Jon Sheppard’s Blog

I use Skype to video chat with non-Mac users (I just use iChat with other Mac-users) and for a long time I was singing Skype’s praises- the audio and video quality is good, lag isn’t a problem, and best of all, it’s free! But things have changed.

Lately, I’ve been getting all kinds of nasty spam through Skype and it really irks me because I have my privacy settings set to the max.

You need to understand that I only have 6 Skype contacts and that I have never published my Skype username anywhere. Somehow and some way my contact info was compromised and I get porn spam like crazy. Skype’s support page on the subject is absolutely worthless, here are their instructions for taking care of the spam issue:

People keep sending me spam messages or abusive calls, what can I do?

If you are getting chat messages or calls that you consider to be spam or abusive we suggest you use Skype’s built in privacy settings to filter out any unwanted communications.

You can select only to allow calls or chats from people in your Contacts list that you’ve authorized.

Select Tools -> Options -> Privacy

Check the box next to the option “Allow calls from only people I have shared my details with” and/or the box “Allow chats from only people I have shared my details with” and then save the changes.

Then random strangers and people not on your contact list cannot contact you anymore.

Well, I have done that and I still get spam like crazy. I’d like to keep my Skype username, but I’m considering creating another account, or looking in to other options.

Have you had issues with spam on Skype? Let me know.