What is Skype? What is Skype When was Skype created?

Skype is a popular application used to communicate via the Internet. A very important point is the presence of video communication, thanks to which you can see the face of the interlocutor. It is also possible to conduct video conferences with up to 10 participants. To do this, your device must be equipped with a video camera and microphone. To start using the program, you need to download it, install it and go through the registration process. We'll tell you how this is done now.

The first step is to install Skype on your computer or phone

The first thing you need to do to successfully use the program is to install it on your device. There is nothing complicated about this, the main thing is to follow the instructions correctly and carry out all actions accurately, and also avoid suspicious resources. Skype is downloaded from official websites for free.

Installing Skype on your computer

Go to the official website of the application and download Skype from it. After a successful procedure, a blue shortcut with the English letter “S” will appear on your PC desktop.
To begin the installation process, double-click the right mouse button on the installation file.
A window will open on the screen where you can select a language convenient for you. The default is Russian.
In additional settings, you can specify the path where you want to save the program; if you do not do this, it will automatically be installed on the “C:” drive.
Next, the system will offer to launch the messenger when you boot your computer. If you plan to use it often, check the appropriate box.
Read the license agreement and click “I agree.”
If you need a plugin, check this box.
Click the Continue button.
Wait for the installation to complete.
Now you need to enter your username and password to enter the program; if you don’t have them, you should register.
After the procedure has been completed, check the sound and video, and also add an avatar.

Installing Skype on your phone

Go to the Play Market application store from your device.
Enter the name of the program in the search bar.
From the list of proposed options, select the required one.
Click "Download".
Wait for the application to download and install on your desktop.
Launch the messenger and enter your profile information.

The next step is registration in the application

To become a full-fledged Skype user, you must register with it. If the client is installed on a computer, this is done as follows:

Launch the program.
Click the “Register” button, after which you will find yourself on the official website of the application.
Fill out the form with your personal information. Fields with an asterisk are considered required (first name, last name, email, language, login, password). You can skip your date of birth, place of residence and purpose of using the messenger.

Registration on Skype via phone is as follows:

Log in to the downloaded client.
Click the "Create Account" button.
Read the user terms and click “Continue”.
If you would like to receive news from the application, check the box at the bottom.
Enter your name, login, password, e-mail. Repeat the password again.
You will receive a confirmation to the specified email.

How to set up sound and camera in Skype

After successfully registering an account, you should make audio and video settings. To do this you need to follow this path:

Go to "Tools".
Select the "Settings" section.
The “Sound Settings” window will open in front of you, where you need to set your audio device, indicating what will be responsible for audio input, audio output and calls.
To test your microphone, make a test call on Skype.
Next, click “Save.”
Go back to Settings and select Video Settings.
In the window that opens, in the “Select camera” field, indicate the video device you will use.
Then test the webcam and adjust the image quality by changing brightness, color gamma, saturation, etc.
Save your settings.

Finding and adding friends

Everything was set up, everything was checked. Now is the time to find friends to chat with.

Go to the "Contacts" section.
Select Search Skype Callers.
You can search by name, email address or nickname.
Having found the necessary person, add him to your list by clicking on the “Add to contact list” button.
The subscriber will receive a notification that you want to add him as a friend and after confirming the request, you will be able to communicate without obstacles.

We hope that after reading the above material, you figured out how to work with Skype and saw that it is not at all difficult. Enjoy using it.

Call via the Internet to a regular cell phone or landline phone? Easily. Contact another user on the network by establishing direct audiovisual contact? Even easier! VoIP and softphones are rapidly conquering markets around the world, and at the forefront of this “attack” is a program whose name is well known to everyone – Skype. That's what we'll talk about today.

Before Skype, or an excursion into history

Many science fiction writers of the 19th and 20th centuries predicted that sooner or later humanity would invent a kind of videophone, thanks to which the interlocutor could not only be heard, but also seen. Some especially gifted individuals (Tesla, for example) started talking about this back at a time when even an ordinary telephone was a novelty.

In fact, humanity managed to invent such a thing sooner rather than later. Judge for yourself: just 15 years ago it was difficult to imagine that very soon we would have at our disposal compact and powerful cell phones, from which we can easily make a video call to anywhere in the world (that from them we can also simply go online, listen to music, read, watch movies, and so on, and there’s nothing to say).

It is worth noting that attempts to invent a videophone as an independent device is a topic worthy of a separate story. For example, back in 1964, AT&T managed to install the first public video telephone booths in New York, Washington and Chicago. Devices bearing the name Picturephone Mod I were also installed with fanfare at the headquarters of large companies. It was planned that the innovation would be a resounding success, and then general recognition would follow. By the way, the devices used 3 pairs of telephone wires: one for audio transmission and two (with a bandwidth of 1 MHz) for video transmission in each direction. The image was updated every 2 seconds. An additional PBX was used for video switching. But the public did not appreciate all these efforts - a call from New York to Washington cost $16 for 3 minutes, and to Chicago - $27, which scared off even the most notorious geeks of that time. As a result, the booths were dismantled in 1968.

However, we digress. Our story today is not about video payphones at all, but about the idea of transmitting voice and image over the Internet, which appeared almost before the invention of computer networks themselves.

As paradoxical as it may sound, until a certain period of time, telephone networks and data networks existed independently of each other. The fact is that the technology and channels of those years simply could not cope with both at the same time. Scientists have been struggling to solve this problem since the 60s, but the first noticeable progress was made only in the 80s, when ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) was created - a network that supported services for transmitting voice, data, video and text. But these were only the first steps, and the real results and the actual “birthday” of Voice over IP (VoIP) and video conferencing came already in the 90s.
The first sign to break the dam of “network silence” was the Internet Phone program, created by the Israelis from the VocalTec company. Internet Phone was released in early 1995 and, in fact, was a banal IM + softphone with which you could make voice calls to other PCs. But what seems banal now, then evoked emotions like “omigod, it's magic!!11”. And this is despite the fact that this miracle worked in half-duplex mode, that is, unilaterally, as when talking on a walkie-talkie ( which is not surprising - the founders of VocalTec got the idea for the program while serving in the army, looking at packet voice radio).

