System Monitoring
Many home alarm systems are monitored remotely via telephone

line, and you need not necessarily give this up when you switch
to Skype.
M any home alarm s ys tems are monitored over a phone line. A t

the ris k of s tating the obvious , if you intend to retain at leas t one
regular phone line, make s ure it is the one your alarm s ys tem
us es .
C utting the phone line that feeds your

alarm might s et it off! A fter all, how is the
alarm to tell the differenc e between you
and a burglar? H owever, this bec omes an
is s ue only if you are c onfiguring Skype to
reus e the phone lines and wiring
throughout your home (s ee C hapter 3 for
Skype c onfigurations that might make this
nec es s ary). So, before you c ut any wires ,
get organized, do your homework (for
example, read the manual for your alarm
s ys tem), talk with your alarm monitoring
s ervic e, and then (and only then) c ut your
wires .
E ven if you dec ide to us e Skype exc lus ively for phone s ervic es ,
this does not nec es s arily mean that you have to do without
remote alarm monitoring. I n C hapter 3 , I dis c us s ed s everal
c onfigurations for Skype that effec tively leave a dial tone on
your exis ting phone c opper wiring. I f, in addition, you are a
SkypeI n and SkypeO ut s ubs c riber, there's no reas on why your
alarm monitoring s ervic e c an't dial in to your alarm s ys tem for
monitoring purpos es , and likewis e, there's no reas on why your
alarm c an't dial out to your alarm monitoring s ervic e in an
emergenc y. C hanc es are that all you need is for your alarm
monitoring s ervic e to know your SkypeI n number and for the
alarm to be reprogrammed to us e any s pec ial new prefix needed
to dial out through SkypeO ut. N ote that during a power c ut, your
alarm will los e its c onnec tion to your alarm monitoring s ervic e.
For readers who are fully replac ing their exis ting phone s ervic e
with Skype, but who want to retain alarm monitoring s ervic es ,
this s tep- by- s tep c hec klis t might prove us eful:
1. Read the manual for your alarm s ys tem and learn how to
reprogram it to dial out us ing the Skype dial format. I f
you don't have a manual, or if this is beyond your
c omfort zone, as k your alarm c ompany to reprogram the
alarm for you. Before doing anything els e, you have to be
c onvinc ed that monitoring your alarm s ys tem us ing
Skype is doable. I f it is n't, think again. I f it is , proc eed.
2. Tell your alarm monitoring s ervic e that your phone

numbers are about to c hange. A s k them to s top
monitoring until you've notified them to s tart again.
3. C anc el your regular phone s ervic e and then, if

nec es s ary, c ut the inc oming phone wires s o that Skype
c an reus e the c opper wiring in your home. Be c areful to
c ut only the inc oming phone wires (that is , c ut only the
wires that c onnec t you to the outs ide world) and not the
wires that c onnec t your alarm s ys tem to the c opper
wires of your home phone wiring.
4. C onnec t and c onfigure Skype s o that it puts a dial tone

on the c opper phone wires throughout your home (s ee
Figure 1 0 - 7 ).
5. Reprogram your alarm to us e SkypeO ut when dialing out.

T his will entail us ing the c orrec t c ountry c ode and prefix
(for example, to have your alarm c all your monitoring
s ervic e us ing SkypeO ut, it may have to be
reprogrammed to dial s omething like +1 2 0 3 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 ,
rather than 5 5 5 1 2 1 2 , whic h may have been the c as e
previous ly).
6. C all your alarm monitoring s ervic e, provide them with

your SkypeI n number, and tes t the new s etup.
7. Tell your alarm monitoring s ervic e to s tart monitoring

again.
Hack 84. Transfer Folders, Not Just
Individual Files
You can transf er only individual f iles using Skype's f ile-transf er

f acility. This hack shows you how to transf er groups of f iles, as
well as whole f olders of f iles.
Figure 10-7. Configuring Skype to provide a

phone line for your home alarm system
Skype opens one window per file trans ferred. T his c an be
extremely tedious for the rec ipient, who mus t authorize every file
trans fer in turn. U nfortunately, you c an't jus t s pec ify a whole
folder or direc tory tree to trans fer. To do that, you mus t firs t
bundle the folders and files into an archive (a s pec ial file that
ac ts as a c ontainer for other files and folders ), trans fer the
arc hive, and have the rec ipient unpac k the arc hive at the other
end. T hough be warned, any arc hive you c reate mus t be eas y for
the rec ipient to unpac k, s o c hoos e your arc hive format with
c are!
H ere are s ome s imple and eas y- to- us e options .
10.7.1. Transferring Folders Among

Windows Machines
Windows c omes with its own file arc hive and c ompres s ion tool.
Within Windows E xplorer, you c an s elec t files and/or folders , and
then right- c lic k to turn them into a c ompres s ed (zipped) arc hive
file. You c an even add a pas s word to the arc hive s o that the
rec ipient will have to enter the (s ame) pas s word to unc ompres s ,
open, and extrac t the files and folders c ontained within it.
T he Windows zip arc hive tool is , of c ours e, free, as it c omes with

Windows . H owever, many people prefer other thirdparty arc hive
tools , s uc h as WinZip (http://www.WinZip.c om/), to the one that
is bundled free with Windows .
10.7.2. Transferring Folders Among Linux
Machines
L inux, being a variant of U nix, has the ubiquitous compress and

tar arc hive c ommands . M any L inux dis tributions als o inc lude
gzip (G N U zip), whic h was des igned as a replac ement for
compress, and the free zip and unzip c ommandline tools from
I nfo- ZI P (http://www.info- zip.org/). By us ing thes e tools , it is
eas y to c reate an arc hive of s everal files and/or folders , whic h
you c an s end to a Skype us er us ing a s ingle file trans fer.
10.7.3. Transferring Folders Among Mac

OS X Machines
M ac O S X c omes with its own tool to c reate zipped arc hives . But
s adly, even though the res ulting arc hive has a .zip s uffix, the
arc hives it c reates are inc ompatible with the Windows zip
arc hive tool. H owever, arc hives generated on one M ac O S X
mac hine c an be unpac ked s eamles s ly on another.
M ac O S X is built on top of variants of the U nix operating

s ys tem (namely, the M ac h 3 .0 operating s ys tem and s ervic es
bas ed on the 4 .4 Berkeley Software D is tribution). C ons equently,
like L inux, it has the ubiquitous compress and tar arc hive
c ommands . I t als o c omes with the c ommandline tools gzip,
zip, and unzip by default.
P erhaps the mos t popular thirdparty c ompres s ion and arc hive
tool for the M ac is StuffI t (http://www.s tuffit.c om/).
10.7.4. Transferring Folders Among
Diverse Machines
Trans ferring folders and/or files among divers e mac hines that is ,
mac hines of different arc hitec tures and running different
operating s ys tems pos es a number of problems . D iffering rules
for filenames and file extens ions c an c aus e problems . A nd
finding a c ommon arc hive format that all mac hines rec ognize and
unders tand c an be diffic ult.
O ne tec hnique that s eems to work well in my experienc e is to

us e the free I nfo- ZI P arc hive utility on L inux and M ac O S X, and
the native Windows zip c ompres s ion tool. C hec k your L inux and
M ac O S X ins tallations , as you will likely find I nfo- ZI P already
ins talled. J us t try entering the c ommands zip and unzip in a
terminal window, and s ee if you get a c ommand s ummary in
res pons e. A rc hives c reated by the I nfo- ZI P utility and the
Windows zip c ompres s ion tool interoperate well (s ee Figure 1 0 -
8 ).
Figure 10-8. Using a zip archive to transfer

folders among diverse machines using Skype
O n L inux and M ac O S X, you c an c reate an arc hive of a
c omplete folder us ing the c ommand:
zip r filename.zip'your folder name'
You c an unpac k it us ing the c ommand:
unzip filename.zip
J us t type "zip" or "unzip" at the c ommand prompt to s ee more

options for manipulating arc hives .
You c an c reate zip arc hives within Windows E xplorer by right-

c lic king after s elec ting the files or folders you want to add to a
zip arc hive (s ee Figure 1 0 - 9 ). You c an unpac k an arc hive from
within Windows E xplorer by double- c lic king on it or right- c lic king
and s elec ting the appropriate tool us ing O pen With.
Hack 85. Dial with More Than Just Digits
You can dial regular phone numbers with not only numbers, but
also letters.
M any c ompanies make their telephone numbers more

memorable by making their phone number digits s pell s omething
meaningful on the keypad. For example, Federal E xpres s 's
princ ipal number is +1 - 8 0 0 - 4 6 3 - 3 3 3 9 , whic h you als o c an
enter as +1 - G O - FE D E X us ing the letters on the buttons of your
phone's keypad. Skype, through its SkypeO ut s ervic e, offers the
s ame c onvenienc e (s ee Figure 1 0 - 1 0 ). For thos e who aren't
good at remembering numbers , it's nic e to know that letters will
work jus t as well.
Figure 10-9. Creating a zip archive within

Windows Explorer
Figure 10-10. Placing a SkypeOut call with more
than just digits
O nc e they plac e your c all, many of the s ame c ompanies that

offer a c onvenient moniker for their telephone number als o
deliver you into the c lutc hes of their I V R s ys tem. I f you're a
frequent vis itor, the c ompany might have as s igned a P ers onal
I dentific ation N umber (P I N ) to you s o that you c an authentic ate
yours elf and ac c es s s ervic es . O ftentimes you c an c hoos e your
own P I N , whic h effec tively ac ts as a pas s word for the I V R
s ys tem, or you c an c hange the c ompany- as s igned P I N to
whatever you want. A gain, thos e letters ac c ompanying the digits
on your phone's keypad c an be very us eful. I f you c an't think of
a meaningful s equenc e of digits that are both highly pers onal
and eas ily remembered, you c an c hoos e a P I N whos e letters are
pers onal and eas y to remember. H owever, if your P I N s pells a
word, it s hould not be anything as obvious as , s ay, your name.
When interac ting with an I V R s ys tem us ing Skype, you c an enter

res pons es to voic e prompts us ing the keypad (s ee Figure 1 0 -
1 1 ). When it c omes to entering your P I N , ins tead of thinking
about entering digits , you c an s pell a s ec ret word. For example,
you might enter FI J I (3 4 5 4 ) as your four- digit P I N , in memory of
your honeymoon.
Figure 10-11. Enter numbers, or letters, using

the Skype keypad
Chapter 11. Skype Add-Ons
and Tools
T here is a burgeoning market for Skype add- ons and tools that
extend Skype's func tionality or that leverage Skype's s ervic es .
T his is one of the mos t exc iting as pec ts of Skype. By us ing
Skype's A pplic ation P rogramming I nterfac e (A P I ), thirdparty
developers are delivering neat add- ons many of them freethat
plug gaps in Skype's feature s et, or jus t do s omething
"c ompletely different" (to borrow a phras e from Monty Python's
Flying Circus ). So, if there's a piec e of func tionality that you
des perately need or want, c hanc es are s omeone has had a
s imilar idea and has built an addon to s atis fy that need or want.
A nd if they haven't, C hapter 1 2 might jus t help you to hac k your
own!
P erhaps the firs t plac e to s tart looking for add- ons is Skype's
own E xtras G allery, whic h is updated frequently and is loc ated at
http://s hare.s kype.c om/direc tory/.
G iven the rapid pac e at whic h all things to do with Skype are
developing this c hapter c an only be a s naps hot in time and a
peek at what's available. H aving s aid that, it is nevertheles s a
s tarting point that will help you to unders tand where to s tart
looking for add- ons , how to hac k and extend add- ons , and how to
manage add- ons from a s ec urity pers pec tive.
11.1.1. Skype Add-Ons
Broadly s peaking, there are two types of Skype add- ons :

hardware add- ons and s oftware add- ons .
11.1.1.1. Hardware add-ons.
A Skype hardware addon is not jus t, s ay, a pair of U SB

headphones . Suc h things are merely generic c omputer devic es .
To qualify as a Skype addon, a piec e of hardware mus t interfac e
to Skype through its A P I . E ven though the Skype A P I was
public ly releas ed only a c omparatively s hort time ago (O c tober
2 0 0 4 ), you already have a number of Skype- enabled hardware
devic es from whic h to c hoos e:
Skype-to-phone USB box
D es c ription: an adapter that allows you to us e an

exis ting phone hands et with Skypethat is , to us e a
regular phone hands et as your s ound- in and s ound- out
devic e for Skype. Some have advanc ed features , s uc h
as c all forwarding us ing your regular phone line, and a
few have L inux drivers (s till quite a rarity).
Where to buy: http://www.ec hos tore.c om/,

http://www.yappernut.c om/, http://www.rapidvoip.c om/,
http://www.pc phoneline.c om/,
http://www.s kypomania.c om/, http://www.mplat.c om/,
and http://www.voip- interac tive.c om/.
USB hands et or des ktop phone
D es c ription: a hands et or des ktop phone that plugs into

a U SB port and interfac es direc tly with Skype (us ing
s oftware that c omes with the devic e), and whic h allows
you limited c ontrol over Skype from the hands et or
des ktop phone.
Where to buy: http://www.s kype.c om/s tore/,

http://www.ec hos tore.c om/,
http://www.s kypomania.c om/, http://www.mplat.c om/,
and http://www.voip- interac tive.c om/.
USB Flas h phone
D es c ription: a U SB memory s tic k with integrated audio

from whic h you c an run Skype direc tly. J us t plug it into a
U SB port on a c omputer with an I nternet c onnec tion and
you c an fire up Skype, and make and rec eive c alls .
Where to buy: http://www.ec hos tore.c om/ and

http://www.mplat.c om/.
O nly s ome of the vendors in the prec eding lis t offer tec hnic al
s upport for their produc ts . Before purc has ing Skype addon
hardware, it's always worth as king s ome tec hnic al ques tions to
gauge the type of after- s ales s upport you c an expec t.
11.1.1.2. Software add-ons.
U s ing the Skype A P I , s oftware add- ons c an c ontrol Skype or

have Skype c ontrol them. Truly, it's a s ituation that is limited
only by how quic kly Skype enhanc es its A P I s pec ific ation, and
by the imaginative us es to whic h the A P I c an be put by c reative
addon s oftware developers (or, indeed, by Skype us ers ; s ee
C hapter 1 2 ). I f what's already been c reated s o far is anything to
go by, es pec ially in view of the c omparatively s hort period s inc e
the A P I was releas ed, this area is going to be big! J us t look at
s ome of the add- ons that are already available.
11.1.2. Software Add-On Showcase
I nformation relating to Skype ages almos t as quic kly as bread

on a baker's s helf. E ven s o, as a s tarting point in your own hunt
for Skype add- ons , here is a s ampler of many of the add- ons
(inc luding addon s ervic es that don't us e the Skype A P I )
available at the time of this writing. T he lis t is by no means
c omprehens ive. I t does , however, give you a s ens e of the
breadth and s c ope of the Skype addon marketeven though it's
c learly in its embryonic s tage.
Audiomatic Skype plug-in
D es c ription: c ontrol Skype by us ing voic e c ommands

rather than the keyboard or mous e, s ee "C ontrol Skype
U s ing Spoken C ommands " [Hack #86].
Where to get it:

http://www.wis eriddles .c om/P roduc ts /A udiomatic /index.ht
Biz.KonuSh.NET (free)
D es c ription: bus ines s direc tory (Yellow P ages ) for

Skype us ers .
Where to get it: http://biz.konus h.net/

GizmozTalking Headz
D es c ription: animated heads that give your Skype c hat

s es s ions more pers onality and humor (s ee Figure 1 1 - 1 ).
Where to get it: http://www.gizmoz.c om/
I Pdrum
D es c ription: s ome mobile phone plans allow phones on

the s ame network to talk free of c harge within their
des ignated home geographic region. U s ing a pair of
mobile phones , I P drum provides a c able and s ome
s oftware to c onnec t one of them to your c omputer
running Skype. A s you move around with the other
mobile phone, you c an relay and route c alls through your
home c omputer us ing Skype. A s mobile- to- mobile c alls
are free and Skype- to- Skype c alls are free, you c an
effec tively make mobile- to- Skype c alls free of c harge, or
mobile- to- Skype- O ut c alls at rates lower than thos e of
your mobile phone plan.
Where to get it: http://www.ipdrum.c om/
Jyve
D es c ription: J yve Web Tools for Skype enable you to add

