Skype 5.1.60.947
Skype has released Skype 5.1.60.947 to block a critical vulnerability related to receiving a malicious file via an instant message. Also resolved are problems with video freezing in networks with high packet loss, and unspecified minor bugs. Unfortunately, the horrid design of Skype 5 remains in place, but, luckily, the still-functional Skype 2.8 does not suffer from Skype 5’s security vulnerability. So, you can either upgrade to Skype 5.1.60.947 or stick with (or downgrade to) Skype 2.8. I recommend downloading manually; the automatic updater failed when I chose Skype > Check for Updates. (Free, 20.2 MB)
Hmmm. The latest Mac download is now 5.1.60.947. What else changed, I wonder?
Drat, that was fast... I imagine they just found a bug and released a silent update. I'm just going to update the title of the article, since that's the version I now have too. Sigh...
I tried Skype 5 and really didn't like its GUI, nor the fact that it wouldn't tell me who had called. With SkypeIn numbers in the UK and Australia, this was a real pest. Call forwarding ceased to work, and I found that I had to go into my Skype preferences and reset them to re-activate Call Forwarding. I reverted to Skype 2.8.0.851 (16248) as this works fine.
I am confused. I was running version 5.1.0.935. I have downloaded, from the link version 5.1.59.947, which I am now running (their interface is equally ugly).
Where's 5.1.60.947?
I'm seeing 5.1.0.935 through both Check for Updates and the downloads page (currently on 5.1.0.914)
Hmmm. I downloaded the update from the link on Skype.com and I got 5.1.0.922. What is going on with these version numbers????
All these version numbers are nuts - I'm checking with Skype PR to see if we can figure out what's going on.
OK, Skype PR tells me that all three of these version numbers are essentially identical:
5.1.0.935
5.1.59.947
5.1.60.947
So as long as you have one of them, you should be fine from a security standpoint.
Skype is the only software that I have ever "downgraded" to the previous version because the new version was unworkable. I don't particularly like 2.8, but v5 was orders of magnitude worse. Hope they fix it, but who knows what will happen now Microsoft own it.