Neither the above, nor the fact that the quality of communication usually left much to be desired, could stand in the way of progress - in a few weeks, thousands of people downloaded Internet Phone and immediately began to actively use it. This was the go-ahead – it became obvious that the public’s interest was great, and the prospects for Internet telephony were enormous. The market was immediately flooded with all sorts of clones of the Israeli program, and by the end of 1995, DigiPhone software appeared on sale, which allowed you to listen and talk at the same time.

Meanwhile, in the area of software for transmitting video over the Internet, things were also going well. In the early 90s, craftsmen from Cornell University wrote the CU-SeeMe program, originally intended for Macs, and then released for Windows. By the way, it was with the help of CU-SeeMe in 1994 during the flight of NASA's Endeavor shuttle transmitted his image to Earth.

Interest in VoIP technology, that is, in the transmission of voice signals over the Internet or other IP networks, grew rapidly, and already in 1996, issues of standardization and the adoption of standards became ripe. The International Telecommunication Union, an international organization that sets recommendations in the field of telecommunications and radio, and also regulates the international use of radio frequencies, adopted recommendations for the H.323 standard, which was based on almost 50 other standards. Thus, the first standard was adopted for multimedia communication using packet-based networks that do not guarantee quality of service. At the same time, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), an open international community of designers, scientists, network operators and providers, which develops Internet protocols and architecture, developed the Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP), which is used in H.323.

Further development of VoIP proceeded as follows:

1996 was also marked by the conclusion of an agreement between VocalTec and the giant Dialogic. The goal of their joint project was to create the first specialized telephone gateway for IP telephony, called VocalTec Telephone Gateway (VTG).
1997 gave the world the opportunity to make calls not only from PC to PC, but also from PC to phone and vice versa, as well as from phone to phone.
1999 was marked by the first specification of the open standard SIP (Session Initiation Protocols), which was developed by the guys from the IETF since 1996, and which will be discussed below. H.323 has a competitor, which, as time will tell, will very quickly deal with its predecessor.

This is how things quietly approached the new millennium, and therefore the creation of Skype.

Skype

Skype is written by European progers, namely Estonians Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn. These names may surprise someone, because in recent years completely different people have been called the creators of Skype - Dane Janus Friis and Swede Niklas Zennstrom. The thing is that both the first and second are true.
It is possible that the names of the three Estonian developers not only caused surprise, but also seemed vaguely familiar to some readers. If you showed up, we hasten to please you - you have an excellent memory. The fact is that in the early 2000s, these guys were developing the unforgettable P2P file-sharing network KaZaA, thanks to which they gained fame. The work on Skype, which gentlemen IT journalists unfairly credit to Friis and Zennström, respectively, happened later.

“Who are Zennström and Friis?” - you ask. Of course, it was no coincidence that they also appeared in this story - this couple was directly related to the development and development of both projects (both KaZaA and Skype), and some of their “exploits” literally overshadowed the rest of the team. However, calling them “the creators of Skype” is a gross exaggeration, since these two are primarily businessmen and investors, but not developers. We will tell you more about Friis, Zennström and their role in Skype separately below, but for now let’s return to the program itself.

Active work on Skype began in 2002 after solid investments from the Draper Investment Company, and the software was released quite quickly: the domain names Skype.com and Skype.net were registered in April, and the public saw the first beta release of the program already in August 2003. By the way, a random interesting fact - during development the program was called Skyper (short for “Sky peer-to-peer”), and only closer to the completion of work it was renamed Skype, because the Skyper domain name was already taken.

So, what distinguished Skype from many other similar programs, of which there were a little more released at that time? Unlike other software designed for IP telephony, Skype used and still uses a P2P architecture to operate, which is not at all surprising if you remember the track record of its creators. In fact, this is one of its main advantages: all voice traffic goes through network nodes, which are the users themselves (and the more users use the system, the better it works). Skype can also route calls through the computers of other users, which allows users behind a NAT or firewall to connect to each other (creating an increased load on the channels of other users).

By the time Skype entered the IP telephony market, almost the entire market was occupied by software and hardware operating on the basis of the SIP standard, which it’s time to talk about in more detail.

Unlike Skype's secretive protocol, SIP is completely open to developers, well designed, and easy to implement in hardware. The HTTP message protocol was taken as a model for SIP. SIP messages, like HTTP requests, are transmitted over the Internet in text form, and their formats partially coincide. This greatly simplifies the development and debugging of programs that support SIP, and quite likely contributed to the growth of its popularity. Just like Skype, SIP does not have a centralized server - there are many servers; in fact, anyone can acquire one, and they all interact with each other. The tasks of the protocol include only establishing and coordinating communication, and it is not at all necessary that this communication be voice - it can be any other data stream (video, multimedia, interactive service).

SIP is designed to work in local networks and on good Internet channels.

Skype is the exact opposite of SIP, although some evidence indicates that the Skype protocol is based on a modified SIP. Be that as it may, there are more than enough differences: Skype is a closed protocol, and due to its P2P structure, it uses forced encryption (data is encrypted using AES-256, for the transfer of the key of which, in turn, a 1024-bit RSA key is used . Users' public keys are certified by the central Skype server upon login using 1536- or 2048-bit RSA certificates), and it is much better suited to extreme conditions than SIP. The phrase “I’m at the door, and he’s at the window” most accurately reflects Skype’s behavior pattern - close the usual range of UDP protocol ports for it, and it will switch to free TCP ports, and if it’s really pressed, Skype is always ready to use an HTTP proxy. Some experts argue that the only way to completely block Skype is to analyze the contents of all packets that Skype, don’t forget, encrypts. The program bypasses simpler methods.

All of the above has been seriously straining the intelligence services of almost all countries of the world for many years - how can it be that something cannot be intercepted and deciphered, this is definitely a mess! However, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, Germany and Russia have already hinted that they still have solutions for listening to Skype in their arsenal.

Skype is also criticized by many security experts, and even hackers. Back in 2007, in the 100th issue of ][ Chris Kaspersky devoted an extensive article to this issue entitled “Skype: The Hidden Threat.” In the article, Chris writes the following: “Skype is a black box with a multi-level encryption system, stuffed with anti-debugging techniques for the executable file, reading confidential information from the computer and transmitting it to the Network via a closed protocol. The latter bypasses firewalls and severely masks its traffic, preventing it from being blocked. All this turns Skype into an ideal carrier of viruses, worms and drones that create their own distributed networks within the Skype network.”

