Clarification on Skype Use

August 23, 2007

Dear Colleagues:

I have been asked about the use of Skype and whether or not its use is allowed at UMN.

First, Skype is a commercial Voice over IP (VoIP) software product available to organizations and individuals. VoIP can be a convenient and inexpensive means of communicating with colleagues at a distance. Some of these products are free while others have fees or licensing costs. Skype is certainly one of the more popular free products of this type.

While the University discourages use of this product, it does not prohibit it. You can learn more about the concerns over using Skype at this web site: http://safecomputing.umn.edu/safepractices/skype.html. In addition to the concerns, there are step-by-step instructions on that page for configuring Skype to avoid these potential problems.

We ask that if you wish to use Skype or another similar product, to please communicate with your IT staff, and be sure to configure the software so that your computer and the University's network will remain secure.

I wish you all the best on the start of a new term.

Thank you,
Ann

Ann Hill Duin
Associate Vice President and Deputy CIO
Office of Information Technology, and
Professor of Writing Studies, College of Liberal Arts
University of Minnesota