J yve- type func tionality to your web s ite. J yve Tag
provides an H T M L s nippet that puts a live Skype button
in a web page that s hows your c urrent online s tatus .
J yve C ard allows you to c ollec t c all- bac k details from
people who vis it your web s ite.
Where to get it: http://www.jyve.c om/

Pamela
D es c ription: a produc tivity addon for Skype that

c ompris es a s uite of func tions , inc luding two- way c all
rec ording, podc as ts , email forwarding of voic email, and
muc h more!
Where to get it: http://www.pamela- s ys tems .c om/
Skype 3D Avatar Mes s enger (free)
D es c ription: animated 3 D avatars for Skype c hat.
Where to get it: http://www.vaka.c om/
Skype E911 plug-in
D es c ription: Wireles s Fidelity (WiFi) pos itioning for

Skype us ers that lets people know where you are c alling
from. L imited geographic c overage.
Where to get it: http://www.s kyhookwireles s .c om/
Skypeteer call cos t calculator
D es c ription: c alc ulate your SkypeO ut c all c os t in real

time, without having to go to the Skype web s ite for
c urrent c all rates .
Where to get it: http://www.s kypeteer.c om/

Figure 11-1. Liven up your Skype chat sessions
with animated Talking Headz
Hack 86. Control Skype Using Spoken
Commands
You can have hands-f ree (and sight-f ree f or the visually
impaired) operation of Skype using only your voice.
A udiomatic ($ 2 9 .9 5 from
http://www.wis eriddles .c om/P roduc ts /A udiomatic /index.html) is
a s hareware tool that enables you to c ontrol Windows and
applic ations that run on Windows us ing voic e c ommands and
keyboard s hortc uts . I f you have the A udiomatic bas e produc t,
you c an ins tall a free Skype addon (whic h you c an download at
http://wis eriddles .s wmirror.c om/A udiomatic SkypeP lugin.ms i)
that will more c los ely integrate A udiomatic with Skype.
I ns talling the Skype addon for A udiomatic adds a new

A udiomatic mac ro type c alled I nterac t with Skype, whic h allows
you to c ontrol Skype us ing your voic e in thes e two ways :
Make a phone call
To make a phone c all you mus t s elec t "P lac e a c all to"
when as ked by the A udiomatic M ac ro Wizard, "When this
mac ro is run, I want to."
Send a chat mes s age
To s end a c hat mes s age you mus t s elec t "Send an

I ns tant M es s age to" when as ked by the A udiomatic
M ac ro Wizard, "When this mac ro is run, I want to."
Setting up a voic e c ommand to make a phone c all requires thes e

s teps us ing the A udiomatic M ac ro Wizard:
1. O pen a new mac ro in the M ac ro Wizard and give it a

name (s elec t A udiomatic File N ew
M ac ro…); s ee Figure 1 1 - 2 . For this example, I 'll be
s etting up a voic e c ommand to "C all D ad"! C lic k N ext.
2. Selec t I nterac ts with Skype from the top pulldown menu
in the next window, Figure 1 1 - 3 , and s elec t "P lac e a c all
to" from the middle pulldown menu. P ulling down the
bottom pulldown menu will dis play your Skype c ontac ts
lis t in numeric al and then alphabetic al order. N ote that
this pull down does not allow you to enter a new phone
number or Skype name, s o you c an c reate A udiomatic
mac ros for Skype only for exis ting c ontac ts . Selec t a
Skype c ontac t and then c lic k N ext.
3. T he next s c reen, Figure 1 1 - 4 , allows you to s et the

availability of your mac ro. To s imply have the mac ro
available at all times , c lic k N ext.
Figure 11-2. Creating a new Audiomatic

macro for Skype
Figure 11-3. Assigning a phone number to
the "Place a call to" action of the
Audiomatic macro (phone numbers and
Skype names can be used)
4. To as s ign a voic e c ommand and keyboard c ommand to
the mac ro, c hec k both the "E nable Voic e C ommands for
this mac ro" and "E nable Keyboard C ommands for this
mac ro" c hec kboxes ; s ee Figure 1 1 - 5 .
Figure 11-4. Setting availability of the

Audiomatic macro
E nter a voic e c ommand and a keyboard c ommand key
s equenc e; in this example, "C all D ad" and (L eft Shift) +
(L eft C trl) + D . C lic k N ext.
5. Tes t the mac ro by c lic king the Run M ac ro button in the

next window (Figure 1 1 - 6 ). I f the mac ro works as
expec ted, c lic k Finis h.
6. By default, A udiomatic ac tivates voic e c ommand mode

us ing a keyboard hotkey (the default is (L eft Shift) +
(L eft C trl) + A ). H owever, to make mac ros totally voic e
ac tivated, A udiomatic c ommand mode mus t be
ac tivated its elf with a voic e c ommand. You c an do this
by going to A udiomatic Tools O ptions … and
in the A udiomatic O ptions dialog that is dis played,
navigate to the C ommand M ode tab. I n that tab, c lic k on
the "Speaking the phras e" radio button and enter the
phras e "Skype" to be us ed to ac tivate A udiomatic 's
c ommand mode.
N ow, to c all D ad, all I need to do is s peak the c ommand "Skype

C all D ad." Skype will open and will s tart a c all to D ad. L ook ma,
no hands ! P hone c alls automatic ally are hung up when the other
party exits a c all, s o that part is als o hands free.
A lternatively, I c an us e the keyboard c ommand (L eft Shift) +

(L eft C trl) + D to make the c allwithout even looking at the
keyboard!
Figure 11-5. Setting the voice command and

keyboard command key sequence that will run
the Audiomatic macro
Figure 11-6. Testing your Audiomatic macro
using the Run Macro button
I n C hapter 1 2 , "H ot- Switc h A mong Sound D evic es " [Hack #91]
pres ents a c ouple of V BSc ripts , logitech_API .vbs and c-
media_API .vbs , to hot- s witc h s ound devic es even during a phone
c all. U s ing A udiomatic you c an drive thes e s c ripts with voic e
c ommands too!
C reating an A udiomatic mac ro to do this requires almos t the

s ame s teps as before, exc ept at s tep 2 s elec t L aunc hes
P rograms ins tead of I nterac ts with Skype from the top pulldown
menu in Figure 1 1 - 7 . A ls o s et "P rogram, file, or web s ite to
launc h" to the s c ript file you want to run when you s peak the
voic e c ommand of your c hoic e.
Figure 11-7. Setting up an Audiomatic macro to

run a VBScript
With this s light variation at s tep 2 , I s et up two A udiomatic
mac ros named L ogitec h and C M edia, whic h run logitech_API .vbs
and c-media_API .vbs , res pec tively, upon my s aying the
c ommands "Skype L ogitec h" and "Skype C M edia." N ow I c an
s witc h from my L ogitec h U SB heads et to my C - M edia U SB
hands et s imply by s aying "Skype C M edia," and from my C -
M edia U SB hands et bac k to my L ogitec h U SB heads et by s aying
"Skype L ogitec h." M oreover, I c an make the s witc h before, or
during, a c all. O f c ours e, to do this during a c all requires a
c onvenient paus e in the c onvers ation, but now I have the
flexibility and c onvenienc e of s witc hing s ound devic es with
nothing more than a s poken c ommand.
U s ing A udiomatic pretty muc h any of the s c ripts in this book

that run on Windows or any s c ripts you think up yours elfc an be
run with nothing more than a s poken c ommand.
Hack 87. Add Video Conferencing to
Skype
Skype plans to support video conf erencing sometime in the

f uture. In the meantime, use an add-on to get the f unctionality
you want.
Skype video is c oming! T hat is , video developed by Skype and

built into the Skype c lient. But until it arrives , one of thes e add-
on s olutions may s uit your needs . I ndeed, even after Skype
video is here, one of the s olutions pres ented in this hac k might
s till be what you want, as Skype's s olution mus t nec es s arily
s pan many platforms , and the s olutions pres ented here are
c learly optimized for Windows .
But before you read on, heed this word of c aution. Both of the
video s olutions pres ented here are lis ted as "betas ," s o perhaps
you s hould adjus t your expec tations for video with Skype
ac c ordingly. H owever, like the VoI P tec hnologies that underpin
Skype its elf, it's a good bet that video tec hnologies will s imply
get better and better with time.
11.3.1. Festoon
Fes toon (formerly vSkype), http://www.fes tooninc .c om/, boas ts

that you c an video c onferenc e c all up to 2 0 0 buddies , 8 of whom
c an be dis played on the s c reen at one time. T hos e who don't
have a video c amera c an s till partic ipate, but as voic e- only
partic ipants . H owever, the number of attendees that c an video
c onferenc e together is , from a prac tic al point of view, limited by
your I nternet c onnec tion bandwidth. A nd for mos t Fes toon
us ers , this number will fall far s hort of 2 0 0 ; in fac t, for many,
one- on- one video c alls will be a c hallenge.
To us e Fes toon you will have to be running Skype. Bec aus e

Fes toon inherits its s ound devic es from Skype, c hanging s ound
devic es in Skype (by s elec ting Skype Tools O ptions …
Sound D evic es ) will c hange thos e us ed by Fes toon to the
s ame devic es . Fes toon als o us es Skype c hat to notify other
video c all partic ipants that you are reques ting them to join a
video c onferenc e. T hat, and us ing your Skype C ontac ts lis t,
s eems to be the extent of Fes toon's integration with Skype.
O ne extra feature of Fes toon is the ability to s hare your des ktop
with other video c all partic ipants indeed, not jus t your whole
des ktop, but als o individual applic ation windows . For example,
open the Windows c alc ulator on your mac hine and s hare it with
your Fes toon video c all partic ipants , and a regularly updated
image of your c alc ulator window will appear on their s c reens .
H ow quic kly the image is updated depends on how big the s hared
window is , but a few s ec onds to tens of s ec onds between
updates is typic al; s ee Figure 1 1 - 8 .
But Fes toon's s hared des ktop feature has its limitations . You
c annot s hare s ome applic ation windows if your mac hine has
multiple monitors ; s pec ific ally, windows that are outs ide your
primary monitor c an't be s hared. L ikewis e, s haring your whole
des ktop means that others will s ee only the part of your des ktop
that is on your primary monitor.
Figure 11-8. A vSkype (now Festoon) video
session with the Windows calculator as a real-
time updated image from a remote desktop
11.3.2. Spontania Video4IM
Spontania V ideo4 I M (beta), http://www.video4 im.c om/, works

alongs ide Skype. Skype provides the voic e c omponent of a video
c all, and V ideo4 I M provides the video c omponent. L ike Fes toon,
V ideo4 I M is c urrently free.
11.3.3. Side-by-Side Comparison
To help you dec ide what video addon for Skype might bes t s uit
your needs , Tables 1 1 - 1 and 1 1 - 2 c ompare Fes toon and
Spontania V ideo4 I M s ide by s ide and feature by feature.
Table 11-1. Video for Skype hardware and

software requirements
Spontania
Hardware Festoon
Video4IM
4 0 0 M H z or
C omputer 4 5 0 M H z or greater greater
CPU
M emory
(minimum) 128 MB 128 MB
O perating Windows
Windows 2 0 0 0 or XP
s ys tem 2 0 0 0 or XP
D is k s pac e
8 MB 1 MB
(ins tall)
U pdated to
be
Skype 1 .3 .0 .4 5 or greater c ompatible
with c urrent
vers ion
O ther
applic ations I nternet E xplorer 5 .0 or greater N /A
Whatever
V ideo
your web
res olution 3 2 0 x 2 4 0 pixels
c am
(rec ommended)
s upports
2 5 6 c olor (8 - bit palette)
1 6 - bit c olor (RG B1 6 , RG B5 5 5 , or

RG BH )
2 4 - bit c olor (RG B2 4 , RG B8 8 8 , or

D is play RG BT )
formats YUV 12 D irec tX
I420
1 6 s hades of gray or 6 4 s hades of

gray
I nternet Broadband
Broadband only
c onnec tion only
M inimum of
"E las tic ," whic h means Fes toon
1 2 8 Kbps
will make do with what it's given,
Bandwidth both
but in reality, your video s es s ion
requirements ups tream
degrades rapidly below 1 2 8 Kbps
and
per video c all partic ipant
downs tream
U s es Skype
for voic e
Sound devic e H eads et s trongly rec ommended c omponent
of c all
Table 11-2. Features comparison

Spontania
Feature Festoon
Video4IM
U p to 2 0 0 (note O ne- on- one video
V ideo partic ipants
1) only
C urrently free C urrently free

C os t
(beta) (beta)
Spyware/adware free Yes Yes
Sec ure (enc rypted) Yes Yes
M os t, but not all M os t, but not all

Web c ams s upported
(note 2 ) (note 2 )
Share des ktop or

applic ation window Yes No
N otes :
1. Bandwidth permitting. M os t Fes toon us ers will be able to

s upport only a handful of video c all partic ipants .
2. C hec k web s ite for details .

11.3.4. In the Author's Opinion
Sadly, you c annot literally run Fes toon and Spontania V ideo4 I M
s ide by s ide, as that is not pos s ible (they won't s hare the s ame
video devic e). But after tes ting both of them, I c ame to s ome
c onc lus ions , whic h I s hare with you in Table 1 1 - 3 .
Table 11-3. Side-by-side ratings
Spontania
Category Festoon
Video4IM
I ntegration with Skype G ood P oor
C onfigurability P oor G ood
Better, but
V ideo quality P oor not good
Full- s c reen mode No Yes
E as t of s etting up video c all G ood P oor
Tes t c all s ervic e Yes No
I ns tallation G ood G ood

Support P oor P oor
U s er forum Yes No
D oc umentation P oor P oor
Firewall/N etwork A ddres s Trans lation

Yes Yes
(N AT ) friendly
Both Fes toon and Spontania V ideo4 I M work, and both have
s omething to offer Skype us ers who want to inc orporate video
into their c alls . T hey're both quirky, and their video quality is not
great, though that s eems to reflec t the c urrent s tate of video-
over- I nternet tec hnology, and is s omething that will c learly get
better over time. L as tly, it's a s hame thes e two add- ons won't
work together, as that way you c ould c ombine the bes t features
of both without the effort of s hutting down one to us e the other.
Hack 88. Show Your Online Status in a
Web Page
A dd your Skype online status to any web page by using this

hack.
With this neat little addon, you c an make your Skype online
s tatus available in real time from any web page.
Firs t, you mus t download and ins tall the addon by vis iting its
s upport page at
http://www.s kyperunners .c om/board/viewtopic .php? t=3 0 .
What you're downloading is a Windows ins tall pac kage that takes
c are of all the ins tallation details ; jus t follow the ins truc tions .
O nc e it's ins talled, you're ready to s tart building web pages that
s how your Skype online s tatus .
T he addon requires that you have

M ic ros oft .N E T 1 .1 ins talled on your
mac hine. To find out if you have .N E T
ins talled and, if s o, what vers ion, navigate
to Start C ontrol P anel A dd or
Remove P rograms , and s c roll down the lis t
of c urrently ins talled programs , looking for
an entry for M ic ros oft .N E T Framework
1 .1 . I f you don't have it, download and
ins tall it from
http://www.mic ros oft.c om/downloads /.
A fter s tarting the online s tatus indic ator, you s hould tes t it by
vis iting http://www.s kypes tatus .c om/Skypename.gif. T his U RL
will be c reated automatic ally for whatever your Skypename might
be. You s hould s ee s omething like that s hown in Figure 1 1 - 9 .
T he online s tatus indic ator returns a button image bas ed on your

online s tatus (s ee Figure 1 1 - 1 0 ), but not all types of online
s tatus are properly indic ated (s ee Table 1 1 - 4 ).
Figure 11-9. Test your online status indicator

Figure 11-10. Online status indicator buttons
Table 11-4. Your online status and the button
that is displayed
Your online status Button image displayed
O nline O nline
O ffline O ffline
Skype M e Skype M e
A way A way
N ot A vailable N .A .
D o N ot D is turb Skype M e
I nvis ible Skype M e

