Which Skype for Windows 7

[bawldiggle]

I know nothing about Skype and would appreciate some guidance.

Which version of Skype do I download for Windows 7 ?
Skype for Windows desktop shows Skype for Windows 8. I am wondering if I should be looking elsewhere ?
When I click on Get Skype for Windows Desktop it only offers Windows 8
OldApps.com offers SkypeSetup_6.9.0.106.msi ... 21.5MB

Whereas Skype for Windows 8 offers SkypeSetup.exe ... 1.5 MB

A search of Skype forum has turned up nothing (and the Skype forum has been hit by spammers today)
I have read that Microsoft own Skype so I am hoping this forum can point me in the right direction.
When I tried to find a skype-forum ... a Google search turned up a lot of skype-porn sites and a lot of inactive forums.

One of my sons has just moved to Japan and he uses Skype, so I assume I should also have Skype

Thank you

 

[crankypenguin]

Go here and follow instructions. You will be ok. Downloading and setting up Skype
I too was stationed in Japan in the Navy a while back
http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-windows/downloading/

 

[bawldiggle]

Thanks crankypenguin for such a quick response

Your suggested download "SkypeSetupFull.exe (from Downloading and setting up Skype) is 33.5 MB -- a generic Winxp/7/8/8.1 version ?

22 x bigger than the 1.5MB "SkypeSetup.exe" I found on Skype site, but right now I cannot remember exactly where)​

Skype is only required to talk to my son and my grand-children.
The extra bells and whistles Skype offer, I do not need and the B+Ws come at a cost.

Is it true that Microsoft own Skype?

 

[NoelDP]

The 1.5MB download is merely a stub - it ends up downloading the same installer, so you may as well go directly to the beast

There's no extra cost in having the bells and whistles available - if you use the PAYG system, there's no expiry on the credit, so I still have some (lots, actually!) left from my original £10 investment back in July

...and yes, Microsoft has owned Skype for around a year now, and seem to be advancing it nicely (for a change) after some initial hiccups..

 

[crankypenguin]

A little tip, you may want to add your son to your contact list before you apply all those settings, or he may not be able to add you. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Also remember you may have to allow Skype in your firewall settings to connect to the internet ( depending on your firewall )

Once you install skype (make sure not to agree to any offers during the install process) , I will give you some pointers on which settings to change. Once you have the program open up on top it should have a list of items you can pick from Skype..Contacts...Conversation..Call...View...Tools..Help. Please press the Tools option then scroll down to Options and pick that. A new window will open. Here is where we will set up our basic settings. On the left side of this window will be some options going down, for now leave those alone, and General Settings should be highlighted. Here you can pick if you would like skype to start when you turn on windows, and also if you want to show your picture in the contacts window ( I would advise against that for general privacy reasons ). The other important option on the left side is Privacy, so please click that. Basically we want to set up your skype so that only authorized people ( your son) can contact you, and not strangers, spammers etc etc. On top it should say Allow calls from.... I would pick People In My Contact List Only. Next item down the line is Automatically Receive video and share screens with... again, pick People in my contacts list only. 3rd Item down the list is Allow IMs from... you guessed it people from your contact list only. On the bottom there are 3 more little boxes with options about showing your status, accepting cookies, and allowing microsoft ads, those are up to you to pick.

 

[bawldiggle]

NoelDP +1
I have downloaded "the beast" SkypeSetupFull.exe , rather than cloud install

Cloud installs always make me nervous
Last cloud install I (unwittingly) did was "Incredimail" which hijacked almost everything on my PC (browsers and email + toolbars), even after uninstalling it, there was a nag msg every time I booted/rebooted. Finally flushed it out​

I spent about 2 hours yesterday trawling through the net reading anything I could find about Skype.
A lot of negative comments by users as late as 2012 -- "advancing nicely" sounds promising
----------

crankpenguin +1
Thank you for your in depth response ... excellent!
All I want (for now) is one-to-one video (conferencing?)
Would I have to pay Skype for one-to-one video ?
Skype site is very pretty but short on info for dinosaur-newbies
At this point all the bells and whistles just add to the complexity.

I am about to install Skype .. the settings sound like ... "complicated".
The last thing I want is run-away intrusions, junk mail etc

Would appreciate your (or anybody's) tips.
I will "look around" when it is installed and get back here, before doing anything else.

 

[NoelDP]

I've never had any problems with Skype - I get (I think) one email a month from them, and no other hassle at all.

 

[bawldiggle]

Hi NoelDP

What do you use Skype for ?
Maybe there are other features I should consider once I have video conferencing mastered.

