If you use Skype, then you should do yourself a huge favor and lock down your privacy settings asap. This will prevent you from receiving calls and notes/messages from spammers, phishers and malware vendors.
Just today I received a rather legitimate looking e-mail that could easily be misunderstood to be from Skype. If I had clicked on the embedded link, and installed any of the software I would have been in for a world of hurt. It was one of those malware writers that makes you believe you have a virus/malware and says you need their software to clean your computer. Their ‘software’ in turn ends up being garbage that costs lots of money.
Here’s how to lock down your Skype settings:
- Go to the menu Skype-> Privacy
- Ensure that all of the “from” settings are from “people in my Contact List only“
Here’s a screenshot of what that dialog box looks like. Click for a larger version.
There is just one minor drawback. You will need to manually add new contacts before they are allowed to call/message you. A small price to pay for a lot more security.