I n A C all I n A C all
H ere's how the online s tatus indic ator works . T he online s tatus
addon c ommunic ates with a remote web s erver to notify it of
c hanges in your online s tatus . T hen, eac h time that s ame web
s erver rec eives a reques t via your c us tom U RL , it c hec ks to s ee
what your las t online s tatus was reported as being and delivers
the appropriate button image as the res pons e to the reques t.
T his means that wherever you us e an image in a web page, you
c an ins tead us e your (real- time- updated) online s tatus button.
H owever, you need not s top at merely dis playing your online
s tatus , as you c an c ombine your online s tatus with the s kype:
and callto:// protoc ols (s ee "M ake C alls from Your Web Brows er"
[Hack #43]) to provide any Skype us er who looks at your web
page the one- c lic k c onvenienc e of c alling you s imply by c lic king
on your online s tatus button. T he following XH T M L file, online_
s tatus .htm, s hows you how to do this (you will need to replac e
skypename with your own Skype us ername):

<!DOCTYPE html
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" l
<head>
<title>Skype Online Status</title>
</head>
<body>
<a href="callto://skypename">
<img alt="Online status for skypename"
src="http://www.skypestatus.com/skypename.gi
</a>
</body>
</html>
T here's no reas on to s top at web pages ! A ny live doc ument in

whic h you c an embed an image as an http:// hyperlink that is
updated is a c andidate for your online s tatus indic ator. For
example, this M ic ros oft O utlook s ignature file, s kype_hacks .htm,
inc ludes an online s tatus indic ator button:

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Skype Hacks Signature</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Skype Hacks
<A href="callto://skypehacksbook">
<IMG alt="Online status for skypehacksbook"
src="http://www.skypestatus.com/skypehacksbo
</A>

</BODY>
</HTML>
A s long as the rec ipient of your email has a mail reader that c an
dis play H T M L , your s ignature will dis play your online s tatus (s ee
Figure 1 1 - 1 1 ). H owever, the res ult might not be a real- time and
up- to- date dis play of that s tatus . E ver- popular web- bas ed email
will typic ally refres h an email mes s age eac h time it is opened,
whic h is s omething that regular email applic ations may not do.
Regardles s of whether your online s tatus button ac c urately
portrays your online s tatus , if the rec ipient c lic ks on the button
and is a Skype us er (with callto:// direc ted to Skype), Skype will
open and s tart a c all to you.
Figure 11-11. Online status button as part of an

email signature
Hack 89. Send Skype Chat Directly from
Your Browser
Send Skype chat messages f rom a web page, or just by entering

a simple URL in a web browser.
You're running late and you're in a rus h, and all you have ac c es s
to is a hotel, airport, or I nternet c afe c omputer that is n't running
Skype and runs little more than a lowly web brows er. N ot to
worry: with this free addon s ervic e, you c an s end Skype c hat
mes s ages in a s nap. Sadly, the s ervic e only s ends mes s ages ; it
does n't rec eive them. But, hey, it is free!
To us e this s ervic e, you will need to remember two things : a U RL

and the Skype name(s ) of the people to whom you want to s end a
mes s age.
T he U RL you mus t remember is

http://www.s kyperunners .c om/ins tant/.
E ntering this U RL as the addres s for any web brows er will bring
up a s imple c hat page whic h, at the time of this writing, was
available only in G erman, but is very, very s traightforward (s ee
Figure 1 1 - 1 2 ).
Figure 11-12. To send a Skype chat message

directly from a webbrowser, enter the Skype
name of the intended recipient in the Empfänger
box, type in your text message in the Text box,
and click on Abschicken
T here is , however, a s mall gotc ha. Your mes s age is relayed to
the Skype rec ipient through the SkypeRunners web s erver, s o it
will arrive at your rec ipient's c omputer as a mes s age from an
anonymous Skype us er (s ee Figure 1 1 - 1 3 ). For that reas on, you
may want to s tart your c hat mes s age by telling the rec ipient who
you are, s o he won't be c lueles s as to your identity. N ot knowing
whom a mes s age is from c an be very c onfus ing, es pec ially if the
mes s age is s hort and c ryptic .
Figure 11-13. Chat message received

I f you're really in a hurry, or if your mes s age is very s hort, you

c an s end a Skype c hat mes s age from any web brows er by
entering jus t a U RL alone (no web form is needed):
http://www.skyperunners.com/instant/
?user=skypehackswindows&S1="Hi again! This is Andrew and I
home late for dinner - about 7 p.m."
P ay s pec ial attention to the fac t that the mes s age (Hi again! This
is Andrew and I 'll be home late for dinner - about 7 p.m.) is between
double quotes , and the rec ipient's Skype name
(s kypehacks windows ) is unquoted.
T he general format for the U RL for this method of s ending Skype

c hat mes s ages is :
http://www.skyperunners.com/instant/
?user=SkypeNameOfRecipient&sndr=SkypeNameOfSender&S1=
"MessageText"
N ote that whereas the form method does not allow you to enter a
s ender's Skype name, this U RL method does . T his method is
partic ularly s uited to P D A s , mobile phones , and other s mall-
form- fac tor devic es for whic h the web form vers ion might not
dis play properly or, even if it does , might not be eas y to
navigate.
Hack 90. Manage Add-On Access Control
For security purposes, Skype restricts add-ons f rom accessing its

A PI. This hack will help you understand and manage how your
add-ons use Skype.
Skype's A P I is a powerful tool for extending Skype's

func tionality and us ing its s ervic es . H owever, like any tool, it c an
be mis us ed. To protec t its elf from malic ious add- ons that might
us e the A P I , Skype provides s ome ac c es s c ontrol tools .
11.6.1. Understand Add-On Access

Control
To manage intelligently how add- ons c an ac c es s Skype, firs t you

need to unders tand how Skype has implemented ac c es s c ontrol
on the three platforms that s upport its A P I . T he firs t thing to
realize is that Skype c ontrols addon ac c es s at the Skype us er
level and not at the ins tallation level. P ut another way, the
ac c es s c ontrol lis t is maintained in config.xml (us er) rather than
s hared.xml (all us ers ), s o eac h Skype us er mus t manage their
own ac c es s c ontrol for add- ons .
11.6.1.1. Windows and Mac OS X.
When an addon tries to ac c es s the Skype A P I , Skype makes a

digital s ignature of the file that was run and is reques ting
ac c es s . For example, when you run a V BSc ript, the addon that
is really making the reques t is WScript.exe (or perhaps
CScript.exe, depending on how you are running the s c ript). A nd if
you give it permis s ion to ac c es s Skype, a digital s ignature will
be plac ed in config.xml for the Skype us er c urrently logged on, as
this fragment from config.xml illus trates :
…
<UI>
<AccessControlList>
<Client1>
<Key1>073d4fafd04afde1b9cf9441a997d7cc27e43f2127
e0f5b60a675a765dde6e27</Key1>
<Key2>4af2cb52c5af3c568856af89f2e4cdb0</Key2>
<Key3>65804</Key3>
<Path>C:\Program Files\rapidSoft\rapidSoft.exe
<Client2>
<Key1>8a85438e06e61ea46f989d478f9bb32b89279
39f974d95796efcb5e554fb9267</Key1>
<Key2>77ab71633cc6db19bb3366ea02ea491a</Key2>
<Key3>263922</Key3>
<Path>C:\Program Files\Skype Onlinestatus Indicat
\SkypeStatusClientTCP.exe</Path>
</Client2>
<Client3>
<Key1>76eb3dfca1281c8cb30e2006baa678322223
195d9282a564f4d0aa01425bf281</Key1>
<Key2>bf54f856b92589ad2d8c707f3e41c903</Key2>
<Key3>460168</Key3>
<Path>C:\WINDOWS\System32\WScript.exe</Path>
</Client3>
</AccessControlList>
…
By putting a digital s ignature in config.xml, even if an applic ation

with exac tly the s ame name and file pathfor example, a
malic ious vers ion of WScript.exeis run, Skype c an tell the
differenc e and bloc k it.
T hat's all well and good for regular .exe files that are add- ons ,
but what it als o means is that onc e you've given WScript.exe
ac c es s to the Skype A P I , all s c ripts yours and anyone els e's c an
and will run without any c omplaint from Skype. So, you may want
to exerc is e a good deal of c aution when giving permis s ion to
s c ripts and the engines that run them.
11.6.1.2. Linux.
O n L inux, there is no real ac c es s c ontrol; what's implemented

(at leas t as of vers ion 1 .2 .0 .1 1 _A P I ) is an illus ion. I n part, this
is not Skype's fault, as it's not pos s ible to make digital
s ignatures and the like with D - BU S (Skype's A P I mes s age-
pas s ing layer on L inux) in between the addon and Skype.
When an addon s ends the c ommand NAME AddonName to Skype via

the A P I protoc ol, Skype dutifully pops up a dialog like that
s hown in Figure 1 1 - 1 4 . I f you give the addon permis s ion to
ac c es s Skype, an entry is plac ed in the config.xml file for the
Skype us er c urrently logged on, as illus trated by the following
config.xml fragment. H owever, any exec utable addon or s c ript
that s ends the s ame AddonName as another addon that has
already been given ac c es s will likewis e be granted ac c es s . By
unders tanding this s ec urity loophole, you c an better dec ide
whether to give add- ons ac c es s to Skype.
…
<UI>
<API>
<Authorizations>
SkypeApiPythonTestClient;;;SkypeApiLogger
</Authorizations>
</API>
…
11.6.2. Manage Add-On Access Control
When an addon firs t tries to ac c es s Skype via its A P I , Skype

will as k you to give it explic it permis s ion to do s o (s ee Figure
1 1 - 1 4 ).
Figure 11-14. Initial permission dialog for add-

on access to the Skype API
H ow you manage addon ac c es s c ontrol after granting initial
ac c es s then depends on the platform.
11.6.2.1. Windows.
O nc e an addon has been given permis s ion to us e the Skype

A P I (the "A llow this program to us e Skype" radio button s hould
be c lic ked; s ee Figure 1 1 - 1 4 ), addon ac c es s c ontrol is
thereafter managed through a different dialog (s ee Figure 1 1 -
1 5 ). To ac c es s the dialog, s elec t Skype Tools
O ptions … P rivac y, and then c lic k on the "M anage other
programs ' ac c es s to Skype" link).
T he s mall double arrows in Figure 1 1 - 1 5 mean that that

partic ular addon is c urrently c onnec ted to Skype. A bs enc e of
thes e double arrows means that an addon is under ac c es s
c ontrol, but is dormant at pres ent.
Selec ting an addon from Figure 1 1 - 1 5 and c lic king on the

C hange button will open another dialog, s hown in Figure 1 1 - 1 6 ,
whic h will enable you to revoke or otherwis e c ontrol the ac c es s
for add- ons whos e exis tenc e is already known by Skype.
11.6.2.2. Linux and Mac OS X.
A s of Skype vers ion 1 .2 .0 .1 1 _A P I on L inux and 1 .3 .0 .8 on M ac

O S X, there is no dialog available through Skype's G U I to
manage addon ac c es s to the Skype A P I . To revoke ac c es s for
an addon, you mus t delete its entry in config.xml.
Figure 11-15. Dialog to manage add-on access

to Skype's API
Figure 11-16. Dialog to control future access of
add-ons for which you have already given
permission to use Skype
To delete an entry from config.xml you mus t firs t s top Skype from
running, delete the entry from the config.xml file, and then res tart
Skype. O therwis e, your c hanges won't take effec t.
O n L inux, to revoke ac c es s to an addon, you need only delete

the name of the addon from the ac c es s c ontrol lis t, as s hown in
the following config.xml fragment:
…
<UI>
<API>
<Authorizations>
SkypeApiPythonTestClient;;;SkypeApiLogger
</Authorizations>
</API>
…
O n M ac O S X, the following config.xml fragment inc ludes the

ac c es s c ontrol entry for an addon c alled M y Skype A P I Tes ter.
To revoke ac c es s to the Skype A P I for this addon you will need
to delete the addon's entry (that is , delete everything between
and inc luding the <My.20Skype.20API.20Tester> and
</My.20Skype.20API.20Tester> tags ). I f this addon s ubs equently
reques ts ac c es s to Skype, you will again be prompted to give it
permis s ion to do s o.
…
<API>
<List>
<AppleScript>
<Data1>2ACF364D256828FF6BF3680252A88880</Data1>
<Data2>627722115D344BE8518653A885370FCF</Data2>
</AppleScript>
<My.20Skype.20API.20Tester>
<Data1>39C7FB01F02DFF491174E05063DEF5F8FA20ACEE5B
29ABB220005CFBE667</Data1>
<Data2>627722115D344BE8518653A885370FCF</Data2>
</My.20Skype.20API.20Tester>
</List>
</API>
…
Chapter 12. Automate Skype
Sec tion 1 2 .1 . H ac ks 9 1 1 0 0 : I ntroduc tion
H ac k 9 1 . H ot- Switc h A mong Sound D evic es
H ac k 9 2 . A utomate C hat
H ac k 9 3 . A utomate Your I nterac tions with Telephone

Sys tems
H ac k 9 4 . Sc hedule C alls and C hat U s ing iC al on the

M ac
H ac k 9 5 . Send E mail and SM S N otific ation of N ew

Voic email
H ac k 9 6 . C onvert Your Friends L is t to Fas t- D ial

Shortc uts
H ac k 9 7 . M ake C hat Talk O ut L oud
H ac k 9 8 . E ras e a Skype U s er A c c ount
H ac k 9 9 . Spy on Skype A P I M es s ages
H ac k 1 0 0 . D is able the Skype A P I

Skype has an A pplic ation P rogramming I nterfac e (A P I ) that you
c an us e to both extend Skype's func tionality and us e its
s ervic es . For this c hapter, you won't need to be a programmer,
but you s hould be willing to roll up your s leeves and do s ome
s c ripting. You will be us ing only s imple tools readily available on
your mac hine, though you might have to download a c omponent
or two from the Web to interfac e thos e tools to the Skype A P I .
T his c hapter will not dis c us s the SkypeNET API bec aus e, at the
time of this writing, it had been announc ed but was not yet
releas ed. I f you are c urious , the SkypeN E T A P I enables other
thirdparty applic ations to us e Skype's c hat (ins tant mes s aging)
and online pres enc e infras truc ture without having to run the
Skype c lient (as oppos ed to add- ons that us e the Skype A P I ,
whic h mus t have a running Skype c lient on the s ame mac hine to
work).
We will be us ing s c ripting in three different, though

c omplementary, ways . You c an mix the three methods to
ac c omplis h what one alone c annot do. Firs t, we will us e s c ripting
to c ontrol the Skype applic ation, s pec ific ally through its native
G U I . Sec ond, we will us e the Skype A P I by s ending the Skype
applic ation s imple text- like mes s ages , and rec eiving text- like
mes s ages in return. A t the heart of the Skype A P I is a s imple,
mes s age- bas ed "s end- ac tion- reply" protoc ol and we'll be us ing
it, albeit at a s imple level. T hird, we will be us ing s hell
(c ommand) s c ripts to automate things .
I hope the s c ripts in this c hapter are us eful as they are, but
don't be afraid to hac k around with them and experiment on your
own. C ons ider thes e s c ripts as s tarting points for your own
s c ripts , and as a s timulus to your imagination when inventing
new s c ripts .
A t the time of this writing, the Skype A P I was available only for
the Windows , L inux, and M ac O S X platforms . M oreover, not all
features of the A P I were available on all platforms and for all
language bindings . For that reas on, a handful of the s c ripts
c ontain within them the word experimental, in antic ipation that
A P I s upport is imminent (as of the time of this writing), or that
Skype has announc ed it will s upport it in the very near future.
Skype's A P I is developing at a rapid pac e, but that's no exc us e
for not us ing it now, as it already has s ome great features .
M oreover, if you're waiting for the Skype A P I to reac h s ome kind
of s tas is , you might have a very long wait! E xperimental s c ripts
do run and don't do anything bad, it's jus t that they may not work
exac tly as des c ribed; all other s c ripts work fine on the vers ions
of Skype on whic h they were tes ted (s ee the P refac e). I f a s c ript
does n't work for you, the firs t thing you s hould do is determine
whether an updated s c ript has been pos ted to the book's web
s ite, http://www.oreilly.c om/c atalog/SkypeH ac ks /index.html. You
c an download all s c ripts in this c hapter from that web s ite.
12.1.1. The Skype API
E ven though we're going to us e the Skype A P I at a rather high

level, there are dis tinc t advantages to having an
unders tandingeven if only at a c onc eptual levelof its inner
workings . What follows is an overview of the Skype A P I from the
s c ripting pers pec tive.
T he Skype A P I is c onc eptually divided into two parts : the Skype

