Hack77.Avoid Skype


Hack 77. Avoid Skype "Spammers"

Skype, like any other online service, has its dark side. Here are some tips on how to avoid spammers.

Works with: all versions of Skype.

Unless you have incredibly restrictive Skype privacy settings, you will at some time or another experience some form of unwanted attention from spammers. The term spammer, as used in this hack, is a person who contacts you (or attempts to contact you, possibly repeatedly) by voice (phone calls or voicemail messages), chat, or file transfer and who wants something from you. Characteristically, this attempt to communicate with you is unsolicited on your part.

Fortunately, Skype provides several tools to thwart spammers. These, in combination with some common sense, can do a lot to make spammers only an occasional nuisance, rather than a continuous annoyance. Here's a checklist of things to do to thwart spammers:

  • Choose a sensible Skype name. Avoid anything provocative or that might attract unnecessary attention.

  • Configure your Skype privacy settings as described earlier in this chapter.

  • Control when you are online, by using your online status or by controlling when Skype runs. Never make your status "Skype Me," as that temporarily ignores your privacy settings.

  • If you have a SkypeIn number (which allows people with regular telephones to contact you), be careful whom you give it to. Also, add your number to a registry that lists your number as not wanting unsolicited calls from telemarketers. Such registries include https://www.donotcall.gov/ in the U.S., and http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/ in the UK. You can lodge complaints through these web sites too.

  • Some SkypeIn calls list the number that is calling in the call window. This number also is recorded in your call list. If the spammer is particularly offensive or persistent, or both, you can always pass this number on to the police and see what they can do. In this case, you might want to record some of the calls as evidence.

  • Don't let children use Skype without close parental supervision.

Unfortunately, there is no meaningful mechanism for reporting spammers to Skype so that it can take action on your behalf. As a last resort, you always have the option of setting up a new Skype name and a new SkypeIn number, as there's no restriction on how many you can have of either of these. This may be inconvenient for contacts you want to call, as you need to inform them of your new Skype name (and SkypeIn number, if you are a subscriber), but hopefully, it will solve your old spammer problem. Of course, you still run the risk that new spammers will find you!

9.5.1. Hacking the Hack (Windows Only)

Spammers might be more reluctant to target you repeatedly if you can fight back. Perhaps they might be more reluctant to call again if you can tell them that you have their IP address, which in some cases, can be used to trace where they are calling from.

Here's how you can find a spammer's IP address (voice call or chat):

  1. Enable "Display technical call info" (select Skype Tools Options… Advanced, and check the "Display technical call info checkbox), as this will allow you to determine during a phone call whether the other party is connected directly with you or whether the call is being relayed. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for chat, so you'll have to assume a direct connection. This method of finding a spammer's IP address works only if your connection is direct and is not being relayed.

  2. Keep the other person talking or exchanging chat messages while you follow steps 3 through 6, as this procedure works only while there is a communications link between you and the other person.

  3. Check whether the person you are talking to has a direct connection with you. With "Display technical call info" enabled, let your mouse hover over their avatar picture in the call window and the technical details of the call will be displayed in a pop-up window. Look at the number of "Relays" you have; for direct communication, you will see a value of 0.

  4. Open a command prompt window (select Start Accessories Command Prompt), enter the command netstatb, and press Return. You should see something similar to that shown in Figure 9-7 (incidentally, the figure shows a fake IP address).

  5. Send this chat message if chatting, or say this if in a call: "I know where you are, you're calling from X" (substitute the location you obtained from the IP locator for X). This might be a sufficient deterrent for scaring away some spammers.

Sadly, like many weapons, netstat and IP locator are like a two-edged sword, in that another person can use them to find out where you are! This is one occasion in which sitting behind a restrictive and Peer-to-Peer (P2P)-unfriendly firewall works to your advantage, as it is more likely that your calls will be relayed rather than directed.

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

  • "Manage Your Skype Privacy Settings" [Hack #74]

  • "Choose the Right Username to Avoid Being Harassed" [Hack #78]

  • "Run Skype Based on Time of Day" [Hack #41] or "Schedule When Skype Runs the Mac Way" [Hack #42]




Skype Hacks
Skype Hacks: Tips & Tools for Cheap, Fun, Innovative Phone Service
ISBN: 0596101899
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 168

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