I'm especially interested in Section 26, which details threats to SIP security and how SIP defends itself. Not so well, it turns out. In fact, the very insecurity of VoIP (services like Vonage, for example, are based on SIP) is unnerving. To understand this, we have to distinguish between end-to-end encryption, and hop-by-hop encryption, both of which are supported by SIP but are used under different conditions.
The fugitive former CEO may have been convinced that using Skype made him safe from tracking, but he—and everyone else that believes VoIP is inherently more secure than a landline—was wrong. Tracking anonymous peer-to-peer VoIP traffic over the Internet is possible (PDF). In fact, it can be done even if the parties have taken some steps to disguise the traffic.
One of the calls I placed was to my parents – in France. I try to call them once a week, so I figured that they should have been able to tell if there was a difference in the call or not. I didn't tell them the real purpose of my call right away. We chatted for a few minutes and I asked if they could notice something different with the phone conversation. They said that the call was pretty good and even better than usual. How about that! Not only was I going to save a bunch of money, but I was also getting a better overseas call connection. Later that night, my wife called one of her out of state friends for 30 minutes and neither one could tell the difference between the POTS and the VoIP.
iSkoot, a start-up based in Cambridge, Mass. offering a mobile-to-PC calling solution, announced a co-marketing deal with Skype. The iSkoot solution will allow mass market Java-phones as well as high-end Smartphones to place and receive Internet calls through Skype software from their handsets, without the need for PCs, special hardware, or WiFi hot spots.
The peripherals specialist has thrown its weight behind the technology with a raft of new devices all designed to makes VoIP operation easier and foremost among them is ‘Logitech Cordless Internet Handset’. The Skype orientated device looks rather like an elongated Nokia and its colour LCD displays all Skype contacts, offers access to Skype voicemail and enables users to check incoming and outgoing call logs. Making a phone call is as simple as scrolling to a contact, selecting it and clicking the call button.
In case you needed yet another reason to try out Skype, the company announced this week a deal to provide unlimited, free conference calling for up to 500 participants. The deal between Vapps and Skype through the Vapps' Highspeedconferencing.com service is the latest offering to get people to try the Internet phone calling service. Last month the company announced free calls to any U.S. or Canadian mobile phone or landline phone line until the end of 2006.
The Cyberphone-W features: Skype integration, simplifying calling friends whether they're Skype users or not; works the same as a normal phone; manage your Skype contacts direct from the keypad; built-in LED to indicate incoming calls, voicemalls, on/off-hook status; and more. Pricing has been set at US$53.39.
To use the service, customers must purchase a Qtek phone, made by HTC Corp., that runs Windows Mobile and supports voice over both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Users can move between Wi-Fi and cellular networks without losing their calls, thanks to software from Cicero Networks Ltd. that comes loaded on the phone. The software on the handset communicates with a backend controller, also supplied by Cicero, to support the handoff between networks.
Nokia has said it is committed to improving the 770, and the first fruit of its labor was revealed today in the form of a software update for the Internet Tablet. The Internet Tablet OS 2006 edition adds built-in support for Google Talk, a new onscreen finger keyboard, a "refreshed look," and what Nokia describes as improved memory performance.
The so-called AIM Phoneline service would be the first to come with a free number that could receive incoming calls from any type of phone. One of the most popular VoIP services Skype charges users about $4 per month for a phone number.
So far we've seen very few mobile handsets that integrate VOIP (Voice Over IP) and GSM communications in the same handset, the forthcoming Nokia E-Series spring to mind. Typically, these hybrid handsets are very high end phones that have had WiFi and VOIP capabilities added on.
Pirelli are a company best known for their tyres and that calendar, but they also have a broadband data division amongst other high-tech operations. The Pirelli Discus DualPhone DP L10 is the latest addition to a wide range of specialist and commercial wireless ethernet products, although it's not exactly an easy to remember name.
Nokia Corporation employee Wojtek Felendzer held a mobile phone to his ear as he walked across the room, the call automatically and seamlessly switching behind the scenes from a Wi−Fi wireless hotspot to the regular cellular network. While Felendzer took only a few steps, his demonstration at the CTIA Wireless 2006 conference in Las Vegas, NV, proved that mobile Voice over Internet Protocol technology has made a meaningful step forward.
Google has finally given a thought to bring in more funky features to their Google Talk instant messenger & VOIP application. The latest beta version of the application comes with features like user icon and chat themes.