P hone A P I and the Skype A c c es s A P I . T he former is intended
for hardware devic es that c onnec t to Skype, and therefore is
beyond the s c ope of this c hapter and will not be dis c us s ed
further. O ur foc us will be on the Skype A c c es s A P I , whic h allows
an external applic ationthat we'll refer to as an add-onto extend
Skype's func tionality and us e its s ervic es .
T he c hoic e of the term add-on, rather than, s ay, add-in or plug-in

is a deliberate one. T he latter two terms c harac teris tic ally mean
a c ode module that runs in the s ame memory s pac e as the
applic ation that they extend. Skype is highly unus ual in that
add- ons that us e the Skype A P I res ide outs ide the memory
s pac e of Skype on Windows , L inux, and A ppleSc ript on M ac O S
X, and ins ide on M ac O S X for C oc oa and C arbon (I c larify this
dis tinc tion in more detail s hortly). E ven s o, the term add-on
s eems a better term to us e for s oftware that extends Skype's
func tionality, es pec ially bec aus e s uc h s oftware is often
as s oc iated with hardware that you add on to your c omputer.
A t the c ore of the Skype A P I is a s imple text- mes s age- bas ed

protoc ol. M es s ages flow to and fro between an addon and the
Skype applic ation, in a s end- ac tion- res pons e fas hion. T he add-
on s ends a mes s age reques ting that Skype perform s ome action,
and Skype res ponds to the addon by s ending bac k a mes s age
indic ating s uc c es s or failure (s ee Figure 1 2 - 1 ).
Figure 12-1. A simple Skype API message

exchange on Windows
T hough the mes s age exc hange protoc ol is the s ame on all
platforms , the mec hanis m by whic h mes s ages are exc hanged is
different depending on the platform. H ere's a brief s ummary of
how mes s ages are exc hanged on eac h platform that s upports
the Skype A P I :
Windows
M es s ages are exc hanged between the addon and Skype

by us ing Windows mes s ages (whic h are normally
mes s ages s ent to and from Windows to c ontrol their
behavior), and whic h is the underlying method of
c oordinating ac tivity within the Windows M anager (the
program whic h c ontrols the windows on your s c reen).
Linux

by us ing a mes s age bus that is independent of the
Windows M anager. T his mes s age bus is c alled D-BUS and
is a c omponent of the open s ourc e freedes ktop. org
projec t (http://www.freedes ktop.org). D - BU S mus t be
ins talled independently of Skype; that is , if you want to
us e the Skype A P I on L inux, you mus t ins tall D - BU S
yours elf. When Skype and an addon are c onnec ted to
the s ame D - BU S, they c an freely exc hange Skype A P I
protoc ol mes s ages (s ee Figure 1 2 - 2 ).
Mac OS X

by us ing the traditional A ppleSc ript interfac e to
implement a "s end" c ommand for s c ripts , and for C oc oa
and C arbon add- ons through an embeddable framework.
So, M ac O S X ac tually s upports two dis tinc tly different
mes s age- pas s ing methods : out- of- proc es s in the c as e
of A ppleSc ript by implementing a c las s ic A ppleSc ript
s end c ommand for Skype, and in- proc es s for C oc oa and
C arbon us ing as ync hronous delegate methods ins ide the
addon for Skype to pas s mes s ages bac k.
Figure 12-2. A simple Skype API message

exchange on Linux
Skype protec ts its elf from unauthorized add- ons by maintaining
an A c c es s C ontrol L is t (A C L ) of programs that the us er has
given explic it permis s ion to us e the Skype A P I . When an
unrec ognized addon firs t tries to ac c es s Skype's A P I , the us er
is pres ented with a popup dialog that as ks for permis s ion to us e
the Skype A P I (s ee Figure 1 2 - 3 ). When you run a new s c ript,
you may have to give it permis s ion to us e the Skype A P I .
Figure 12-3. Giving permission to an add-on to

use the Skype API
For readers who want to dig a little deeper into the Skype A P I ,
Skype has publis hed a doc ument, "Skype A P I : D es c ription of
Skype A P I and how to us e it," whic h you c an find at
http://s hare.s kype.c om/developer_zone/doc umentation/doc ument
A t a minimum, a Skype addon s hould initialize its interac tion

with Skype's A P I by exc hanging thes e mes s ages ( s hows a
mes s age s ent from the addon to Skype, and s hows a
mes s age s ent from Skype to the addon):
NAME NameOfAddon
OK
PROTOCOL 5
PROTOCOL 5
…
For L inux, during this mes s age exc hange, if this is the firs t time
NameOfAddon has as ked to us e the Skype A P I , Skype will pop up a
dialog as king the us er to give permis s ion for the addon to
ac c es s the A P I . OK will be returned and mes s age pas s ing will
c ontinue only if the us er gives permis s ion.
H ere is a lis t of Skype A P I mes s ages that will be us ed in this

c hapter (this is only a s mall s ubs et of the c ommands that are
available):
PING
M es s age reques ting that Skype res pond if it's pres ent.
I f Skype is running and rec eives the mes s age, it will
res pond with PONG.
AUDIO_IN
SET AUDIO_INSound device name s ent to Skype will c hange
the audio input devic e that Skype us es to the s ound
devic e s pec ified. I f no s ound devic e is s pec ified, this
c ommand will s et audio input to the Windows default
s ound devic e. I f this c ommand is s uc c es s ful, Skype's
reply mes s age will be AUDIO_IN Sound device name.
AUDIO_OUT
SET AUDIO_OUT Sound device name s ent to Skype will c hange

the audio output devic e that Skype us es to the s ound
c ommand will s et audio output to the Windows default
reply mes s age will be AUDIO_OUT Sound device name.
CALL
CALL Skypename1, Skypename2… with up to four Skype names

and/or s peed- dial c odes will initiate c alls to the
s pec ified Skype us ers . When more than one us er is us ed
with CALL, a c onferenc e c all is c reated. I f the c ommand is
s uc c es s ful, Skype will open, gain foc us , and s tart the
c all(s ). I f you are a SkypeO ut s ubs c riber, you c an us e
regular telephones in plac e of the Skype names ; for
example, you c an dial numbers s uc h as +442075551212.
CHAT CREATE
CHAT CREATESkypename1, Skypename2… with up to 5 0 Skype

us ernames will c reate a c hat s es s ion. I f a c hat s es s ion
is c reated s uc c es s fully, Skype will res pond with C H AT
<chat_id> STATUS <value>, where <chat_id> is a unique
identifier for the c hat s es s ion and <value> indic ates the
type of c hat s es s ion c reated (one- on- one c hat or
multipers on c hat).
CHATMESSAGE
U s ing the <chat_id> value returned by the CHAT CREATE

c ommand, you c an s end mes s ages to the c hat s es s ion
that has been c reated by s ending the c ommand
CHATMESSAGE <chat_id> ChatMessage. I f this c ommand is
s uc c es s ful, Skype will reply with CHATMESSAGE <chat_id>
STATUS SENDING.
FOCUS
Sending the c ommand FOCUS to Skype will open it and

give it foc us .
MESSAGE
MESSAGE Skypeuser Message will s end a c hat mes s age to the

named Skype us er. E ven though Skype lis ts this
c ommand as "obs olete," it remains a valid c ommand for
c ompatibility purpos es . T hank goodnes s , bec aus e its
replac ement c ommand, CHATMESSAGE, pos es a real
problem for A ppleSc ript. CHATMESSAGE requires a c hat I D ,
whic h is returned when the c hat s es s ion is c reated, but
this c annot be obtained in the c as e of A ppleSc ript
bec aus e Skype has provided no means by whic h to
rec eive mes s ages from Skype!
NAME
NAME SkypeAddonName will notify Skype that an addon is

reques ting to us e its A P I . I f the us er gives permis s ion
for the addon to ac c es s the A P I , NAME SkypeAddonName (or
s imply OK on L inux) is returned by Skype.
PROTOCOL
PROTOCOLVersionNumber s ent by an addon to Skype

enables the addon to notify Skype of the protoc ol
vers ion it would like to us e. Skype replies with PROTOCOL
ProtocolNumber, where ProtocolNumber is the les s er of the
addon or Skype's own s upported protoc ol number. For
example, if the addon s ends PROTOCOL 3, Skype will
res pond with PROTOCOL 3, even though it might s upport
PROTOCOL 5. A nother addon that reques ts , s ay, PROTOCOL 7
will find that Skype replies with PROTOCOL 5. Skype will not
dis c ard mes s ages from newer protoc ol vers ions and will
try to perform the ac tion reques ted by s uc h mes s ages ,
while the addon s hould ignore c ommands it does not
unders tand and that are s ent to it by Skype.
RINGER
SET RINGER Sound device name s ent to Skype will c hange

the c all- ringing devic e that Skype us es to the s ound
c ommand will s et c all ringing to the Windows default
reply mes s age will be RINGER Sound device name.
T he Skype A P I is mos t dis tinc tly a work in

progres s . When you c an't get s omething to
work with the Skype A P I , you s hould not
immediately as s ume the problem is with
you. I ndeed, a s earc h of the Skype forums
may quic kly prove it's a problem with
Skype.
For example, the following tip alone might

s ave s omeone a was ted day, as it c os t a
day of my time to find the problem and
then fix it!
Skype announc ed s upport for its A P I with

L inux in vers ion 1 .1 .0 .3 . H owever, if you
ins tall the lates t vers ion of Skype
(1 .2 .0 .1 1 at the time of this writing) on
SuSE us ing the RP M ins tallation method,
you may be s hoc ked to find that the Skype
A P I is mis s ing! T he fix is to download the
.tar.bz2 vers ion, extrac t the Skype
exec utable from that, and overwrite the
SuSE vers ion in /usr/bin with it.
T he next time you have a problem with

Skype, ins tead of s toic ally s oldiering on
agains t all odds , you s hould inves t a
littleor perhaps a lotof time res earc hing
the problem on the Skype forums . T he
odds are that it's jus t as likely to be a
problem with Skype as it is a problem with
what you are doing.
12.1.2. Windows Scripting
O n Windows , we will be us ing Vis ual Bas ic Script, or s imply

VBScript, whic h is a s ubs et of M ic ros oft's popular V is ual Bas ic
language. We'll be running V BSc ript us ing the Windows Scripting
Hos t (WSH ), whic h is a runtime environment for running Windows
s c ripts .
WSH c omes with Windows XP, but mus t be

downloaded (from
http://www.mic ros oft.c om/) and ins talled
s eparately for Windows 2 0 0 0 .
V BSc ripts are files with a .vbs extens ion and that c ontain
V BSc ript c ode. T his is not the plac e to teac h you how to c ode in
V BSc ript. For that, O 'Reilly has other books that may interes t
you (for example, VBScript in a Nuts hell [2 0 0 3 ]), but it is
important for you to know how to run V BSc ripts . You c an run
V BSc ripts without c ommandline arguments by double- c lic king
on their filenames in Windows E xplorer, from the run line (s elec t
Start Run…), by entering their filenames (with or without the
.vbs extens ion) at the c ommand prompt, or by as s igning them to
a s hortc ut. I f a s c ript takes c ommandline arguments , you
c annot run it by s imply double- c lic king on it in Windows E xplorer.
Running V BSc ripts from the c ommand line

in a c ommand prompt window c an
s ometimes produc e inc ons is tent res ults .
I t s eems that s ometimes the c ommand
window grabs foc us away from Skype
before all the keys trokes have been s ent
to Skype. For this reas on, I rec ommend
that you run V BSc ripts that drive Skype's
G U I (s pec ific ally, s c ripts that us e the
SendKeys c ommand) either us ing the run
line, or as the target of a s hortc ut. A ls o, be
aware that the maximum length for a run-
line c ommand or s hortc ut target is 2 5 9
c harac ters .
Some Windows s c ripts will us e a neat C O M c omponent c alled

A c tiveS, whic h is available free of c harge from Khaos L abs and
whic h you c an download from
http://www.khaos labs .c om/ac tives .php. I t is available in both
s ourc e c ode and binary form under a BSD - s tyle lic ens e.
E ven though teac hing you how to program in V BSc ript is not the
purpos e of this book, a few tips and tric ks on hac king and
making the s c ripts work is definitely within the book's s c ope.
H ere are a few ideas to try if you're having diffic ulty making a
s c ript (yours or mine) work as you want it to:
Scripting Skype's GUI
To s ee what your s c ript is really doing, all you need to do

is s low it down. You c an do this by ins erting paus es
between c ommands , us ing the s tatement WScript.Sleep
1000, whic h paus es the s c ript at that point for 1 ,0 0 0
millis ec onds (1 s ec ond). L iberally s prinkling thes e
throughout your s c ript and then running it will make it
look like a movie run in s low motion! A nd that might be
enough for you to s ee where your s c ript is going wrong.
Non-GUI s cripting
I f your s c ript is not driving Skype's G U I , you c an't

ac tually s ee what's happening direc tly. H owever, by
ins erting c ommands to pop up information from time to
time, you c an peek at your s c ript's inner workings . You
c an do this by ins erting popup c ommands at important
points in your c ode, as s hown in the following s c ript,
popup.vbs :
' File: popup.vbs
Dim objShell, num

Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell
num = 1
objShell.Popup "num = " & CStr(num)
num = num + 1
objShell.Popup "num + 1 = " & CStr(num)
Scripting the Skype API with ActiveS
A good s tarting point for any s c ript that us es the

A c tiveS c omponent (whic h mus t be ins talled s eparately)
is to us e the ping_pong.vbs s c ript as a template. Firs t,
run ping_pong.vbs and make s ure it works on your
mac hine, then gradually add c ommands periodic ally
running the s c ript to make s ure it's s till workinguntil
your s c ript is done. A n interes ting feature of this s c ript
is the us e of the event handler, SkypeAPI_Result, whic h
you c an modify to monitor any mes s age returned by
Skype, not jus t PONG. O ne important thing to bear in mind
about a s c ript like this one is that it won't s top until it
gets the appropriate res pons e mes s age from Skypein
this c as e, PONG.
' File: ping_pong.vbs
Dim objShell, objSkypeAPI

Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell
Set objSkypeAPI = WScript.CreateObject("SkypeAPI.A
objSkypeAPI.ConnectAndWait 15000
objShell.Popup objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("PI
U nfortunately, V BSc ript is no longer inc luded in RO M with

P oc ket P C 2 0 0 3 or Windows M obile 2 0 0 3 , s o you won't be able
to take advantage of s c ripting Skype on your handheld devic e.
Sc ripting for P oc ket P C will not be explored in this c hapter.
12.1.3. Linux Scripting