But Skype managed to conquer a wide audience not due to encryption and resourcefulness, but due to two very important things: simplicity and excellent sound quality.

Starting from the very first version, released in the fall of 2003, Skype supported 10 languages and had the simplest possible interface, unlike other IM, which was initially designed specifically for voice communication. It also played a role that the entire procedure for installing the program and registering a new user was many times simpler than that of competitors. As for codecs, Skype uses SVOPC (16 kHz), AMR-WB (16 kHz), G.729 (8 kHz) and G.711 (ILBC and ISAC were also used previously), which provides a sufficient connection speed (30-60 Kbps) /c) allows you to get sound comparable in quality to regular telephone communication.

Having taken off right off the bat in 2003, Skype has not stopped developing for a minute. With each new version, more and more new functions and “conveniences” appeared. It makes no sense to list all these answering machines, online numbers, conferences, services for sending SMS, and so on, since the article is still not called “Skype services for dummies” :). Instead, I would like to note something else - the company was developing confidently, despite the fact that in 2005 Friis and Zennström sold their brainchild, which had already gained enormous popularity (74.7 million accounts and an average of 10.8 million users on the network), eBay for the tidy sum of several billion dead presidents. The fact that this had a negative impact on the development of Skype is clearly demonstrated by numbers and facts:

Today there are already more than 560 million accounts on Skype;
There are versions of Skype for almost every platform known to mankind, including mobile;
The company provides a full range of VoIP services;
Skype produces and sells various gadgets from headsets and webcams to full-fledged Skype backgrounds - phones that can work with both the regular telephone network and Skype.

We shared an orange, or patent trolling

Now, after covering all sorts of technological aspects of Skype, we can talk about more fun things - for dessert we have the real “scandals, intrigues, investigations”.

As promised, let's return to the personalities of Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and take a closer look at them. Zennström is a graduate of Uppsala University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in physics. Friis, on the contrary, cannot boast of a “tower”, since at one time he dropped out of school and went to work in technical support of a local provider.
It so happened that at the very beginning of their life and career path, these two got a job at the Swedish telecommunications company Tele2, where fate brought them together in 1996.

After working side by side for several years, Zennström and Friis got along so well that already in 2000 they decided to quit and start their own business, which became the file-sharing network KaZaA. In fact, to develop it, Friis and Zennström moved to Amsterdam, hired a team of programmers, and chose to remain in management positions.

However, an incident arose with “Kaza” - before the brainchild of Friis and Zennström had time to gain momentum, active persecution began against peer-to-peer networks. Just then the legendary Napster closed, and a holy place, as you know, is never empty - all illegal content flowed to other networks, one of which was KaZaA. Copywriters immediately began to besiege our unfortunate businessmen, wanting to drown them in lawsuits, and the newly minted startups did not like this state of affairs at all. Zennström and Friis were forced to classify the location of the company's offices and literally go on the run, hiding from the subpoenas that poured in as if from a cornucopia.

When it became completely clear that the saying “time heals” does not apply to this situation, and it is only getting worse, it was decided to get rid of KaZaA. A strange deal was carried out, during which KaZaA was transferred to the Australian company Sharman Networks, registered on the Pacific island of Vanuatu. However, something was not included in this deal then, something very important - the rights and patents for the peer-to-peer technology that was used in KaZaA. These rights remained in the hands of Zennström and Friis, or rather their new company Joltid, generally registered in the British Virgin Islands.

You probably already understand that all these details are given here for a reason. The fact is that later it was this technology that was used to create Skype.

By the way, if we talk about the role of Friis and Zennsterm in the creation of Skype, then everything here was already familiar to us - hired programmers (the same Estonians who worked on KaZaA) and two inseparable startupers as the founders of the project. Although, in fairness, it should be noted here that Zennström was loyal to Skype and remained as CEO until 2007, that is, for another two years after the company was sold to eBay.

So, eBay. As mentioned above, in 2005, just two years after its creation, Skype was sold to eBay for a fabulous sum - $ 2.6 billion, plus another 1.5 billion in a few years if Skype's financial performance was good (this was the largest eBay acquisition in the entire history of the auction). Both Friis and Zennström then became billionaires overnight and, it would seem, could calmly enjoy life, start and promote other projects, invest and simply spend those same billions. But that was not the case.

Having waited four long years after the deal was completed and during this time managed to launch the startup Joost, the prudent couple decided that they would stop watching the development of Skype from the sidelines. And the development, by the way, was obvious: the number of users grew from 53 to more than 400 million, Skype’s international traffic in 2008 amounted to a record 33 billion minutes, but all this did not bring the desired money to eBay. And since profits from Skype amounted to much more modest amounts than originally planned, in 2009 the largest auction on the planet decided to get rid of the acquisition, declaring that it intended to again spin off Skype into a separate company and put its shares on the stock exchange. This message caused Friis and Zennström to suddenly become active.

Few people initially understood why eBay bought Skype in the first place (the official statements sounded too unconvincing: “for the convenience of communication between auction users”), but only in 2009 did the full comedy of the situation reach the general public. It turned out that by acquiring Skype itself, eBay managed to leave the rights and patents for the ever-memorable key technology in the hands of its previous owners. Yes, yes, Friis and Zennström represented by Joltid. And the owners, having learned about the upcoming listing of Skype on the stock exchange, developed vigorous activity, beginning to return what they sold back. Thus, the New York Times, for example, leaked a rumor that the former owners of Skype had already squandered their billions and were now forced to communicate with private investors, trying to find the missing part of the amount to complete a “reverse” transaction.

Moreover, savvy businessmen immediately fired a “warning shot” - since eBay had been working with Joltid under a license all this time, Friis and Zennström filed a corresponding lawsuit, intending to revoke this license in the UK. For starters.

