Why won’t our IT department let me use Skype on the college network?

Skype technology was developed as a peer to peer network of skype nodes much in the same way as the file sharing applications Kazaa and Napster.

This means that any Skype client left running will assess how much bandwidth is available to it and then use it for its own Skype services without the user ever suspecting what is happening to their own PC, this is called a Super Node.

In practical terms, this means that your Skype client could be routing calls for half of Europe to the US all via your desktop PC, swamping your college network, just because you left your Skype client running.

Not only that, it can also introduce viruses onto your PC which could then spread to other workstations throughout your college.

To combat this JANET will shortly be introducing a new service called JANET TALK. This is a software product that offers similar functions, services and gateways that Skype does, but without the risks and network impact.

JANET has produced a document, Skype & JANET, which details the effects of Skype on bandwith and suggests says of managing Skype to protect network availability.