O n L inux, Skype has been developed us ing the Q t applic ation
framework from Trolltec h, http://www.trolltec h.c om/. Q t has a
s c ripting interfac e c alled Qt Script for Applications (Q SA ), but
s adly, Skype does not s upport it. N or does Skype s upport the
s tandard tec hnique for applic ation s c ripting for the KD E
des ktopnamely, Des ktop COmmunication Protocol (D C O P ).
T his s orry s tate of affairs leaves us with s c ripting the Skype A P I

as the only option. For this , we will be us ing the P ython s c ripting
language, whic h is c ommonly available on the L inux platform.
T here is not enough s pac e in this book to teac h you P ython;
indeed, not enough s pac e to give you even a quic k tutorial. To
learn more about programming with P ython, I s ugges t that you
read Learning Python, Second Edition (O 'Reilly, 2 0 0 3 ).
H owever, I would be remis s if I didn't offer you s ome help in

s c ripting Skype with P ython. So, here are a few tips and tric ks
you might find us eful:
Slow s cript execution
When your s c ript is doing a lot of things very quic kly, it's
diffic ult for you to s ee or unders tand what's going on. For
that reas on, it helps to s low things down by putting
paus es between exec utable s tatements , as in this
s c ript, paus e.py:
# -*- coding: iso-8859-15 -*
# File: pause.py
import time
def main():
print "You should see this line first…"
time.sleep(3)
print "…and this line about 3 seconds later!"
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
Output in a pop-up window
To s ee what's going on ins ide your s c ript, it's s ometimes

us eful to output s tuff to the s c reen. T his s c ript,
popup.py, s hows you how to output data to the c ommand
terminal with print and to a popup window us ing
SimpleDialog( ) from the T k toolkit, whic h you mus t als o
have ins talled on your mac hine:
# -*- coding: iso-8859-15 -*
# File: popup.py
from Tkinter import *

from SimpleDialog import SimpleDialog
def main():
print "Here's some output to the command termi
root = Tk() # Initialize windowing toolkit
SimpleDialog(root,
"…and here's some output in a popup w
buttons=["OK"], default=0, title="Pop
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
Scripting the Skype API us ing Python
H ere is a very s imple s c ript, ping_pong.py, whic h you

c an us e as a s tarting point for your own s c ripts that us e
the Skype A P I :
# -*- coding: iso-8859-15 -*
# File: ping_pong.py
import dbus, sys

class addon:
# Name of Skype API addon (that is, name of th
def name(self):
return 'NAME PingPong'
# Skype API protocol required by this addon
def protocol(self):
return 'PROTOCOL 1'
class skype_api:
def __init__(self):
remote_bus = dbus.SystemBus()
system_service_list = remote_bus.get_servi
'org.freedesktop.DBus').get_object('/org/f
'org.freedesktop.DBus').ListServices()
skype_api_found = 0
for service in system_service_list:
if service=='com.Skype.API':
skype_api_found = 1
break
if not skype_api_found:
sys.exit('No API-capable instance of S
skype_service = remote_bus.get_service('co
self.skype_api_object = skype_service.get_
'/com/Skype', 'com.Skype.API')
this_addon = addon()
answer = self.send_message(this_addon.name
if answer != 'OK':
sys.exit('Could not bind to Skype client')
answer = self.send_message(this_addon.prot
if answer != this_addon.protocol():
sys.exit(this_addon.protocol() + ' is
' by the version of Skype you are
def send_message(self, message):

answer = self.skype_api_object.Invoke(mess
print 'MESSAGE SENT TO SKYPE --> ' + messa
print 'MESSAGE RETURNED BY SKYPE <-- ' + a
return answer
def main():
skypeapi = skype_api()
skypeapi.send_message('PING')
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
You c an run P ython s c ripts from the c ommand line, like this :
python script. py arg1, where arg1 and any following arguments
are optional, depending on the needs of the s c ript.
12.1.4. Mac OS X Scripting
T he de fac to s c ripting environment for the M ac is A ppleSc ript.

T his wonderful, E nglis h- like s c ripting language has been around
s inc e 1 9 9 3 , and it is tightly integrated with the M ac operating
s ys tem. We will be us ing A ppleSc ript to c ontrol Skype through
its G U I and its A P I .
To have A ppleSc ript drive Skype's G U I ,

you mus t enable one of M ac O S X's
univers al ac c es s options . To do s o, s elec t
Sys tem P referenc es U nivers al
A c c es s , and then c hec k the "E nable
ac c es s for as s is tive devic es " c hec kbox.
To learn more about programming with A ppleSc ript, I thoroughly

rec ommend the book that I us e, AppleScript: The Mis s ing Manual
(O 'Reilly, 2 0 0 5 ). I n the meantime, thes e tips and tric ks s hould
help to s end you on your way to s c ripting Skype us ing
A ppleSc ript:
Scripting Skype's GUI

A ppleSc ript is a very powerful tool for s c ripting Skype
through its G U I . E ven though Skype c an hardly c laim to
be A ppleSc ript aware or even friendly (it has a minis c ule
dic tionary of c ommands ), by us ing A ppleSc ript you c an
readily ac c omplis h in a s c ript anything you might do
manually through Skype's G U I . To us e A ppleSc ript to
drive the Skype G U I , you will firs t have to enable
s c ripting of A pple's G U I (s elec t Sys tem P referenc es
U nivers al A c c es s , and then c hec k the "E nable
ac c es s for as s is tive devic es " c hec kbox). A ls o, if you're
having problems with a s c ript, it helps to s low it
downmake it run in s low motionby ins erting paus es
between c ommands us ing delay; for example, delay 0.5
will paus e s c ript exec ution for half a s ec ond. I t als o
helps to s ee what's going on ins ide a running s c ript by
dis playing data and information at various points
throughout the s c ript, whic h you c an do us ing the display
dialog c ommand; for example, display dialog "Point XYZ
in the script has been reached" will pop up a window and
dis play the mes s age text.
Scripting the Skype API with AppleScript
Skype has s upport for only one A ppleSc ript c ommand:

sendthat's it! T his unfortunately means that you c an only
s end c ommands to Skype, and that you won't rec eive
any res pons es bac k from Skype. L ike many modern- day
weapons , this fire- and- forget mode of operation is fine if
the intended target is hit s quarely; but it's no good if you
mis s . N ot getting anything bac k from Skype in res pons e
to an is s ued c ommand c an make s c ripts harder to
debug. P res umably, Skype will extend its A ppleSc ript
interfac e to its A P I s ometime s oon to remedy the
s ituation. I n the meantime, this bas ic s c ript,
echo123.s cpt, may prove us eful as the s tarting point for
your own s c ripting efforts to automate Skype, through
both its A P I and its G U I :
-- File: echo123.scpt
-- Skype API scripting

tell application "Skype"
-- Send Skype API command to chat with echo123
-- echo123 service call you back
send command "MESSAGE echo123 callme" script n
delay 3
-- Send Skype API command to bring Skype to th
-- give it focus send command "FOCUS" script n
end tell
-- Skype GUI scripting

tell application "System Events"
tell process "Skype"
-- Pickup the call by clicking the "Answer
-- "Quick Answer" window
click button 1 of group 1 of group 1 of wi
delay 5
-- Hangup the call by clicking "Hang Up" i
click menu item "Hang Up" of menu 1 of men
"Call" of menu bar 1

end tell
end tell
Hack 91. Hot-Switch Among Sound
Devices
By attaching a script to a hotkey sequence, you can hot-switch

among the sound devices used by Skypeeven during a call!
You might want to s witc h from one s ound devic e to another for
many reas ons . For ins tanc e, you might want to s witc h from a
mic rophone and s peaker to a hands et for privac y from
eaves droppers during a c all, or you might have a hands et but
you like to play your voic email over a s peaker. T he s c ripts in
this hac k will s how you how to hot- s witc h among s ound devic es
with fas t and eas y hotkey s equenc es .
T here are two ways of s witc hing s ound devic es in Skype by

means of s c ripts . Firs t, you c an drive its G U I interfac e to do the
job, whic h is often ugly but avoids having to deal with the Skype
A P I . T he s ec ond method is to drive the Skype A P I from a s c ript,
whic h, when pos s ible, is a little c leaner and les s error prone. I 'll
pres ent both methods in this hac k. I t's your c hoic e as to what
works bes t for your s etup.
I n the c as e of s c ripts that drive the Skype G U I , in effec t you will

s imply have the s c ript drive thos e interac tions with Skype that
you would otherwis e do by hand. You will s ave yours elf a world of
frus tration if, when writing thes e types of s c ript, you have a
notepad and penc il c los e at hand. J ot down your s teps , no matter
how s mall, s o that when it c omes time to replay them in a s c ript,
no s teps are mis s ed. M is s ing a s ingle s tep in a s c ript may mean
that your s c ript s imply won't work, or that it does s omething
totally unintended. You have been warned!
12.2.1. Windows
Whic hever method you c hoos epure s c ripting or s c ripting the

Skype A P I it will s implify things if you firs t c reate a s hortc ut for
Skype.exe on your des ktop or s omewhere in the Start menu and
as s ign a hotkey s equenc e to its ay, C trl- Shift- S. T his will make
things eas ier bec aus e we'll be s ending key s equenc es to Skype,
but we c an do that only if Skype is open and has foc us . But
Skype s pends muc h of its time minimized in the Windows s ys tem
tray. By as s igning Skype a hotkey s equenc e of its own, we c an
make it open and pop up anytime we want.
You c an enable hotkeys in Skype (s elec t

Skype Tools O ptions …
H otkeys ) and as s ign a hotkey s equenc e to
foc us Skype. H owever, this method of
gaining foc us for Skype has the annoying
s ide effec t of minimizing Skype to the
s ys tem tray when Skype is already open.
T his , c learly, is not the behavior required
by a s c ript that always needs to s end
keys trokes to an open window that has
foc us .
12.2.1.1. Script Skype's GUI.
H ere are the beginnings of our s c ript to hot- s witc h s ound

devic es through Skype's G U I . T his s c ript, focus .vbs , will dis play
Skype and give it foc us :
' File: focus.vbs
Dim objShell
objShell.SendKeys "^+S" ' Send ctrl+shift+S
N ow, having gotten Skype's attention, we c an s end it a s equenc e

of keys to get to the s ound- devic e s etup s c reen for Skype. T he
following s c ript, s ound_devices .vbs , will get you to the point s how
in Figure 1 2 - 4 .
Figure 12-4. Skype sound device options screen

' File: sound_devices.vbs
Dim objShell
objShell.SendKeys "^+S" ' Send ctrl+shift+S
WScript.Sleep 1000 ' Wait for Skype to open and g
objShell.SendKeys "%(TO)" ' Tools --> Options…
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' Move to left pane …
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' …done.
objShell.SendKeys "{DOWN}" ' Move to Sound Devices …
objShell.SendKeys "{DOWN}" ' …
objShell.SendKeys "{DOWN}" ' …done.
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' Move to audio-in pulldown me
objShell.SendKeys "%{DOWN}" ' Pull down the menu to displa
From here on, all you have to do is replic ate the key s equenc es
you would enter by hand. I n my c as e, the s c ript, logitech.vbs , to
make my L ogitec h U SB heads et the devic e us ed by Skype for all
s ound purpos es looks like this :
' File: logitech.vbs
Dim objShell
objShell.SendKeys "^+S" ' Send ctrl-shift-S
WScript.Sleep 1000 ' Wait for Skype to open and g
objShell.SendKeys "%(TO)" ' Tools --> Options…
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' Move to left pane …
WScript.Sleep 100
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{DOWN}" ' Move to Sound Devices …
WScript.Sleep 100
WScript.Sleep 100
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{DOWN}" ' …done.
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' Move to audio-in pulldown me
WScript.Sleep 100
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "L" ' Set audio-in to Logitech
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "L" ' Set audio-out to Logitech
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "L" ' Set ringer to Logitech
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' Move to save button …
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{TAB}" ' …
WScript.Sleep 100
WScript.Sleep 100
objShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}" ' Press the save button.
D uring a c all, Skype is bus y with many things . For Skype not to
mis s keys trokes s ent by the previous s c ript during a c all, the
s c ript paus es for 1 0 0 millis ec onds before is s uing eac h
s equenc e of keys trokes .
A nother s c ript, c-media.vbs , whic h is identic al in every res pec t

to logitech.vbs exc ept that L is replac ed with C, will s witc h
Skype's s ound devic es bac k to the C - M edia U SB headphone
s et. A ll that remains is to c reate s hortc uts for logitech.vbs and c-
media.vbs and as s ign hotkeys to thems ay, C trl- Shift- L and C trl-
Shift- C , res pec tively. T hen, s witc hing between the two
devic es even during a c allis jus t a s hort hotkey s equenc e away.
12.2.1.2. Script Skype's API.
Switc hing s ound devic es in Skype us ing the Skype A P I requires

that three c ommands be s ent to Skype: AUDIO_IN, AUDIO_OUT, and
RINGER. T his s c ript, logitech_API .vbs , in c ombination with
A c tiveS, will have Skype s witc h to the L ogitec h U SB heads et
s ound devic e. A n almos t identic al s c ript, c-media_API .vbs , whic h
replac es the words "L ogitec h U SB H eads et" with "C - M edia U SB
H eadphone Set," will s witc h Skype to us e that devic e ins tead.
T hes e two s c ripts , logitech_API .vbs and c-media_API .vbs , are the
Skype A P I equivalents of logitech.vbs and c-media.vbs (as
dis c us s ed earlier).
' File: logitech_API.vbs
Dim objSkypeAPI
Set objSkypeAPI = WScript.CreateObject("SkypeAPI.Access")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand "SET AUDIO_IN Logitech USB
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand "SET AUDIO_OUT Logitech US
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand "SET RINGER Logitech USB H
12.2.2. Linux
I f you want to s witc h s ound devic es on L inux us ing a s c ript, you

have to us e the Skype A P I . You c an invoke this s c ript, hot-
s witch.py (experimental), from the c ommand prompt like this :
python hot-switch.py '/dev/dsp1, where /dev/dsp1 is the name of
the audio devic e that you want Skype to us e for both audio- in
and audio- out func tions :
# -*- coding: iso-8859-15 -*
# File: hot-switch.py (experimental)
import dbus, sys
class addon:
# Name of Skype API addon (that is, name of this scrip
def name(self):
return 'NAME HotSwitch'
# Skype API protocol required by this addon
def protocol(self):
return 'PROTOCOL 1'
class skype_api:
def __init__(self):
remote_bus = dbus.SystemBus()
system_service_list = remote_bus.get_service( \
'org.freedesktop.DBus').get_object( \
'/org/freedesktop/DBus', \
'org.freedesktop.DBus').ListServices()
skype_api_found = 0
for service in system_service_list:
if service=='com.Skype.API':
skype_api_found = 1
break
if not skype_api_found:
sys.exit('No running API-capable Skype found')
skype_service = remote_bus.get_service('com.Skype.
self.skype_api_object = skype_service.get_object(
'/com/Skype', 'com.Skype.API')
this_addon = addon()
answer = self.send_message(this_addon.name())
if answer != 'OK':
sys.exit('Could not bind to Skype client')
answer = self.send_message(this_addon.protocol())
if answer != this_addon.protocol():
sys.exit(this_addon.protocol() + \
' is not supported by the version' + \
' of Skype you are running')

answer = self.skype_api_object.Invoke(message)
print 'MESSAGE SENT TO SKYPE --> ' + message
print 'MESSAGE RETURNED BY SKYPE <-- ' + answer
return answer
def main():
skypeapi = skype_api()
skypeapi.send_message('SET AUDIO_IN ' + sys.argv[
skypeapi.send_message('SET AUDIO_OUT ' + sys.argv[
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
12.2.3. Mac OS X
O n M ac O S X, us ing A ppleSc ript, you c an hot- s witc h s ound

devic es either through Skype's G U I interfac e, or by us ing its
A PI.
12.2.3.1. Script Skype's GUI.
T his s c ript, logitech.s cpt, will s witc h the s ound devic e us ed by

Skype to the L ogitec h U SB heads et. To make it work for other
s ound devic es , c opy the file and rename it, and then c hange the
name of the s ound devic e us ed in the s c ript. N ote that you mus t
be very c areful with devic e names , as the name in your s c ript
and the name of the devic e for Skype mus t matc h exac tly. For
example, to s witc h to my "C - M edia U SB H eadphone Set," the
name I ac tually had to us e in my s c ript was "C - M edia U SB
H eadphone Set " (with two trailing blank c harac ters ). J us t be
c areful with names and you s hould be hot s witc hing between
s ound devic es in no time.
-- File: logitech.scpt

activate
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Skype"
click menu item "Preferences…
" of menu 1 of
menu bar item "Skype" of menu bar 1

try
click button "Audio" of tool bar 1 of window
end try
try
end try
try
end try
try
end try
ry
end try
try
end try
click pop up button 1 of group 1 of group 1 of win
pick menu item "Logitech USB Headset" of menu of
pop up button 1 of group 1 of group 1 of windo
delay 0.5
click pop up button 2 of group 1 of group 1 of win
pick menu item "Logitech USB Headset" of menu of
pop up button 2 of group 1 of group 1 of windo

delay 0.5
click button 1 of window "Audio"
end tell
end tell
12.2.3.2. Script Skype's API.
T he A P I s c ript equivalent of logitech.s cpt, logitech_API .s cpt

