[Web4lib] Skype use on public library computers

[Michael McDonnell]

Peter Schoenberg wrote:
> We have had a few reports of customers using Skype on our word processing computers.    (Only the Word Processing computers have an available USB plug-in.)    It does require a download and install, which is not normally possible on our public computers.
>
> I would be very interested in your experiences with Skype - used by the public on computers on your network.  
>   
Hi Peter,

Are you wondering how people might be using it on your PCs if they did
not actually install it?  There are more and more "portable" MS Windows
applications emerging.  These are programs that have been modified to
run without being "installed" first.  The most common use is to run them
from a USB mass storage device (e.g. a thumb drive). 

For more information on "portable skype" see this site:
http://portableapps.com/node/246

However, Skype actually makes a U3 version of the program now.  U3 is a
system (a standard?) for including portable applications on USB drives. 
U3 enabled USB drives allow users to make their program preferences
portable AND make the applications run from the USB drive as well.

More info from Skype on U3:
http://about.skype.com/2005/06/skype_for_u3_powered_usb_smart.html

> Security issues? 
> Band width?
Skype has had periodic, serious, security vulnerabilities.  Typically
these problems mean that if you are running a vulnerable version of
Skype, someone can access your PC over the Internet and run whatever
programs they want (they can "own" your PC remotely).  My memory tells
me that Skype has had fewer problems than Adobe Flash and Apple
Quicktime (if that helps put in perspective at all).  Bottom line: If
you offer Skype, you'll need to keep it patched.  On the other hand
Skype does have a security blog [http://share.skype.com/sites/security/]
(Quicktime and Flash do not have separate end-user communication
channels dedicated to security and therefore I conclude that security is
not a significant factor in their ongoing development plans).

A second security concern is that Skype supports plug-ins.  I do not
know if plug-ins need to be installed first to run.  Some of the
plug-ins add significant new functions and that makes me wonder if it
might open your PCs up to remote control.

Skype will use significant bandwidth, but it should be in the same order
of magniture of YouTube or other streaming media.  The most significant
bandwidth issue, is that Skype users will be pushing (uploading) data. 
Most ISPs partition bandwidth so that you have more download bandwidth
available.  That could be a problem depending on the specifics of how
your current bandwidth is provisioned.

--
Michael McDonnell
michael at winterstorm.ca