Mutual blackmail and attacks on each other lasted for almost six months. During this time, eBay, as if in response to an offer from Zennström and Friis to buy out their brainchild, managed to sell 65% of Skype shares to a group of investors Andreessen Horowitz for $2 billion. Resourceful businessmen immediately sued again, this time against the new owners of Skype, accusing them of violating patents and demanding $75 million for each day of “illegal” operation of the service. The auction, which Friis and Zennström also did not leave alone (obviously, eBay still had a 35% stake!), filed a counter-suit against Joltid in order to prohibit the company from using the technology underlying Skype. Realizing that they would probably not be able to win the case, eBay representatives, just in case, announced their readiness to rewrite Skype from scratch if necessary.

The end of this whole circus came quite recently, in November 2009. Surprisingly, the situation was resolved peacefully. eBay, which had previously categorically refused to pay anything to the ex-owners of Skype, eventually agreed to the deal. Zennström and Friis were not left out in the cold; they not only regained seats on the board of directors, but also snatched a 14% stake in Skype. The whole point of the situation is that they did not have to fork out money - eBay agreed to their terms in exchange for dropping claims and licensing their intellectual property.

We will, of course, never know what Zennström and Friis's original plan was, or whether it even existed. It is quite possible that they imagined “returning to Skype” a little differently, so to speak, in a more rosy light. Perhaps Joltid had the rights up his sleeve for a more opportune occasion, and eBay's decision to get rid of Skype forced things into gear. On the other hand, it may turn out that Friis and Zennström were not up to anything criminal at all, although it is very difficult to believe that the rights to the key technology remained with them “accidentally”, and the Joltid company was opened in an offshore zone by pure chance.

After the above, it would be reasonable to ask the question: “what will happen to Skype next?”, because although the division is over, it cannot be said that everything is going completely cloudless. No, no, they will try to ban the softphone in some country or sue the company (lately telecommunications and cellular operators in a number of countries, including Russia, have been very bad at Skype). However, this is connected not so much with Skype itself, but with VoIP telephony in general - in the latter, OPSoS and Co., due to paranoia, are often seen as a competitor, pest and enemy number one.

Perhaps, regarding the future of Skype, the following can be said for sure: one of the most popular and successful VoIP services, which is used by several hundred million people, cannot just disappear into oblivion, no matter what happens. And if the founding fathers of this software also include two such cunning and persistent types as Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, Skype not only will not disappear, but will most likely find better ways to monetize and increase profits.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. It is impossible for a person to completely refuse to communicate with people around him. Perhaps some people prefer to have as little contact with people as possible, while others, on the contrary, prefer to have as much contact as possible, even at a considerable distance from them.

And specifically in order to be able to maintain constant contact with your family, loved ones, friends or business partners, a program such as Skype (essentially) was created.

What is Skype and how to install it

What is Skype? According to the developers themselves, this is free software that provides voice, text and video communication over the Internet between computers, mobile devices and even game consoles. As of the end of 2010, Skype had more than 660 million registered users.

Making conference calls. The function allows for up to 25 subscribers, including the call initiator.
Video communication. Skype makes available both regular communication between two users and video conferences with the ability to connect up to 10 connections.
Sending text messages. In essence it is a regular chat.
Transfer of various files. The volume of transferred files can be anything from several kilobytes to gigabytes of information.
Transferring images from the monitor screen to the monitor of one of the subscribers.

Today, Skype software can be found on MacOS, Windows, Android, WindowsPhone, PSP, Xbox 360, PS 3.4 and other platforms. Given its versatility, accessibility, ease of use and other advantages, Skype is today the world leader in voice calls.

And if we consider the volume of the voice call market in 2005, where Skype owned only 2.9% of the total volume, then in 2012 this volume was already 34%. Needless to say, no mobile operators or subscriber networks will offer the conditions that Skype offers!

And if you have not yet had time to appreciate all the benefits of using this free program, then today we will look at all the nuances that relate to installation and use. First of all, let's look at how to install Skype correctly.

How to install Skype on your computer

Having looked at what this program is, we are very close to the question of how to install Skype. This is all done quite simply. Let's describe the installation in several steps:

Immediately after the application is downloaded, the user will be prompted to register with Skype. Here you need to enter the data that is necessary for further use of the program.

How to create an account on Skype

When the user has figured out how to install Skype on a computer, it is necessary to understand how to use it in the future. Before use, you need to go through the registration procedure, which, by and large, is standard and does not present any difficulties.

If the registration form does not automatically appear for you, then in the upper right part of the screen there is a button "Registration". A window will appear in front of you in which you need to enter some data. These include:

Last name and first name. It is advisable to enter your real data so that you can be identified in the future on the Skype network.
Email address. It is worth noting that you should only use an address that has not yet been used when creating other Skype accounts.
Personal information. This includes gender, language, date of birth and place of residence.
Mobile phone. It is not necessary to indicate it, but you can use it to complete the form and it will be able to help you quickly recover your password if you lose it.
. These are necessary so that you can log in to your page in the future. I advise you to use the tips for choosing them given in the link.
The last step is to enter data to confirm that the registration is carried out by a person and not a robot.

After you have filled in all (or only some) data, you need to click on the “I agree - Next” button. You are registered in the system and can use it for communication. These are all the steps required to create an account on Skype.

How to use Skype

Every person who uses a special program for the first time always has questions regarding some of the nuances of use. And Skype is no exception, because in addition to creating an account (?), you need to make some settings for further communication with users.

So, you registered, entered your username and password and found yourself on the main page of your account. What should I do now and how to use Skype?

All Skype settings are always set to default. That is why it is possible that a new user is unable to adjust the image or sound when communicating. To make adjustments, you need to go to the “Settings” section, where you can configure the microphone and webcam. To set up a microphone, you need to go to the “Sound Settings” subsection and select your audio device that is used on your computer. After this, you need to click the “Save” button.
The webcam setup is carried out in the same way as the previous one. In the settings subsection, select the “Video settings” item. After installing your video device, you can immediately test its operation.
The next step is to choose the people you are going to communicate with. In the "Contacts" section you need to go to the section "Search for Skype subscribers" and in the window that appears, enter the nickname, name or email of the person you want to add. Once the search engine has found the required contact, you can add it to your list.
To make a voice call, you need to select the “Call” button, and to make a video call, select the button next to it called “Video Call”. It should be noted that calls are only possible when the interlocutor is online. Offline You can only send text messages.