(experimental), is a lot s horter and a lot c leaner. But that s ame
warning about s ound devic e names als o applies .
-- File: logitech_API.scpt (experimental)

send command "SET AUDIO_IN Logitech USB Headset" scrip
send command "SET AUDIO_OUT Logitech USB Headset" scri
out"
end tell
Hack 92. Automate Chat
If you need to send chat messages to a group of people of ten,

why not use this script hack to create a multichat session and
send messages to all participants on your behalf .
Sending c hat to a lot of people at onc e c an be tedious , and

doubly s o if you have to do this often, whic h c an be the c as e for
tightknit teams or groups of, s ay, 1 0 or more people that us e
c hat a lot. So, the next time you need to s end "P rogres s
meeting, 4 p.m. today, room 1 0 1 " to 5 0 people, c ons ider
automating s ending the c hat mes s age with this s c ript, chat.vbs .
T his is als o the ideal way to s tart a multipers on c hat s es s ion
with a lot of partic ipants , as your opening mes s age s tarts the
c hat s es s ion, adds all partic ipants to that c hat s es s ion, and
then opens the c hat window (optional, s ee s c ript), ready for you
to c ontinue c hatting.
' File: chat.vbs
' Invoke like this from the command-line:

' chat /u=skypeuser1 /u=skypeuser2 MessageText
'
' Parameters:
' /u=skypeuser1 - Recipients (up to 50) of the chat messag
' their Skype names prefixed with "/u="
' MessageText - Text for the chat message
' Global variables
Dim objShell ' Scripting shell object
Dim arrUsers ' Array of users to send
Dim objSkypeAPI ' SkypeAPI object
Dim objChat ' Chat object
Dim bComplete ' Flag to indicate when process is done
Dim strChatCmd ' Holds the command to create the chat

bComplete = False
' Count how many users are passed

iCount = 0
bUsersFound = False
Redim arrUsers(objArgs.Count)
For i = 1 to objArgs.Count
If (Left(objArgs(i-1), 3) = "/u=") And (Not bInMessage
arrUsers(i-1) = Mid(objArgs(i-1), 4)
iCount = iCount + 1
If iCount > 50 Then
Exit For
End If
bUsersFound = True
ElseIf bUsersFound Then
If Not bInMessage Then
bInMessage = True
Else
strMessage = strMessage + " "
End If
strMessage = strMessage + objArgs(i-1)
End If
Next
' Prompt the user if the correct parameters weren't sent

If iCount > 50 Then
objShell.Popup "You are limited to 50 users", 0, _
"Unable to Send Message", 48
ElseIf (iCount = 0) Or (Len(strMessage) = 0) Then
objShell.Popup "/u=user1 /u=user2 Message to Send", _
0, "Broadcast Chat Message Script Usage", 64
Else
' Resize users array
Redim Preserve arrUsers(iCount)
' Connect to Skype and wait for finish

If objSkypeAPI.Protocol < 4 Then
objShell.Popup _
"You must be running a more current version of Sky
Else
' Build and send the chat command
strChatCmd = "CHAT CREATE " + Join(arrUsers, ", ")
If Right(strChatCmd, 2) = ", " Then
strChatCmd = Mid(strChatCmd, 1, Len(strChatCmd)
End If
strResult = objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand(strCha
' Parse the result string to get the chat ID

sparts = Split(strResult, " ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand _
"CHATMESSAGE " + sparts(1) + " " + strMessage
' [Optional] Comment out if you don't want to open

' the chat window
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand "OPEN CHAT " + spa
End If
End If
A s lis ting a large number of rec ipients on the c ommand line c an

be both tedious and error prone, perhaps a better method is to
wrap chat.vbs in a batc h files ay, team_chat.batas s hown here
(enter the chat s c ript c ommand and its parameters as one, long,
c ontinuous line in the batc h file). T hat way, you c an s imply
invoke it at a c ommand prompt, like this : team_chat "Progress
meeting, 4 p.m. today, room 101".
REM File: team_chat.bat
chat /u=TeamMember1 /u=TeamMember2 /u=TeamMember3 /u=Tea

/u=TeamMember4 /u=TeamMember6…/u=TeamMemberN %1
Hack 93. Automate Your Interactions
with Telephone Systems
If you interact with automated telephone systems of ten (the

"Press 6 to access your account" sort of thing) this hack will do
the work of pressing the buttons f or you.
T hey're the s ys tems we all love to hate! I nteractive Voice

Res pons e (I V R) s ys tems c an s implify life, or make life
unbearable. From renewing a drug pres c ription to getting your
bank balanc e over the phone, when they work they're a boon, and
when they don't they're a bus t.
I V R s ys tems res pond to the keys you pres s (ac tually, the tones
you hear when you pres s a key) on your phone's keypad (or on
Skype's D ial tab) in res pons e to voic e prompts from a c omputer
at the other end of the c all. M enus for I V R s ys tems are normally
well defined and don't c hange often. So, grab a notepad and jot
down your interac tions at eac h s tep during an I V R c all. A rmed
with this information, you're in a good pos ition to automate the
proc es s the next time around
O f c ours e, in tribute to M urphy's L aw, the menu option you mos t

often want is buried s o deep that it's a lot of key pres s es away.
So, if you interac t often with I V R s ys tems , automate your
interac tion in whole, or in part, us ing this s c ript, ivr.vbs . N ote
that you will have to be a s ubs c riber to the SkypeO ut s ervic e if
you want to c all regular phone numbers that operate I V R
s ys tems .
' File: ivr.vbs

' ivr +18005551212 ,,123,456,,78
'
' Parameters:
' +18005551212 - number to call
' ,,123,456,,78 - keypad keys to press with 1 second pause
' each comma
' Global variable
Dim g_objShell ' Scripting shell object
' Dial number and send DTMF tones upon connection

' SkypeHandle = handle of Skype user or telephone number t
' DTMF = string of DTMF values (0-9,#,* and ,)
Sub DialDTMF(SkypeHandle, DTMF)
Dim objSkypeAPI ' SkypeAPI object
Dim objCall ' Call object
Dim iStatus ' Call status
Dim i ' Counter
Dim strDigit ' DTMF digit
' Create the Skype interface object

Set objSkypeAPI = WScript.CreateObject("SkypeAPI.Acces
' Place the call

Set objCall = objSkypeAPI.PlaceCall(SkypeHandle)
' Loop until the call is cancelled, finished or in pro

Do
iStatus = objCall.Status
' If the call is in progress, then
' send the DTMF characters
If iStatus = 5 Then
For i = 1 to Len(DTMF)
strDigit = Mid(DTMF, i, 1)
Select Case strDigit
Case "0", "1", "2", "3", _
"4", "5", "6", "7", _
"8", "9", "#", "*":
' Send the DTMF digit
' and wait 200 ms so
' that the digit
' registers properly
objCall.SendDTMF strDigit
' If this pause isn't
' here, DTMF tones may
' play back too fast
WScript.Sleep 400
Case ",":
' Interpret commas as
' 1 sec pauses
WScript.Sleep 1000
End Select
Next
Else
' Wait for the call to be picked up
' or cancelled
WScript.Sleep 500
End If
Loop While (iStatus <> 3) and _
(iStatus <> 5) and _
(iStatus <> 11)
End Sub

Set g_objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
' Make sure the user is sending the correct number of para
If WScript.Arguments.Length <> 2 Then
g_objShell.Popup "Parameter 1: Skype Handle to Call" &
vbCrLF & "Parameter 2: DTMF to Send", _
0, "DialDTMF Script Usage", 64
Else
DialDTMF WScript.Arguments(0), WScript.Arguments(1)
End If
Hack 94. Schedule Calls and Chat Using
iCal on the Mac
Have you ever f orgotten to make or return an important call?

Well, that can be a thing of the past if you have iCal place the
call f or you at the right time and on the right date.
Works with: M ac O S X vers ion of Skype.
iC al on the M ac has a neat feature whereby you c an attac h an

A ppleSc ript to an event and have it run prec is ely on a date and
at a time that you c hoos e.
To s c hedule a Skype c all, s imply c reate a s hort A ppleSc ripts ay,

call_pete.s cptthat us es the Skype A P I to s tart the c all for you.
N ote that after the CALL c ommand you c an have either a Skype
us ername or a telephone number (if you are a SkypeO ut
s ubs c riber). N ext you mus t as s oc iate this s c ript with an event in
iC al. You c an do this by s elec ting "Run s c ript" from the "alarm"
option for an event (s ee Figure 1 2 - 5 ).
A t the duly appointed date and time, the s c ript will run, and
Skype will pop up and s tart the c all. C learly, however, s c heduled
c alls are for times when you're s ure you'll be s itting at your
c omputer! L ikewis e, you c an s c hedule c onferenc e c alls in a
s imilar way (us ing a c ommand s uc h as CALL skypeuser1
+442075551212 skypeuser2, for ins tanc e, lis ting up to four
c onferenc e c all partic ipants after the CALL s tatement).
-- File: call_pete.scpt

send command "CALL +12035551212" script name "Call Pet
end tell
You c an als o s c hedule c hat mes s ages in the s ame manner.

Suppos e you have a regular team meeting at noon every
Wednes day. You c an s end a c hat mes s age reminder to all team
members five minutes before the s tart of the meeting by
attac hing a s c ript, s uc h as chat_team.s cpt, to a rec urring event
in iC al:
Figure 12-5. Attaching a script to an event in

iCal
-- File: chat_team.scpt

set msg to " Weekly team meeting in 5 minutes, room 10
send command "MESSAGE skypeteam1" & msg script name "T
end tell
I n the chat_team.s cpt s c ript, pay partic ular attention to the fac t
that there mus t be whites pac e between the Skype us ername and
the mes s age text.
J us t as you c an't c all yours elf in Skype, you c an't s end a c hat
mes s age to only yours elf (though the latter is n't entirely true). I f
you s end a c hat mes s age to ec ho1 2 3 , it will be reflec ted bac k to
you. T his means you c an s end c hat mes s ages to yours elf, whic h
at firs t glanc e s eems pointles s until you realize that s uc h
mes s ages in c ombination with iC al mean that you c an s end
yours elf reminders us ing Skype c hat! T his is partic ularly us eful
if you regularly log onto Skype on s everal mac hines under
different Skype us ernames , whic h might be the c as e if you have
s everal mac hines at home or at the offic e and you roam from one
to the next, or if you travel with a laptop. Your s c hedule is
c entralized on one mac hine, but your reminders are dis tributed.
Simply attac h a s c ript s uc h as chat_reminder.s cpt to an event in
iC al, and no matter where you are logged onto Skype, your
reminder will grab your attention.
-- File: chat_reminder.scpt

set msg to " Dental appointment at 4:30 p.m."
send command "MESSAGE echo123" & msg script name "Self
send command "MESSAGE skypehome" & msg script name "Ho
send command "MESSAGE skypeoffice" & msg script name "
send command "MESSAGE skypelaptop" & msg script name "
send command "MESSAGE skypepocket" & msg script name "
end tell
Hack 95. Send Email and SMS
Notification of New Voicemail
Don't let Skype voicemail languish, unheard f or hours or perhaps

even days. Get timely notif ications of newly arrived Skype
voicemail by automatically sending an email/SMS message to
your handheld or mobile phone.
Works with: Windows and M ac O S X vers ions of Skype.
I f you move around a lot with a handheld devic e that has email
but does n't run Skype (for example, a P alm P D A ), or if you c arry
a Short Mes s age Service (SM S)- enabled phone, you c an get
timely notific ation of the arrival of new Skype voic email us ing
the following s c ripts . O nc e you rec eive notific ation, go to the
neares t mac hine running Skype, log on, and you'll be able to
lis ten to your newly arrived voic email.
When you log onto Skype on a mac hine

that is not your own, Skype downloads new
voic email and other files to that mac hine's
hard dis k. T hes e files are not enc rypted,
s o you might want to delete them s afely
before leaving the borrowed mac hine (s ee
"E ras e a Skype U s er A c c ount" [Hack
#98]).
T he s c ripts work jus t as well for mobile phones . M os t mobile
phones with SM S have an email gateway s o that any s hort email
mes s age s ent to the gateway is c onverted into an SM S mes s age
and is forwarded to your phone. For example, s ending an email to
one of thes e email gateways will deliver an SM S mes s age to the
mobile phone with the number s pec ified (PhoneNumber):
T-Mobile
P honeN umber@ tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile
P honeN umber@ vmobl.c om
Cingular
P honeN umber@ c ingularme.c om
Sprint
P honeN umber@ mes s aging.s printpc s .c om
Verizon
P honeN umber@ vtext.c om
Nextel
P honeN umber@ mes s aging.nextel.c om
A ll of the s c ripts in this hac k c ontinuous ly monitor the folder

into whic h Skype puts its voic email files . E ac h time a new file
appears in the folder, the s c ripts s end off a s hort email to your
portable devic eindeed, to any devic e or devic es that are email
enabled!
T he s c ripts in this hac k work by c ons tantly monitoring the folder

that Skype us es to download voic email files for newly arrived
voic emails . Whereas the Windows and M ac O S X vers ions of
Skype download voic email files immediately, the L inux vers ion
does not do s o until the us er ac tually plays a voic email
mes s age. T hat is why the s c ripting tec hnique us ed in this hac k
won't work on L inux.
N ormally, Skype s tores voic email files in thes e folders :
Windows
C:\Documents and Settings \LogonName\Application

Data\Skype\SkypeName\voicemail
Mac OS X
/Us ers /LogonName/Library/ApplicationSupport/Skype/SkypeNam

Were Skype to make the audio format of its
voic email public (Skype, if you're reading
this , that's a hint), you c ould eas ily modify
the s c ripts in this hac k to forward via
email the newly arrived voic email as a
s ound file attac hment that c ould be played
on the rec eiving handheld devic e. N ow that
would be c ool!
12.6.1. Windows
T his s c ript, new_voicemail.vbs , will c hec k your voic email folder

every 3 0 s ec onds or s o to s ee whether a new voic email has
arrived. When one does , it s ends off a s hort email mes s age
telling you s o. I t us es the Simple M es s age Trans fer P rotoc ol
(SM T P ) to s end email, bec aus e if you try to s c ript M ic ros oft
O utlook, you'll s oon be in a world of painbelieve me, don't go
that route! To make this s c ript work for you, you will need to
make s ome s mall c hanges . But onc e you've done that, the s c ript
will run c ontinuous ly in the bac kground until you explic itly kill it
or s hut down your mac hine.
' File: new_voicemail.vbs
' Things you need to change in this script are

' shown like <this>.
Const cdoSendUsingPort = 2 ' Send the message using SMTP
Const cdoBasicAuth = 1 ' Clear-text authentication
Const cdoTimeout = 60 ' Timeout for SMTP in seconds
Const cdoPort = 25 ' Port number for SMTP
Dim objFSO, objFolder, objFiles, objEmail

Dim voicemail_folder, num_voicemails
voicemail_folder = "C:\Documents and Settings\<YourLogonNa
"\Application Data\Skype\<SkypeName>" &
"\voicemail"
Set objFolder = objFSO.GetFolder(voicemail_folder)
Set objFiles = objFolder.Files
num_voicemails = objFiles.Count
Do
If objFiles.count > num_voicemails Then
Set objEmail = CreateObject("CDO.Message")
' Message to be sent

objEmail.Subject = "You have a new Skype voicemail!"
objEmail.Sender = "<SenderEmailAddress>"
objEmail.To = "<RecipientEmailAddress>"
objEmail.TextBody = "You have new voicemail…" & _
VbCr & VbCr & "…logon to " & _
"your Skype account to " & _
"listen to your new " & _
"voicemail message."
'---------------------------------------------------------
' SMTP server details
objEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item _
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing
cdoSendUsingPort
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserve
"<SMTPServerName>"
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpauthe
cdoBasicAuth
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusern
"<SMTPUsername>"
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendpassw
"<SMTPPassword>"
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserve
cdoPort
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpusess
False
("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpconne
cdoTimeout
objEmail.Configuration.Fields.Update
'---------------------------------------------------------
objEmail.Send
Set objEmail = Nothing
End If
num_voicemails = objFiles.count
WScript.Sleep 30000 ' Go to sleep for 30 seconds

Loop While True
12.6.2. Mac OS X
You c an attac h this A ppleSc ript, new_voicemail.s cpt, to a folder

ac tionin this c as e, the "new item alert" ac tionthat will run the
s c ript every time a new file is added to the Skype voic email
folder. T his means that every time a new voic email arrives , the
s c ript us es Mail to s end you a notific ation mes s age.
To s et up a folder ac tion, in the Finder loc ate the Skype

voic email folder, C trl- C lic k on it, c hoos e A ttac h a Folder
A c tion…, and then attac h the new_voicemail.s cpt s c ript. N ow,
every time a new voic email arrives , you'll know about it wherever
you might be. T his s c ript will run on ac tion until you dis able or
delete the folder ac tion with whic h it is as s oc iated. E ven after
rebooting, it'll s till be there, doing its job!
To have new_voicemail.s cpt available as a folder- ac tion s c ript,

you mus t put it in the folder- ac tion s c ripts folder,
/Library/Scripts /Folder Action Scripts /:
-- File: new_voicemail.scpt
-- Things you need to change in this script are

-- shown like <this>.
on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving adde

try
tell application "Mail"
-- Send mail immediately
set displayForManualSend to false
-- Mail header
set email_to to "<RecipientEmailAddress>"
set email_from to "<SenderEmailAddress>"
set email_subject to "You have new Skype voice
-- Mail body
set email_body to return & return &
"You have new voicemail…" &
return & return &
"…logon to your Skype account " &
"to listen to your new voicemail message."

