Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives
Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk...
From: Cal Frye <cjf () CALFRYE COM>
Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:56:44 -0500
David Gillett wrote:
As long as the application continues to fall back to HTTP/HTTPS/FTP(?) assigned ports if it finds its default ports blocked, essentially declaring enterprise network policy to be the enemy of the application and its users, then IMHO enterprise policy *should* forbid its use. We have taken the line that our current network infrastructure is not engineered to carry voice (we're correcting that, but it will take some time yet) and that if users find our campus phone system is not meeting their needs, they should consult with our networks/telecomm group and not just try to jury-rig their own alternatives piecemeal.
We have unofficial and official Skype users: Unofficially, our international students in many cases are unable to afford the high cost of international calls, and use Skype to keep in touch with friends and family back home. I'm loathe to interfere... Officially, our Language Lab faculty are using Skype for connecting a labful of students with a counterpart lab, say, in Barcelona for a hour of bilingual "real world" communication. Very educational, and much more immersive than a single videoconference would be using a Polycom camera or such. Resource requirements are quite modest. If you can support YouTube, you can support Skype. If we were to bar all avenues of malware infestation, we really ought to start with email and web, no? -- Regards, -- Cal Frye, Network Administrator, Oberlin College www.calfrye.com, www.pitalabs.com "si duae res sufficient ad ejus veritatem, superfluum est ponere aliam tertiam rem" --William of Ockham (1285-1349)
Current thread:
- SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Sadler, Connie (Dec 19)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Scott Koger (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Mike Corcoran (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Terry Gray (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Tristan RHODES (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... David Morton (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... David Gillett (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Cal Frye (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Randall C Grimshaw (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Bill Brinkley (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Charlie Prothero (Dec 20)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Chris Edwards (Dec 21)
- Re: SKYPE - What's the latest in terms of Risk... Vincent Stoffer (Dec 21)