By completing all these points, registering and using Skype will not pose any difficulties for you. However, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times, so I suggest you watch a video tutorial on how to use this wonderful program:

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

What is Skype?

Skype (or Skype) is a program that allows you to communicate via the Internet with your colleagues, friends, and relatives around the world. The program was developed by Skype Limited. The program allows you to:

Conduct individual correspondence, exchange messages with a work colleague, just like in other programs such as ICQ, QIP or Jabber.

If you have a microphone and headphones, you can call a friend in a nearby city and just talk as if you were on the phone.

If you have a webcam, microphone and headphones, then you can conduct a video conference, see the interlocutor, hear him and respond. You might say it's a video phone, but in reality the information is transmitted over the Internet, and you pay not for minutes, but for the number of megabytes sent and received.

The Skype program allows you to call your partner on a mobile phone, landline phone, or send SMS messages to a mobile phone. At the same time, you do not get up from your computer, choose a tariff that is favorable to you and pay less. Using Skype, you can call anywhere in the world, and calls from Skype to Skype will be completely free. If you have an urgent business trip and are unable to open Skype, you can forward calls and text messages.

The difference between Skype and other programs (the same ICQ, QIP or Jabber) is that you can chat with one person or with several dozen people at once whom you invite to your chat.

Just like in other programs, Skype allows you to send files, keep a notebook, receive news, go to other conferences whose topic is interesting to you, and also allows you to search for information without closing the program using the Google toolbar (the toolbar is customizable when installing the program).

The Skype developers have taken care of most users. The program works on the most famous platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Pocket PC.

How to use Skype?

First, you need to download the program for your platform from the program manufacturer’s website (http://www.skype.com/intl/ru/). Run the installation file skypesetup.exe, then select your language, check the box that “accepts the terms of the license agreement.”

The Skype icon appears on the desktop. Before you start working with the program, check if you have a microphone, webcam, and headphones. Let's assume you have headphones and a microphone - that's enough to get started. You launch the program by double-clicking on the Skype icon, register, choose a nickname, set a photo, enter the personal data that you would like to be available for everyone to read.

Registration has ended and the main window has opened.

The main menu panel looks like: “File”, “Account”, “Call”, “Chats”, “View”, “Tools”, “Help”. Initially, all program settings are set to “default”, so we recommend that you start setting it up right away. Of course, you need to set up your microphone and webcam. To do this, you go to the “Tools” section, then select “Settings”, in the window that opens, in the “Sound Settings” subsection, set your audio device: assign the instrument for audio input, audio output, call, then select the “Save” button.

To find friends, go to the “Contacts” menu section, select “Search for Skype subscribers”, enter a name, email or nickname and search. You found the person you were looking for, and now, without closing the window, you can call him. To do this, right-click on the nickname of the person you found, select “Call” and wait for an answer.

If you need to call a cell phone or landline, then select the “Dial a number” tab, where you need to select the country and enter the number (without the country code). Then press the green key and wait for an answer - and you will definitely get through! To send an SMS to a person from the “Contacts” list, right-click and select “Send sms”.

Available payment methods include:

Payment system Yandex-money:
http://money.yandex.ru/shop.xml?scid=1214

Diners, MasterCard or Visa credit cards:
http://skype.com/intl/ru/products/waystopay/credit_card.html?country=RU

Moneybookers system using a credit card, debit card or bank account:
http://skype.com/intl/ru/products/waystopay/moneybookers.html?country=RU

Regular bank transfer.

All new functionality, updates, help, and tariffs for the Skype program can be found on the manufacturer’s website http://www.skype.com.

We wish you successful communication! Now you can always be in touch with your work partners, close friends, and family.

Comments

2010-06-14 10:31:16 - Sergey

It's not good to copy other people's articles

2010-08-11 20:55:59 - Sophia

what if you only have headphones?

2010-09-21 19:58:40 - microb

Sophia. Just listen :)

2010-10-05 12:25:11 - Vericheva Ekaterina Maksimovna

How to install Skype?

2010-10-08 07:00:37 - Tanya

how much does it cost in rubles

2010-10-20 20:52:47 - Kalyan

How much does Skype and its services cost?

2010-10-20 23:51:19 - Olezhik

Okay, they'll definitely come up with something.

2010-10-27 08:04:40 - Alina Kalashnikova

hmm Skype is just terrible, there’s nothing clear there, I’d rather use @mail.ru

2010-10-28 13:25:04 - Shestak Oleg

Hello! Please tell me whether it is possible to communicate via Skype with several subscribers at once, if so, how? Thanks in advance for your answer.

2010-12-09 10:04:09 - Kerov Vladimir Genadevich

Can I install this Skype on a grave phone?

2010-12-09 23:40:21 - san4oz993

The Skype program is free, but the services are paid.

2010-12-19 23:10:23 - Ekaterina

is it possible to do this? so that it opens some time after turning it on, if possible, how? thanks in advance :)

2011-01-03 18:03:08 - Sergey Akharovitch Piryulyakin

You're all slow there

2011-01-05 23:23:21 - Alexander

find a friend by F, I city, year of birth??????

2011-01-12 20:34:26 - Ekaterina

Is it possible to communicate via Skype if I’m on a computer and the other person is on a phone?

2011-01-15 20:19:23 - Nikolay

this is the same as mail ru only the name is skype.

2011-02-04 13:28:55 - Lyudmila

I still don’t understand anything... if I have Skype (headphones, microphone, camera) and the other person has Skype, what should I do? 7 How to call, register, and find out that they are calling you?

2011-02-12 17:25:50 - Pichugin

Using Skype I can’t find Vladimin 10 2 1963 I’m contacting the robot, confirming that the settings on the account are correct, what’s wrong, I don’t understand?

2011-02-25 00:39:12 - Camilla

I know this is off topic, but tell me how to connect a webcam on a laptop? Please!!!