-- Create the e-mail
set msg to make new outgoing message
tell msg
make new to recipient at beginning of
to recipients
with properties {address:email_to}

set the sender to email_from
set the subject to email_subject
set the content to email_body
end tell
send msg
end tell
end try
end adding folder items to
Hack 96. Convert Your Friends List to
Fast-Dial Shortcuts
Convert contacts f rom your f riends list into f ast-dial shortcuts

so that they're just a click away.
I n "A dd Fas t- D ial Shortc uts to Your M enu or D es ktop" [Hack

#49], you s aw how to c reate a s hortc ut that enabled you to c all
a c ontac t with jus t a c lic k or two of your mous e, or with a hotkey
s equenc e. I n this hac k, we'll automate the proc es s of c onverting
everyone in your Skype friends lis t (als o known as your buddies
lis t) into s hortc uts .
T he following V BSc ript, s hortcuts .vbs , c ons truc ts a lis t of friends

and c reates a s hortc ut ic on for eac h one. I f you have 1 5 or more
friends , firs t you are prompted to c onfirm that you do indeed
want one ic on per friend. T his is to prevent your des ktop or menu
from bec oming c luttered with s hortc ut ic ons .
' File: shortcuts.vbs

' Global variables
Dim g_objShell ' Scripting shell object
Dim g_objFSO ' File system object
Dim g_strSkypePath ' Path of Skype executable
Dim g_strShortcutPath ' Path to store shortcuts
Dim g_objSkypeAPI ' SkypeAPI interface object
Dim g_strPrefix ' Prefix to add to shortcuts
Dim g_bOnDesktop ' True=icons on desktop, False=in me
' Return True if friends list is below 15 entries or if us

Function CheckFriendListSize
Dim iFriends
iFriends = g_objSkypeAPI.GetFriendList.Count
If iFriends = 0 Then
CheckFriendListSize = False
Else
strTitle = "Create " & iFriends
if iFriends <> 1 Then strTitle = strTitle + "s"
strTitle = strTitle + " Shortcuts"
i = g_objShell.Popup( _
"Click ""Yes"" to create shortcuts on Desktop,
"Click ""No"" to create shortcuts in Start Men
"Click ""Cancel"" to abort", 0, strTitle, 35)
If i = 6 Then
CheckFriendListSize= True
g_bOnDesktop = True
ElseIf i = 7 Then
CheckFriendListSize= True
g_bOnDesktop = False
Else
CheckFriendListSize= False
End If
End If
End Function
' Create a shortcut for the Skype User object

Sub CreateSkypeShortcut(User)
Dim strFileName
' Build a file name to display
If Len(User.DisplayName) > 0 Then
strFileName = User.DisplayName + ".lnk"
ElseIf Len(User.FullName) > 0 Then
strFileName = User.FullName + ".lnk"
Else
strFileName = User.Handle + ".lnk"
End If
' Remove any bad characters

strFileName = Replace(strFileName, "|", "")
strFileName = Replace(strFileName, "\", "")
strFileName = Replace(strFileName, ":", "")
' Create the shortcut

strFileName = g_strPrefix + strFileName
set objShellLink = _
g_objShell.CreateShortcut( g_objFSO.BuildPath( _
g_strShortcutPath, strF
objShellLink.TargetPath = "callto://" + User.Handle
objShellLink.IconLocation = g_strSkypePath + ", 5"
objShellLink.WindowStyle = 1
objShellLink.Description = "Start Skype"
strSpeedDial = User.SpeedDial
If (strSpeedDial >= "0") And (strSpeedDial <= "9") The
objShellLink.HotKey = "Ctrl+Shift+" + strSpeedDial
End If
objShellLink.Save
End Sub

Set g_objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set g_objFSO = WScript.CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemO
Set g_objSkypeAPI = WScript.CreateObject("SkypeAPI.Access"
g_objSkypeAPI.ConnectAndWait 15000
If CheckFriendListSize Then
' Get the location of Skype for icons

g_strSkypePath = g_objShell.RegRead( _
"HKLM\Software\Skype\Phone\SkypePath"
If g_bOnDesktop Then
g_strShortcutPath = g_objShell.SpecialFolders("Des
g_strPrefix = "Skype - "
Else
g_strShortcutPath = g_objFSO.BuildPath( _
g_objShell.SpecialFolders("Sta
"Skype Shortcuts")
g_strPrefix = ""
End If
' Delete any existing shortcuts if folder exists

If g_objFSO.FolderExists(g_strShortcutPath) Then
For Each objFile in _
g_objFSO.GetFolder(g_strShortcutPath).Files
If (StrComp(g_objFSO.GetExtensionName( _
objFile.Name), "lnk", 1) = 0) And
(Left(objFile.Name, len(g_strPrefix)) = _
g_strPrefix) Then
objFile.Delete
End If
Next
' Or create the folder
Else
g_objFSO.CreateFolder g_strShortcutPath
End If
' Iterate through users and create shortcuts

For Each objUser in g_objSkypeAPI.GetFriendList
CreateSkypeShortcut objUser
g_iCtr = g_iCtr + 1
Next
' Show an "all done" message

g_objShell.Popup g_objSkypeAPI.GetFriendList.Count & _
" Shortcuts Created", 0, "Process Complete", 64
End If
Hack 97. Make Chat Talk Out Loud
Sit back and just listen, as this hack uses the Microsof t Speech
SDK to make incoming chat messages speak aloud!
P erhaps you're vis ually impaired and you need inc oming c hat
mes s ages to be read aloud s o that you c an partic ipate in one-
on- one or multipers on c hat s es s ions . O r maybe you like to
wander around your c omputer room while lis tening to c hat
s es s ions . O r perhaps you jus t think that talking c hat is c ool.
Whatever the reas on, getting c hat to talk aloud is s imple with
this hac k.
T he V BSc ripts in this c hapter us e the

M ic ros oft Speec h SD K, whic h you c an
download free of c harge at
http://www.mic ros oft.c om/downloads
(s earc h for "Speec h SD K").
T his hac k us es two s c ripts , s tart_talking.vbs and

s top_talking.vbs , to make c hat s tart talking and s top talking,
res pec tively. O nly inc oming c hat is s poken aloud, the rationale
being that you remember what c hat mes s ages you type in
yours elf; that is , you remember what you s aid, but you want to
hear aloud what others s ay.
U s e this s c ript, s tart_talking.vbs , to make Skype c hat s tart

talking aloud:
' File: start_talking.vbs
Dim objVoice, objFSO, objSkype, objSemaphore

Dim strTempFolder, strSemaphoreName
Set objVoice = WScript.CreateObject("Sapi.SpVoice")
"SkypeAPI_")
' Skype event handler

objVoice.Speak ChatMessage.Body, 1
End Sub

strSemaphoreName = objFSO.BuildPath(strTempFolder, _
"talking_chat.tmp")
Set objSemaphore = objFSO.CreateTextFile(strSemaphoreName,
objSemaphore.Close
Do While objFSO.FileExists(strSemaphoreName)
WScript.Sleep 500
Loop
A nd us e this s c ript, s top_talking.vbs , to make Skype c hat s top
talking aloud:
' File: stop_talking.vbs

Dim objFSO, strTempFolder
objFSO.DeleteFile objFSO.BuildPath(strTempFolder, _
"talking_chat.tmp")
T he eas ies t way to us e thes e s c ripts is to turn them into

s hortc uts and as s ign them hotkeys . C reate a s hortc ut named
Start C hat Talking that points to s tart_talking.vbs as its target,
then right- c lic k on the s hortc ut and c hoos e P roperties . I n the
s hortc ut properties dialog that is dis played, s elec t the Shortc ut
tab, c lic k on the text entry field oppos ite "Shortc ut key," pres s
the key s equenc e you want as your hotkey (for example, C trl-
Shift-T for Talk), and then c lic k O K. D o the s ame for
s top_talking.vbs , giving its s hortc ut the name Stop C hat Talking
and a different hotkey s equenc e (for example, C trl- Shift- M for
M ute). N ow, beforeor even duringa c hat s es s ion, you c an s witc h
between making c hat talk aloud and making c hat s ilent by us ing
only a c ouple of hotkey s equenc es !
12.8.1. See Also
I f you need s ome help s etting up s hortc uts for the

s c ripts in this hac k, s ee "A dd Fas t- D ial Shortc uts to
Your M enu or D es ktop" [Hack #49], as that hac k s hows
how to s et up s hortc uts in detail.
Hack 98. Erase a Skype User Account
This hack will clear all histories, overwrite data in your personal
prof ile, and otherwise delete all personal data associated with a
Skype account.
Whether you've been running Skype on a borrowed mac hine, or

you s imply no longer need a Skype us er ac c ount, wipe it off the
fac e of the E arth (ac tually, the hard dis k and the Skype network)
us ing this c ollec tion of s c ripts :
eras e_profile_from_network.vbs
E ras e (ac tually overwrite) your public profile that is

s tored on the Skype network.
eras e_vm_his tory.vbs
E ras e your voic email his tory.
eras e_chat_his tory.vbs
E ras e your c hat his tory.

eras e_call_his tory.vbs
E ras e your c all his tory.
eras e_folders _and_files .vbs
E ras e all files and folders for a s pec ified Skype

us ername on the c urrent mac hine.
A ll of the prec eding s c ripts operate on the us er c urrently logged

onto Skype, exc ept for eras e_folders _and_files .vbs , whic h allows
you to delete the Skype files and folders for a named Skype us er.
M os t run s ilently, meaning that they don't notify you of what
they've done, or when they're done; they jus t do what's as ked of
them and finis h.
You c an c ombine thes e s c ripts in different ways to fine- tune the

eras ure proc es s . For example, if you want to eras e all your
voic email and c hat his tories , you c an run this c ommand from the
run line or a s hortc ut: erase_vm_history.vbs ;
erase_chat_history.vbs. T his c ommand as s umes you've put your
V BSc ripts s omewhere on your exec ution path; otherwis e, you
will have to inc lude folder paths and pos s ibly have to us e quotes
to enc as e the V BSc ripts .
By making the eras ure proc es s divis ible through s mall s c ripts ,
with eac h s c ript des igned to perform one s imple tas k, you gain a
good deal of flexibility over what you keep, and what you throw
away, in terms of Skype us er data on a mac hine.
L as tly, you s hould be aware that Skype names pers is t forever

and are never rec yc led or reus ed. So, in a s ens e, you c an never
truly eras e a Skype name. H owever, by eras ing all the databoth
online and on the hard dis kas s oc iated with a Skype name, you
have totally dis as s oc iated yours elf from the Skype name.
12.9.1. erase_profile_from_network.vbs.
' File: erase_profile_from_network.vbs
Dim objSkypeAPI
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE FULLNAME ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE BIRTHDAY 1900
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE SEX UNKNOWN")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE LANGUAGES ab"
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE COUNTRY ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE PROVINCE ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE CITY ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE PHONE_HOME ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE PHONE_OFFICE
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE PHONE_MOBILE
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE HOMEPAGE ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE ABOUT ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE MOOD_TEXT ")
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("SET PROFILE TIMEZONE 0")
' This code is needed to erase e-mail address and

' avatar picture, as these can't be set using the API.
Dim objShell, keysequence, keystrokes, keys, pause
keysequence = "^+S|%(FM)|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|" &
"{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|"
"{TAB}|{TAB}|{TAB}|{ENTER}|{TAB}|{DEL}|" & _
"{TAB}|{ENTER}"
keystrokes = Split(keysequence, "|")
pause = 1500
For Each keys In keystrokes
objShell.SendKeys keys
WScript.Sleep pause
If pause>100 Then pause=100 End If
Next
12.9.2. erase_vm_history.vbs.
' File: erase_vm_history.vbs
Dim objSkypeAPI
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("CLEAR VOICEMAILHISTORY")
12.9.3. erase_chat_history.vbs.
' File: erase_chat_history.vbs
Dim objSkypeAPI
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("CLEAR CHATHISTORY")
12.9.4. erase_call_history.vbs.
' File: erase_call_history.vbs
Dim objSkypeAPI
objSkypeAPI.SendBlockingCommand("CLEAR CALLHISTORY ALL")
12.9.5. erase_folders_and_files.vbs.
' File: erase_folders_and_files.vbs

' erase_folders_and_files skypeuser
'
' Parameters:
' skypeuser is the Skype user name for which
' you want to erase Skype folders and files.
' Variables
Dim objShell ' Scripting shell object
Dim objFSO ' File system object
Dim objArgs ' Command line arguments
Dim strSkypeUser ' Skype user name passed on the command-l
Dim strHomePath ' Path to home folder of current user
Dim strSkypePath ' Path to Skype folder of strSkypeUser

' Count how many users are passed

If objArgs.Count <> 1 Then
objShell.Popup "Parameter 1: Handle of Skype user to d
vbCr & vbCr & "Skype should be closed b
"running this script", 0, _
"Erase Skype folders and files", 64
Else
strSkypeUser = objArgs(0)
' Get the location of the "Documents and Settings" fol

' First, get the system drive and profiles directory
strHomePath = objShell.Environment("PROCESS")("HOMEDRI
objShell.Environment("PROCESS")("HOMEPAT
strSkypePath = strHomePath & "\Application Data\Skype\

strSkypeUser
If Not objFSO.FolderExists(strSkypePath) Then
objShell.Popup "Skype profile path """ & strSkypeP
""" not found", 0, "Unable to conti
Else
' Try to delete the folder, if there is an error,
' is probably open
On Error Resume Next
objFSO.DeleteFolder strSkypePath, True
If Err.Number = 0 Then
objShell.Popup "Folder: " & strSkypePath & vbC
"has been erased!", 0, "Skype
" and files for " & strSkypeUs
" erased!", 64
Else
objShell.Popup "Skype is probably open, you ne
"close Skype before running th
0, "Unable to delete Skype fol
"and files", 48
End If
End If
End If
Hack 99. Spy on Skype API Messages
Use these tools to spy on the messages that pass to and f ro

between Skype and a client that uses its A PI.
T his hac k pres ents a c ouple of tools that, if not es s ential to

developing s c ripts that us e the A P I , are pretty darn us eful!
Being able to interac tively s end A P I c ommands to Skype and
s ee what Skype s ends bac k in return is invaluable for both
developing s c ripts and debugging them.
12.10.1. Windows
A free tool, Skype Trac er, allows you to interac tively s end A P I
c ommands to Skype and s ee what Skype s ends bac k in return
(s ee Figure 1 2 - 6 ). A nic e feature of this tool is that you c an
s ave your interac tive s es s ion to a logfile for later analys is . You
c an download Skype Trac er at
http://s hare.s kype.c om/direc tory/s kype_trac er/view/.
12.10.2. Linux
Skype provides an example s c ript, s kypeapiclient_linux.py, as

part of its A P I doc umentation for L inux. U s ing this s c ript, you
c an interac tively s end A P I c ommands to Skype and s ee what
Skype s ends bac k in return (s ee Figure 1 2 - 7 ).
H owever, Skype's example s c ript has a c ouple of drawbac ks .

