Skype Protocol Reverse Engineered
Russian reseracher Efin Bushmanov claims to have reverse-engineered the Skype protocol with the goal of "making Skype open source".
He published executable files for download, which seem to be only be working with Skype 1.4, while he claims the "hard things" are already done for versions 1.x, 2..x and 4.x.
It appears that Bushmanov was able to change the Skype binary files and extract their autoupdate, obfuscation and anti0-debugging features. Most of the info Bushmanov needed seems to have come from the VanillaSkype presentation, which was given in 2006. He noted that he will be able to recruit people for his effort and complete his reverse-engineering goal.
Of course, Skype wasn't happy to hear about this project and already reacted. "We are taking all necessary steps to prevent/defeat nefarious attempts to subvert Skype's experience," the company said in a statement. "Skype takes its users' safety and security seriously and we work tirelessly to ensure each individual has the best possible experience."
The problem with Bushmanov's idea is that while reverse engineering is usually in the clear as far as copyright law is concerned, at least if it is done correctly. Bushmanov does not reverse-engineer by the book and does not follow the usual procedure, which requires monitoring of software input and output. In the end, he may still be on the hook for redistributing proprietary Skype code that is Skype's intellectual property.
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I love that this happened right after Microsoft acquired it.
Whats reverse engineering ?;p
I love the researcher's first name - Efin Bushmanov
Skype is like "That Efin Bushmanov, he reversed our code!"
So if this researcher learns how to walkabout with Crocodile Dundee, then takes his wife into the Australian outback for some romance...is he a Bushmanov Efin with his wife? *seg*
BTW, I say...wtg...Microsoft pays billions, then someone hacks the updat...i mean, reverse engineers the code. lolz
Why even bother? It's just some VOIP code and an interface. If you want an open source program with similar features just start from scratch, and make it GNU.
Stealing has never been the open source way. Even with the Skype source code you still don't have the copyrights to it. You're in direct breach of license, and no respectable open source community would work with it.
I love that this happened right after Microsoft acquired it.
That is why he did it. He was afraid Microsoft would provide for poor linux support.
Why even bother? It's just some VOIP code and an interface. If you want an open source program with similar features just start from scratch, and make it GNU.Stealing has never been the open source way. Even with the Skype source code you still don't have the copyrights to it. You're in direct breach of license, and no respectable open source community would work with it.
Reverse engineering is legal, as long it is done with completely new code. You can't copyright ideas, only the implementation. Otherwise we would have for example only one car manufacturer in the world today. The PC-Revolution would never take place if the original IBM BIOS wasn't reverse engineered.
I don't understand what is the big deal .. it's not like skype releases its server side software, so you're not getting anything but p2p voip .. something any decent c.s. freshman should be able to build to prototype level before a year's time in between friday night parties
Reverse engineering is legal, as long it is done with completely new code. You can't copyright ideas, only the implementation. Otherwise we would have for example only one car manufacturer in the world today. The PC-Revolution would never take place if the original IBM BIOS wasn't reverse engineered.
I think you missed the part that they didn't legitimately reverse engineer the code.
Toms Hardware,
I just had a look at fghaamm's profile (the moron posting clothing ads all morning). His profile seems bogus (no message history, gender, DOB etc).
Is it possible someone has found a 'back door' and adding entries directly to the user database directly?!?!
I find it funny that since the Cold War, Russian "researchers" keep cracking proprietary systems and releasing code while American "researchers" cry about lost corporate profits based on imaginary extrapolations such as the RIAA assertion that music labels lost hundreds of trillions to torrents.
DISCLAIMER:
Of course I don't actually support illegal and unAmerican activities such as releasing information for free. Leave me alone with your Patriot Act datamining, and yes, people will probably notice if I'm "disappeared". Besides, my tin foil hat will protect me!
In Soviet Russia, Skype Protocol reverses YOU!
what is 'reseracher' ?
His name is "Yefim".
Chek your spelling, Puglas Berry!
Reverse Engineering is legit? What happened with CSS which was reverse engineered and than outlawed...
It's not the code that is worth $8 billion, it is the branding.
There are plenty of other services that do similar, I have been able to do video calling via Messenger for years and before that did voice calling via ICQ.
What makes Skype so valuable is that the name Skype has almost become the defacto brand for online video chat, the same way vacuum cleaning is "hoovering" or an MP3 player is an "iPod".
So no big deal if the code is reverse engineered, you can't hack brand power.
It's not the code that is worth $8 billion, it is the branding.There are plenty of other services that do similar, I have been able to do video calling via Messenger for years and before that did voice calling via ICQ.What makes Skype so valuable is that the name Skype has almost become the defacto brand for online video chat, the same way vacuum cleaning is "hoovering" or an MP3 player is an "iPod".So no big deal if the code is reverse engineered, you can't hack brand power.
Nope, branding has nothing to do here, its about connecting to the skype network without the skype client.
Its the protocol being reverse engineered here.
Nope, branding has nothing to do here, its about connecting to the skype network without the skype client.Its the protocol being reverse engineered here.
Well done, thank you, I did read the story.
When the protocols are successfully reverse engineered and an app is generated for anyone to use by free download you will still see the millions and millions of people out there downloading Skype (or whatever MS decides to use in the future) because they know Skype and they don't know the reverse engineered version.
When given a choice between 2 identical items, people go by brand, it's psychology 101.
I think you missed the part that they didn't legitimately reverse engineer the code.
No, I didn't. What he is privately doing to learn about the protocols is none of their business (as long he uses publicly available information). Legally, that's just a rumor. As far as copyright goes, it is all about what he releases to the public. If he can duplicate same functionality without using any of the original code, it's all in clear.
Well done, thank you, I did read the story.When the protocols are successfully reverse engineered and an app is generated for anyone to use by free download you will still see the millions and millions of people out there downloading Skype (or whatever MS decides to use in the future) because they know Skype and they don't know the reverse engineered version.When given a choice between 2 identical items, people go by brand, it's psychology 101.
Ok, but you are still missing the point, nobody is trying to compete with skype.
This effort is to assure linux compatibility, and to have an alternative just in case MS decides to do something stupid e.g. put annoying adds in the client.
nothing new the soivets reversed engineered anything of relevance since world war 2
I hate spammers..
The Russian Skype hack could have been delayed or prevented according to Russian Russian copy protection software specialist StarForce Technologies (www.star-force.com). See http://bit.ly/j3lYfV.