2011-02-27 16:23:01 - Filin Kirill Anatolyevich

Hello, I would like to clarify whether it is possible to communicate with other people via video conference and how? Please write either on the website or in the mail, here it is - [email protected]

2011-03-10 15:29:30 - Yura Belin

What are you talking about people???? What the hell is Skype! (Mail), this is a thing, it never lets you down... save your money.. ha:)

2011-03-29 16:16:23 -

Kerov Vladimir, why do you need Skype on your grave phone???))))) Most likely, you are unlikely to need it there..

2011-04-24 00:14:45 - Mikhail Chinese

I can't remember my password to log into SKYPE

2011-04-25 00:05:32 - VALERIY

LET'S BULLSHIT! I CONTACT MY INTERLOGER, AND I ONLY SEE MYSELF IN THE CAMERA! ISN'T THIS NORMAL?!

2011-04-26 18:01:18 - Alexashka.

Well, guys, you give it. Mail, it doesn’t even hold a candle to SKYPE for sending large files.

2011-05-12 12:45:15 - Victoria Dmitrievna Kurashova 2011-05-14 16:44:33 - Victor Stadnik

Cool topic, SKYPE. Crimea, Donbass, Khabarovsk, Paris, video calls, no problems and it's free, I'm satisfied. Thanks SKYPE.

2011-05-27 16:09:15 - Fedya Pupkin

Interesting, but can’t I set up Skype for calls on Mabila? Or did the apsos pay so as not to waste?)

2011-06-13 21:27:49 - Elena

Thank you for the accessible (for those who are not very literate) information!

2011-06-14 09:22:11 - Furman Tetyana Yurivna

we can't use skype

2011-06-20 08:28:14 - Baluda Anri Petrovich

What if a VEB camera with a microphone and a speaker with a 3.5 mm jack

2011-08-04 09:05:09 - Kitten

Skype is a good thing. I’ve been in the game (online) for a long time, the guys and I decided that Skype will be our connection (it’s much better not to write in game chats, because private and clan members still read). We are in a group chat on Skype (there are 7 of us). A friend of mine is using Skype on her mobile phone. A second friend told me that she installed Skype on her phone. But the money seems to disappear through our fingers. Tell me how to install it on my phone? I still want to try it! But in the mail, I forget my password and login, I don’t even remember the last time I went there. If anyone has any ideas (or still know how to install it on a mobile phone), then look for me on Skype under the Skype login: - kitten222223 (and if you want to chat with me, write too, I love to chat!).

2011-09-11 04:27:36 - Lida

I understood everything except the cost)

2011-09-12 20:12:51 - shashki35ru

You have to pay for calls to mobiles and landlines

2011-09-19 14:21:05 - Valyushka

But if you have a microphone and not headphones, but rather one “ear”, which is also used on the phone, then you will be able to communicate x)?

2011-09-23 21:04:34 - igor 2011-10-09 17:11:06 - serge

How many Megabytes are there in a minute of Skype conversation?

2011-11-12 08:57:04 - MAKINA ALINA ANDREEVNA

WHY CAN’T I TALK IN THE GAME COUNTER STRIKE?

2011-11-24 18:13:39 - Vanyok Makarov

Click on the plus (during a call, in the middle) and select “add interlocutor”

2011-12-07 22:24:19 - olga

who studied with a tutor on Skype, tell me, study for future use or is it better to see and hear the teacher with your own eyes, thank you

2012-01-05 19:20:39 - Teya Sharmanashvili (Karchava)

how to install skype on a grave phone?

2012-01-08 17:25:20 - Grachev Alexey Sergeevich

You can use Skype without a webcamape on your computer! and where to pay for Skype services

2012-01-18 16:31:50 -

and if you call from computer to computer throughout Russia, how much will it cost?

2012-02-19 18:30:42 - Elena

Without a web camera, you can pay at any terminal that is located in stores and on the streets!

2012-03-04 10:05:21 - nina

Thanks everyone! I thought I was the only one so stupid...

2012-03-10 11:53:41 - Sergey

people, tell me, is it possible to talk through a webcam in a counter strike?

2012-03-22 15:20:28 - Screamer

Some questions, but where are the answers?

2012-04-20 13:57:00 - Nastya

where are the answers?????

2012-05-21 05:08:11 - Shvetsova Alena Vladimirovna

how to install skype and how much it will cost in rubles

2013-05-07 23:36:55.319102 - minyakin konstantin evgenivit

how to call skype

2014-05-06 20:30:51.947109 - 2015-03-07 14:09:44.449982 - Aznorov Mikhail Aznorovich

Everyone asks questions, and no one answers the question. How can you master Skure in this manner?

What is Skype? What is Skype and how to use it? Skype is one of the most popular programs for communicating on the Internet. http://www.site/ip-telefoniya/chto-takoe-skaip http://www.site/@@site-logo/logo.svg?1

What is Skype? What is Skype and how to use it?

Skype is one of the most popular programs for communicating on the Internet.

What is Skype and how to use it?

Skype(read Skype) is a simple computer program (already Russified), thanks to which you can call other Skype subscribers all over the world completely free of charge. Those. provides free encrypted voice and video communications over the Internet between computers (VoIP), as well as paid services for communication with subscribers of regular and mobile telephone networks. It is possible to organize a conference call (up to 25 subscribers, including the initiator), transfer text messages, files, show your desktop, as well as video communication (currently, when using a standard client - up to two subscribers, and when using third-party plug-ins their number is limited only by the channel capacity).

What is Skype? Skype offers many communication methods:

In Skype you will find many useful functions, thanks to which you will always be in touch with friends, family and colleagues, you will be able to share your thoughts and receive the information you need.

Skype can be used on both your computer and mobile phone, so you can stay connected even on the go without changing your plans. Skype works on many mobile phones and devices such as the PlayStation® Portable (PSP®). There's also a huge selection of WiFi phones and cordless phones with Skype built-in.

To get started, try sending instant messages to someone on your contact list or open a group chat where several interlocutors can communicate at once. You can set up a conference call to discuss an upcoming meeting with friends, then use the Business Review Search™ to find the perfect place to host it.

Plus, you have great video calling capabilities. All you need is a webcam, which will allow you not only to use free video calls, but also to take photographs of yourself, so that you can later use these photos on Skype.