Firs t, it does n't give you the option of c reating a logfile of your
s es s ion for later analys is . A lthough you c an c ut and pas te text
from the window and c reate your own logfile, this is both tedious
and error prone. I n addition, you c an los e text for a long
interac tive s es s ion if the window text buffer has overflowed.
Sec ond, it does n't provide a times tamp, s o detailed analys is of
exac tly when things happened is not pos s ible. To make up for
thes e mis s ing features , I modified the s c ript to provide the
mis s ing logfile c apability.
Figure 12-6. Skype Tracer allows you to conduct

interactive sessions with Skype using its API
Running this new s c ript, whic h I c alled s kypeapiclient_logging.py,
from the c ommand line and piping its terminal output to a files ay,
log.txtwill c reate a logfile of your entire s es s ion; for example, like
this : python s kypeapiclient_logging.py > log.txt.
You c an c ons truc t the s kypeapiclient_logging.py s c ript by

c opying Skype's s kypeapiclient_linux.py s c ript (available as a zip
file from
http://download.s kype.c om/s hare/devzone/example_linux.zip) to
s kypeapiclient_logging.py and making the c hanges indic ated in
bold in the following c ode lis ting:
# -*- coding: iso-8859-15 -*
# File: skypeapiclient_logging.py
Figure 12-7. Skype provides an example script

that allows you to conduct interactive sessions
with Skype using its API
import dbus, gtk, sys, time
class MainWindow:
.
.
.
class Callback_obj(dbus.Object):
.
.
.
# Skype -> Client messages

def Notify(self, message, message_text):
self.mainwindow.write_textbuffer(message_text)
# Skype Hacks: Add these two lines of code
time_stamp = time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S")
print time_stamp + ' MSG RECV FROM SKYPE <-- ' + \
message_text
class Api_obj:
.
.
.
# Client -> Skype

self.mainwindow.write_textbuffer(message)
answer = self.skype_api_object.Invoke(message)
self.mainwindow.write_textbuffer(answer)
# Skype Hacks: Add these three lines of code
time_stamp = time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S"
print time_stamp + ' MSG SENT TO SKYPE --> ' + \
message
print time_stamp + ' MSG RECV FROM SKYPE <-- ' + \
answer
return answer
def main():
MainWindow()
gtk.main()
return 0
if __name__ == "__main_ _":

main()
Hack 100. Disable the Skype API
Perhaps corporate policy dictates it, or perhaps you just think

it's a good idea. In any event, disabling Skype's A PI on
Windows requires only a single registry setting.
With the releas e of vers ion 1 .4 for Windows , Skype inc luded the
ability to dis able its A P I . I n many bus ines s es , dis abling this
func tion may be dic tated by c orporate polic y, or it might be at
the reques t of your network adminis trator or I T s ec urity offic er.
P rovided you're willing to hac k the Windows regis try, you c an
s elec tively dis able Skype's A P I .
O pen Regedit (s elec t Start Run…, enter "Regedit," and

pres s Return or c lic k O K) and add this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Skype\Phone. U nder this key,
add a new DWORD value having the name DisableApi. Setting
DisableApi to 1 will dis able the Skype A P I , and s etting it to 0 (or
omitting or deleting the key altogether) will leave the A P I
enabled. N ote that you have to s top and res tart Skype for this
c hange to take effec t. A ls o, toggling this regis try entry between
0 and 1 does not delete Skype's addon c ontrol lis t, as that is
unaffec ted; ins tead, the Skype A P I s imply s tops rec eiving and
s ending mes s ages .
O f c ours e, this hac k works s ens ibly only when regular us er

ac c ounts are s et up s o that they c an't edit the regis try under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE thems elves ; that is , s pec ific ally, they s hould
not be able to c hange DisableApi.
I f you don't want to hac k this regis try s etting yours elf, or if you
have to roll out Skype ac ros s a large number of mac hines , you
might find the following V BSc ript (dis able_api.vbs ) helpful:
' File: disable_api.vbs
Dim objShell
1, "REG_DWORD"
H ere is the oppos ite (enable_api.vbs ), jus t in c as e the polic y

prohibiting us e of the Skype A P I c hanges :
' File: enable_api.vbs
Dim objShell
0, "REG_DWORD"
N ote that both s c ripts will, if nec es s ary, c reate the regis try entry
if it does not exis t already.
Colophon
O ur look is the res ult of reader c omments , our own
experimentation, and feedbac k from dis tribution c hannels .
D is tinc tive c overs c omplement our dis tinc tive approac h to
tec hnic al topic s , breathing pers onality and life into potentially
dry s ubjec ts .
T he tool on the c over of Skype Hacks is an antique telephone;

s pec ific ally, a tube s haft c andles tic k des k telephone. I t has a
dial, a handheld earpiec e, and a s olid perc h with the trans mitter
unit attac hed. T his s tyle of phone was in development as early
as 1 8 9 4 .
C olleen G orman was the produc tion editor and proofreader, and
A udrey D oyle was the c opyeditor for Skype Hacks . Reba L ibby
and C laire C loutier provided quality c ontrol. J ohnna VanH oos e
D ins e wrote the index.
M arc ia Friedman des igned the c over of this book, bas ed on a

s eries des ign by E die Freedman. T he c over image is a
photograph from Photos pin Power Photos , Nos talgia Volume 9.
Karen M ontgomery produc ed the c over layout with A dobe
I nD es ign C S us ing A dobe's H elvetic a N eue and I T C G aramond
fonts .
D avid Futato des igned the interior layout. T his book was
c onverted by Keith Fahlgren to FrameM aker 5 .5 .6 with a format
c onvers ion tool c reated by E rik Ray, J as on M c I ntos h, N eil Walls ,
and M ike Sierra that us es P erl and XM L tec hnologies . T he text
font is L inotype Birka; the heading font is A dobe H elvetic a N eue
C ondens ed; and the c ode font is L uc as Font's T heSans M ono
C ondens ed. T he illus trations that appear in the book were
produc ed by Robert Romano, J es s amyn Read, and L es ley Boras h
us ing M ac romedia FreeH and M X and A dobe P hotos hop C S. T his
c olophon was written by C olleen G orman.
Index
[SYMBOL] [A ] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J]
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
411 directory assistance

Index
[SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J]
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
ActiveS scripting
add-ons
hardw are
softw are
AOL Instant Messenger
Audiomatic
automation
Skype API and
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
band
bandw idth
costs
measuring
Skype's needs
batch files
Biz.KonuSh.NET
blocking users
Bluetooth
headsets
Pocket PC configuration
browsers
Skype toolbar
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
cable broadband
call failure
call status
call testing service
calls
dialing w ith letters
hanging up
rounding times
callto:// URL
inserting in documents
cancelling echo
charge backs
charges
chat
Audiomatic
invite participants
community forums
conference calls
configuration 2nd
bandw idth
headsets
Internet connections
laptops
Pocket PCs
sound devices
USB handset
USB headset
Connectotel
consumption taxes
CPU usage
Window s
crashes in Window s
credits
forfeiting
transfer
cutting phone lines
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
DCOP (Desktop Communication Protocol)
desktop
shortcuts
dial keys
dial-in number
dial-up connections
dialing
letters
DinersClub
directory assistance (411)
Dry DSL
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
regular phone use w ith Skype and

DSP (digital signal processing)
DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency)
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
eBetalning
echo cancellation
echo123
sound quality testing

ELBA Payments
encryption
file transfers
eNETS
error reporting
estimates
savings
fixed charges
taxes
total savings
European VAT (Value Added Tax)
euros
Excel
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
fast-dial
Festoon
fixed charges
foreign language
forw arding calls
forw arding voicemail to email automatically
FX (financial exchange) rate

fees
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
games
Gizmoz Talking Headz
groups
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
handsets
USB 2nd
Hansabank online
harassment
hardware
add-ons
computer connection
headsets
Bluetooth
USB
hot pluggable devices
hotspots
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
incoming calls
installation
Skype
instant messaging
interactive telephone services
international calls
dial-in number setup
Internet connection
laptop configuration and
latency
Internet connections
configuration
DSL
file transfer and
PAN (Personal Area Netw ork)
satellite
WiFi (Wireless Fidelity)

IPdrum
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
jamming w ith band

Jitter
Jyve
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
Kazaa
KhaosDial
Know ledgebase
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ]
[W] [Y ]
LAN (local area netw ork)
laptops
as super node
Internet connection and
sound quality and

latency testing (Internet connection)
Linux
blocking users
command line
folder transfer
online status
Skype API messages
sound
troubleshooting
sound
login
usernames
look-and-feel
Index
[K] [L] [M ] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ]
[W] [Y ]
Macintosh
online status
scheduling runs
scripting
sound devices
voicemail notification
MasterCard/Eurocard
memory sticks
loading Skype
menu shortcuts
methods of payment
mobile phones
911 emergency services backup
Pocket PCs as
mobile users
money transfer feels
monitors
MSN Messenger
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
NAT (Netw ork Address Translation) devices

nodes
noise reduction
notifications
turning off
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
Offline Bank Transfer

online fax services
online status
privacy and
Outlook
import contacts
Skype toolbar
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ]
[W] [Y ]
P2P (Peer-to-Peer) technology

packet loss
Pamela
Pamela Professional
payment
anonymous proxies
delays
money transfer fees
vouchers
PayPal
PBX (Private Branch Exchange)
per payment account
phone lines
cutting
multiple lines
phone systems
POTS
phones
multiple lines
Skype-to-phone adapter
placing
calls
toll-free
placing calls
toll-free
Pocket PCs
as mobile phone
configuration
online status
pop ups
ports
443
80
forw arding
scanning
POTS (Plain Old Telephone System)
Pow erPoint
privacy settings
online status
PSTN (Public Sw itched Telephone Netw ork)
Python
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
QSA (Qt Script for Applications)

Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
Rabo Direct Betalen

reducing noise
refunds
no-quibble
quibble
relays
reporting errors
ringtones
convert to .w av
Window s
Window s Recorder
rounding call times
Roundtrip
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
Sales and Use tax
savings
bandw idth costs
credits
mobile phone charges
payments and
rate variables
refunds and
VoIP providers
scheduling Skype runs
scripting
ActiveS and
GUI
Linux
sound device hot sw itching
Macintosh
sound device hot sw itching
security
username tips and
viruses
Send/Recv packet loss
services
Skype Zones
SkypeIn 2nd
SkypeOut
voicemail
setup
phone line cut
sound devices
shared.xml file
shortcuts
desktop
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
Skype
configuration
installation
Skype 3D Avatar Messenger
Skype API
disabling
messages
Skype E911 plug-in
Skype groups
Skype Me button
Skype Me setting
Skype nodes
Skype toolbar
Skype Tracer
Skype vocabulary
Skype Zones
Skype zones
Skype-to-phone adapters
Skype-to-phone USB box
Skype-to-Skype calls
skype: URL
SkypeIn 2nd
SkypeOut
Skypeteer call cost calculator
SMS (Short Message Service)
softphone
softw are add-ons
Audiomatic
sound
Linux
testing
Window s
sound devices
configuration
Spontania Video4IM
super nodes
laptops as
routers and
system requirements
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ]
[W] [Y ]
taxes
Sales and Use taxes
savings estimates
testing
bandw idth
sound
sound quality
toll-free calls
toolbar
Skype toolbar for Outlook

total savings estimates
troubleshooting
community forums
crashes
dial keys
interactive troubleshooter
Know ledgebase
login failed
online information an
routers
support request
Window s Wireless
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) status
URLs
callto:/ /
skype:
USB
desktop phone
Flash phone
handset
handsets
listen to voicemail
user guides
usernames
login list
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
versions
video conferencing
Festoon
Spontania Video4IM
Visa
voicemail
listen using USB handset

VoIP (Voice over IP)
vouchers for payment
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y ]
w ardriving
.w av files
w eb site
Skype Me button
Widget
WiFi
free Skype WiFi program
Windows
command line
CPU usage
folder transfer
ringtones
troubleshooting
CPU usage
sound device
Window s Recorder
Window s Wireless
Word
WZCS (Wireless Zero Configuration Service)
Index
[K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V ] [W]
[Y]
Yahoo!

Skype Hacks - by Andrew Sheppard

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Skype Hacks - by Andrew Sheppard

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Table of C ontents | I ndex

M illions of people (4 8 million and c ounting, in fac t) have opted

But if you really know what you're doing, Skype c an ac c omplis h

Skype Hacks s hows you how to:

G et s tarted with Skype

Figure out how muc h money you're s aving and maximize

C ut the ties to your old phone c ompany

O ptimize your Skype c onfiguration

Set up a Skype- bas ed c all c enter

Table of C ontents | I ndex

Conventions Used in This Book

Hack 31. Configure Skype on a Laptop

Hack 48. Remove Unused Names from the Login List

Hack 76. Manage (or Delete) Your Skype Public

Hack 86. Control Skype Using Spoken Commands

Hack 90. Manage Add-On Access Control

P rinted in the U nited States of A meric a.

P ublis hed by O 'Reilly M edia, I nc ., 1 0 0 5 G ravens tein H ighway

M ike Production C olleen

Executive D ale Interior

M any of the des ignations us ed by manufac turers and s ellers to

Small print: T he tec hnologies dis c us s ed in this public ation, the

A bout the A uthor

C ontributors and Reviewers

Sinc e dis c overing Skype in 2 0 0 4 , A ndrew has been us ing and

A ndrew is the publis her of a c ouple of online elec tronic

A fter earning a firs t- c las s honor's degree in as trophys ic s ,

A dam H arris (c ontributor and reviewer) is the number-

L awrenc e H uds on (reviewer) has been a pioneering us er

J as on Terando (c ontributor) is the author of the ever-

T heodore Wallingford (reviewer) is the author of the book

Kevin D elaney (c ontributor) is a c ofounder of Khaos L abs

T he Skype c ommunity who are ac tive on the Skype us er forums

L as tly, in the final analys is , all authors mus t s houlder the

But after a s hort while, Skype's potential to s ave lots of money

Skype Hacks is a book that s hows you how to s ave money by

A re you ready to journey onward to the "land over the rainbow"?

Skype is a new tec hnology, moving very fas t and definitely

T he book is divided into s everal c hapters , organized by s ubjec t:

C hapter 1 , Start Us ing Skype

T his c hapter is for readers who are new to Skype. I t

C hapter 2 , Save Money with Skype

Skype has the potential to s ave a lot of money for mos t

C hapter 3 , Configure Skype

Skype c onfiguration really falls into two dis tinc t

C hapter 4 , Tweak and Tune Skype

I n many ways , this c hapter expands on the theme begun

C hapter 5 , Skype at Work

Skype in its c urrent form is not targeted at bus ines s

C hapter 6 , Mobile Skype

C hapter 7 , Skype Fun and Play

From having fun with c reating your own ringtones , to

C hapter 8 , Skype Chat and Voicemail

Sometimes it's eas y to forget that there's more to Skype

C hapter 9 , Security and Privacy

Skype has its limitations , and you'll learn how to deal

C hapter 1 1 , Skype Add-Ons and Tools

Skype has a burgeoning market for add- on produc ts and

C hapter 1 2 , Automate Skype

I n this c hapter, you rec eive an introduc tion to the Skype

E uropean U nion. T he s ymbol for euros is To make the book

M oreover, s ometimes it is als o c ommon prac tic e to refer to a