 

[NoelDP]

I only use it for long-distance (international) calls as a rule - my sister lives in Sardinia, so I can use it for a video call to her for free . I also use it if there's going to be a long national call, as it's a lot cheaper than my mobile phone, even allowing for the data-drain on my 3G dongle. It's also handy on my mobile phone if I'm in an area with no coverage, but a Wi-Fi signal I can get at, or if the PAYG credit on the phone has run out

 

[crankypenguin]

When I use video to video with friends ( I am in Europe ) and they are US, Asia, Africa I do not pay a thing. You only have to pay for credits if you want to use the skype to landline calling feature, basically turning skype into a VOIP client sort of. But if two parties have skype and you're just using IM, video to video or IM then it's free of charge

 

[bawldiggle]

Thanks NoelDP and crankypenguin

Your posts have cleared up some concerns I had.
Unfortunately the Skype web site is not very clear about anything. Jargon is understood by the converted but not by newbies like me.

QUESTION:
Skype is installed but it opens every time I boot/reboot.
I am tempted to just remove it from Startup, but I am not sure if that is a safe move.

 

[Golden]

Perfectly safe to do that

When you need it, just open as you normally would.

 

[NoelDP]

There is an option within Skype to either start or not start when you log into Windows - that option is what you need to use.

Personally, I've found that every time Skype updates, it resets it to start with Windows, whatever your previous settings - it's one of my pet gripes, but takes 10 seconds to reset so I haven't bitched about it yet.

 

[bawldiggle]

I only use it for long-distance (international) calls as a rule - my sister lives in Sardinia, so I can use it for a video call to her for free. I also use it if there's going to be a long national call, as it's a lot cheaper than my mobile phone, even allowing for the data-drain on my 3G dongle. It's also handy on my mobile phone if I'm in an area with no coverage, but a Wi-Fi signal I can get at, or if the PAYG credit on the phone has run out.

Our phones do not have internet connection. Purely for calls and text.

I only want video-call for my son in Japan and my brother in (MA) USA.
My brother has been in USA for 45 years, we are close.

Noted your alert about Skype-updates re-enabling startup too. Thanks.

 

[bawldiggle]

Golden +1

I opted to stop startup-pest using Skype options.
NoelDP advised Skype updates undo startup settings.
I hope I can over-ride automatic Skype-updates and update manually.

Thanks again for your advice

 

[bawldiggle]

Thanks crankypenguin

I have altered the "Privacy" settings as per your suggestions.
Q1: The last three check boxes ? I am not sure what to do with them, enable or disable.
. . . . For other newbies when I get these basic settings sorted I will post everything I have done and why

Each "Learn More" link leads to a lawyers dream ... of complexity.

1. I will only be using Skype for one-to-one video contacts.
2. On Skype Privacy Policy web page (ie Learn more about "cookies") ... I am concerned about my Your User Profile ... particularly ...
   

   ... Skype username, full name, address, telephone and mobile numbers, gender, date of birth, country, language, “about me” page URL, and any other information that you decide to make available.

I do not want my personal details shared/forwarded to anybody -- particularly ...full name, address, telephone and mobile numbers, gender, date of birth, country, language, “about me”.
"Analytical services" in 3: Our disclosure of your personal information appears to be whitewash for intrusion.

"[x] Accept Skype browser cookies" setting appears to represent a lot of background stuff and some of my major concerns.
I assume Cookies are required for making video-call connections and maintaining those connections ?
If so, not a lot of options other than to accept cookies.
Q2: Would Skype's video calls be hindered if cookies are disabled ?
Q3: I would prefer to manually update Skype if that is possible ?

With Windows updates, AV updating every 2 hours, Skype updates ... my laptop will go into a coma when least convenient.
(I have Windows and AV updates set to manual updating
​

I would strongly advise others to read Skype Privacy Policy because topics #3, #4 and #5 include links for disabling/modifying some of the intrusions.

 

[NoelDP]

If you don't want data shared, simply don't enter it - and set your privacy levels to the highest allowed.
There is no internet service of any kind which doesn't require at least some identifying data - and in a lot of countries, such data is legally required to be stored for a period of time.
You can set Skype not to update automatically - check out the Options within the Tools section, again (Advanced > Automatic Updates)

By default...
Updates for Windows are checked every day at boot as soon as an internet connection is established, and again at roughly 24-hour intervals. It takes only a second or two to do the check. If updates are found, then they are downloaded as a low-priority process which will wait until the machine has a lot of free time available before actually working. The Updates themselves are installed either on shutdown, or at the next fixed time set in the AU options.
Windows Security updates are released generally once a month on the Second Tuesday of each month - optional updates are release on the 4th Tuesday.

AV daily updates should take no more than a few seconds to download, and less than a minute to install. If it takes longer than that, then you're probably dealing with an engine update, rather than the daily one.

Skype updates require UAC to install, and as such they are always totally under your control - and only come out every few weeks anyhow. Checking for the update takes less than a second. Downloading it depends a lot on your connection speed, but it's a 35MB (roughly) file every time at present.

In short, the chances of any of the updates taking significant resources are negligible, except when installing Windows Updates. The chances of then all happening at the same time are vanishingly small - and any modern system is quite capable of dealing with them.