Communication is one of the activities we human doing everyday in our life. To make people to people communicate more effectively, we starting to develop and use the tools and platforms on the internet.
The security and privacy systems and policies of Yahoo.
Yahoo, 2010, Yahoo security and Privacy, Viewed in 29 Jan 2010 <http://security.yahoo.com/>
The security of your information is of the utmost concern to us here at Skype and something we take very seriously. We are committed to ensuring your exprience with Skype is as safe and secure as possible.
Protecting your information, be it your personal or financial details or even the conversations themselves, is one of our top priorities. We have invested heavily in developing controls to protect against current and future security threats in these areas.
Skype Limited, 2009, Security, Viewed on 18 January 2009. <http://www.skype.com/security/>
Advances in technology, including the internet, have dramatically changed the way we collect and use personal information. Personal information can be transferred globally and more rapidly now than ever before. This has influenced the way we think about privacy and the protection of personal information.
What technologies may impact on my privacy?
Many new technologies involve the handling of personal information and therefore have the potential to impact on our privacy. The impacts can be positive or not so positive, depending on how the technology is used. Just a few examples of these new and emerging technologies include:
It is important to remember that not all technologies are privacy intrusive. If privacy is built into the design many new technologies are capable of being privacy enhancing.
As part of its policy role, the Office provides advice to agencies and organisations as to the potential privacy risks of such emerging technologies. Developing a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is an effective way to identify and minimise privacy impacts.
How do I protect myself online?
To help safeguard your privacy, the Australian Government has released a StaySmartOnline website with information and tips on how you can protect yourself online.
Cybersmart, developed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, provides resources and practical advice to help young kids, kids, teens and parents safely enjoy the online world.
What are the privacy risks associated with social networking?
Social networking has become an extremely popular online activity that allows people to: socialise online, send messages to one another, share interests and information, chat, and post information, photos and videos.
Like many activities on the web, there are some privacy risks associated with social networking, but these can be lessened by taking steps to protect your personal information online.
Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles. Skype was founded in 2003. It’s based in Luxembourg, with offices in Europe, the US and Asia. It’s owned by an investor group led by Silver Lake and which includes eBay Inc, Joltid Limited and Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz. (Hill, 2009)
Responsible for 8% of global international calling minutes, and with its users making 3.1 billion minutes of calls to landlines and mobiles in the third quarter of 2009, Skype is a leading global internet communications company. And of course, Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls are completely free. In the third quarter of 2009, Skype users made 27.7 billion minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls, and over a third of these were video calls.
Skype can be used as an Instant messaging service, or as a telephone… with a special Skype phone, or traditional headseat. It even works for video calls, too. Calls to and from other Skype members are free. Calls made to and from cell phones, or land line phones are charged at a per minute rate, unless you are paying a monthly fee ($2.95/month gets you unlimited calls in the USA) that will get you unlimited calls (within the fair use policy.) There are also plans for unlimited international use.
Since the dawn of the first version of the program, the Skype community continues to grow, offering a wide variety of features and services used in conjunction with the program. These are:
Skype To Go: The newest feature available to Skype Pro users, allows people to make international calls from their mobile phones, at the Skype-Out rate they use for all calls from their computer. (Watrous, 2009).
Reference
Watrous L, 2009, A Brief History of Skype, Mojave Media Group, Viewed 25 Jan 2010
http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/6109.aspx
Hill M, 2009, Evaluation online communication tools, Viewed 25 Jan 2010
http://intelligentmeasurement.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/evaluating-online-communication-tools
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Peter, Andy, Jack, Alex