While you're using Skype to talk to your significant other, another significant problem exists that could put your personal privacy in serious danger.
Step-by-step instructions detailing how to detect a Skype user's last known IP address appeared on Pastebin last Thursday (April 26). Posted by an unnamed guest, the IP-sniffing trick requires the attacker to download a modified version of Skype's VoIP software version 5.5, turn on the creation of a debug-log file and add the target as a Skype contact.
Without actually sending the target an add request, the target's IP address becomes visible in the log information attached to his name. The Skype stalker then only has to run the IP address through a domain registration information service such as Whois.net to reveal the person's city, country and Internet service provider.
In an email to SecurityNewsDaily, Skype's director of product security, Adrian Asher, said, "This is an ongoing, industry-wide issue faced by all peer-to-peer software companies. We are committed to the safety and security of our customers and we are taking measures to help protect them."
Last April, Skype's Android App was found to contain a serious security glitch that could be exploited to expose the user's chat logs, name, address, phone number, email address and date of birth.