Skype is not intended for emergency calls

Skype is not a replacement for a regular telephone and cannot be used to make emergency calls

Finding friends on Skype

If you use Microsoft Outlook®, Outlook Express®, or Yahoo! email, you can import data from these applications into your Skype notebook. If your friends don't have Skype yet, you can send them an invitation to download Skype, and then you can chat for free. Don't be surprised if they send you a bouquet of flowers and chocolate: these are your grateful friends. And you deserve it.

Know other MySpace users? Convince them to download Skype or MySpaceIM from Skype. Then add them to your Skype address book, and your circle of contacts will significantly expand. Just find the name of the person you need in MySpaceIM.

Adding a new friend to your address book is easy. You can also add contacts to Skype who don't already have Skype and call them on landlines and mobile phones at low rates anywhere in the world.

If you have phone numbers stored in your Microsoft Outlook® address book, they will appear in your contacts list and you can easily dial them directly from Skype. To call landlines or mobile phones, you need Skype Credit or a monthly subscription.

How to use Skype at work?

Are you an individual entrepreneur? Or an employee of a multinational holding? No matter how small or impressive your company's staff may be, with Skype you can save time and money and, most importantly, always stay one step ahead of the competition.

Skype allows businesses to find their unique way of working, no matter what their goals are or where their employees are located.
Voice, chat, video conferencing and even calling and texting on mobile phones - you choose how best to convey information to your colleagues and clients. Whatever your company, download the business version of Skype and take the first step towards minimizing costs and increasing profitability.
And if stopping there is not your plan, especially for you is Skype Manager, a system for centralized management of the use of Skype throughout the entire enterprise.

Skype Manager simplifies and optimizes the exchange of business information. With just one simple online tool, you can connect colleagues to your network, give them access to the Skype features they need, and save money at the same time with our amazingly competitive rates.

Where does Skype work?

Skype works on the following operating systems: Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, Windows, Windows Phone, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Google Android, PSP, Symbian.

Skype works on TV. Free video communication on a big screen right in your living room is quite possible thanks to the latest developments from companies such as LG, Panasonic and Samsung: the latest models of TVs from these manufacturers are designed to work with Skype in high definition.

Where can I download Skype?

Just follow the link for your operating system:

How to pay for Skype services?

You can deposit money into your Skype account using Diners, MasterCard or Visa. Using the payment system Moneybookers Allows you to use your credit card, debit card or bank account to securely purchase Skype products. You can also pay for purchases on Skype through the system WebMoney. SkypeOut services can also be paid through Yandex.Money. Thanks to the company PayByCash You can pay for purchases on Skype using the payment methods used in your country, so you can do without a credit card.

When and by whom was Skype created?

The creators of Skype are Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis.

The first Skype appeared in September 2003.

In October 2005, the company was purchased by eBay for approximately $2.6 billion (an additional $500 million was later paid), although the company's annual turnover was less than $100 million. In April 2009, eBay executives announced that in the first In the middle of 2010, Skype will be sold on the stock exchange, since the activities of this company do not fit well with the online auction business.

The company's headquarters are located in Luxembourg, with branches in London, Prague, San Jose and Tallinn.

Events

2003

Founding of the company

2005

The company was bought by eBay for $2.7 billion

2007

March: Skype 3.1 released, new features added, including Skype Find and Skype Prime. Skype 3.2 beta has also become available with new features that allow you to send money via PayPal to other users.
August: Skype 3.5 for Windows was released, now there is support for video in the profile, as well as the ability to insert video into a chat; transfer a call to another user or group; auto repeat call.
August 15: Skype 2.7.0.49 (beta) for Mac OS.
August 16-17: “Black Tuesday”, as a result of a failure Skype did not work for more than a day.

2008

January 30: Skype releases a version for Sony PSP.
March 13: Skype 2.0 for Linux is released with video conferencing support.
July 9: Skype 4.0 Beta was released, the fourth version has a new program interface.
September 1: Skype closes SkypeCasts.
September 12: the unlimited Unlimited Europe tariff for $5.95 now includes, in addition to calls to landlines in 21 European countries, the cities of Russia - St. Petersburg and Moscow.
December 26: Skype releases version 1.0.0 for Nokia Nst-4 in system pack v1.0.0

2009

February 3: Skype 4.0 (Windows) released.
March 31: Skype released a version for the Apple iPhone.
May 12: Skype stopped supporting conferencing.
September 1: eBay announced the sale of a 65% stake in Skype to Andreessen Horowitz investor group for $2 billion.
November 9: Skype releases toolbar for MS Outlook

2010

January 19: Skype is another client of the Russian company SPIRIT in the field of IP telephony. The quality of sound transmission has been significantly improved.
February 19: Skype ends support for Skype Lite (Skype for Java phones) and Skype for Windows Mobile.
April 31: Skype released a version for the Apple iPad.
August 9: Skype files for its first share issue. The company plans to raise $100 million during the placement of shares.
September 2: Skype adds support for offline chat messages.
October 5: Release of a full-fledged Skype client for Android.
October 14: Skype 5.0 (Windows) was released, the fifth version has a new program interface and the ability to make group video calls has been added.
December 22-23: Skype crashes worldwide.
December 23, 18:20 Moscow time: Skype has been restored.

2011

2012

The program release dated January 10, 2013 introduced integration with the Outlook email client.

On January 29, 2013, Microsoft stopped supporting Windows Live Messenger, completely switching to the development of Skype.

The February 22, 2013 version of Windows 8 added file sharing functionality, allowing users to exchange documents via instant messaging.

Released on February 27, 2013, version 3.2 for the Android platform is adapted for 7-inch tablets.

On April 7, 2014, Microsoft announced the creation of Skype TX, a special Skype-based solution for television studios and radio stations. Since April 29, 2014, group video conferencing has become free. In September 2014, support for phones running the Symbian platform was discontinued.

What is Skype technology?

Unlike many other IP telephony programs, Skype uses a P2P architecture for data transmission. The Skype user directory is distributed across the computers of Skype network users, which allows the network to easily scale to very large sizes (currently more than 100 million users, 10-15 million online) without an expensive infrastructure of centralized servers. In addition, Skype can route calls through other users' computers. This allows users behind a NAT or firewall to connect to each other, but creates additional load on the computers and channels of users connected directly to the Internet.

The only central element for Skype is the identity server, which stores user accounts and backup copies of their contact lists. The central server is needed only to establish communication. Once the connection is established, the computers send voice data directly to each other (if there is a direct connection between them), or through a Skype intermediary (a supernode - a computer that has an external IP address and an open TCP port for Skype). In particular, if two computers located within the same local network have established a Skype connection with each other, then the connection to the Internet can be interrupted, and the conversation will continue until it is completed by the users or there is some kind of communication failure within the local network.

Thanks to the codecs used by Skype (data compression algorithms) SVOPC (16 kHz), AMR-WB (16 kHz), G.729 (8 kHz) and G.711 (ILBC and ISAC were also previously used) and with sufficient Internet connection speed ( 30-60 kbit/s) in most cases the sound quality exceeds the quality of regular telephone communication.

When establishing a connection between PCs, the data is encrypted using AES-256, which in turn uses a 1024-bit RSA key to transmit the key.

The Skype VoIP protocol is closed and is used only by the original Skype software. Using the API, third-party programs can access its functions.

There are no cases of decryption and/or interception of data on Skype officially confirmed by the developer.

For stable use of video communication, an Internet connection speed of 200 kbit/s is required and a processor clock frequency of 1 GHz is desirable.

What is the history of Skype?

The first versions (versions 0.97, 0.98) of the program appeared in September-October 2003. The program simultaneously supported 10 languages and had a simple, logical interface, initially adapted (unlike ICQ and MS-Messenger) for voice communication. During installation, Skype itself chose the Windows localization language and made login registration easier and faster than in competing programs. It was the ease of installation, learning and use of the program that quickly attracted the attention of a large number of users to it. In version 1.2, an answering machine (Voicemail) appeared for the first time, and starting from 1.3, any of its owners could leave messages to other users, even if they did not use this service. 1.2 also introduced the SkypeIn feature, which allows you to link your Skype account to a phone number.

Starting with version 1.4, it became possible to redirect calls to other Skype accounts, as well as to regular phones.

In version 2.0, for the first time, the possibility of video communication appeared, and in 2.5 - the ability to send SMS, organize Skypecasts (this technology has been officially disabled since September 1, 2008) and integration with Microsoft Outlook.

In version 3, a service (SkypeFind) appeared that allows users to create a list of companies and give a description of them. Nowadays it is filled to a large extent with spam.

Skype 3.5, version for Nokia Nst-4 The Skype client can be installed on a compatible phone or PDA, resulting in significant cost savings due to the low tariffs of the system. However, mobile operators do not want to lose excess profits and are slowing down the process in every possible way. T-Mobile, the largest cellular provider in Germany, said it will block Skype Internet telephony traffic on iPhone smartphones. It comes to the point that the mobile operator lobby is trying to ban Skype, and at the same time ICQ, in Russia.

What are Skype services? What are paid Skype services?

SkypeOut tariffs as of March 2006 in US dollars per minute of conversation SkypeOut Allows you to make outgoing calls to landlines and mobile phones in most countries of the world. Payment is per minute, differentiated. Calls to toll-free numbers (such as +1 800 in the US) are free, and even users who have not paid for the SkypeOut service can use them. Also, through SkypeOut, incoming Skype calls are made to a phone with the Skype Lite mobile application. 180 days after the last SkypeOut call, your balance expires. SkypeIn Allows you to receive phone calls from users of traditional telephone networks. In this case, the participant receives a telephone number in one of the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, France, Great Britain, USA, Japan and Hong Kong (China). All incoming calls to this number will be sent to your Skype account, and if the account is positive, calls can be forwarded to any phone number. As a bonus to the phone number, Skype provides a free answering machine for the entire time you use the number. Skype Voicemail Free services Main article: Skypecast Screenshot of the Skype program with participation in Skypecast SkypeCast (from the English Skype - VoIP and broadcasting program) - broadcasting, sometimes the abbreviation “cast” is used) - a type of voice communication between a group of Skype program users (up to 150 people) . Outwardly similar to a conference call, however, unlike it, it is established through a central server, as a result of which it does not place high demands on the channel capacity of the user who initiated the conversation.

What are Skype gadgets and products?

Skype produces and sells various products for the Skype program. For example, the wireless phone RTX Dualphone 3088 for calls without a computer. The phone allows you to make and receive calls both via Skype and on a regular telephone network without a computer. Skype also produces Freetalk Wireless headsets - wireless headphones with a USB transmitter for wireless communication on Skype, equipment for video calls (Freetalk Buddy Pack) and webcams (Freetalk Connect 2).

Attempts to ban Skype

The Commission on Telecommunications and Information Technologies of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) is preparing recommendations on banning Skype in Russia. The interests of telecom operators participating in the RSPP are clear: thanks to the presence of Skype, millions of Internet users in Russia have the opportunity to bypass the existing high tariffs for international telephone communications. In addition, the initiators of the ban and the FSB claim that Skype is difficult to eavesdrop on due to its lack of connection to SORM.

In Belarus, all calls over the network must go through the state operator, and the use of other international networks, including Skype, is considered a violation of the law.

Europe's largest telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom, said it would block Skype when people try to use it on an iPhone.

Access to Skype may be blocked by hardware. Verso Technologies and Cisco Systems have similar solutions. In particular, they are used by the largest Chinese provider China Telecom. Similarly, Skype is blocked in the UAE.

In response to attempts to ban Skype, its developers began to introduce traffic masking tools into the program to bypass VoIP blocking. In addition, Skype can work with proxy servers, VPN and Tor, which practically negates the effectiveness of its blocking.

Number of Skype users.

Year (end of year) Registered users Online users
2005 74 million 10.8 million

Comparison of Skype with other programs

	Skype	Net2Phone	MSN Messenger, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo Messenger	Other voice clients
Works with all firewalls No configuration required	V	X	X	X
Unlimited calls to other subscribers	V	V	V	Sometimes
Sound quality	Better, than by phone	Worse, than by phone	Worse, than by phone	Worse, than by phone
Security and encryption of connections	V	X	X	X
100% no ads	V	X	X	Sometimes