Skype update...caused strange behaviour in Email

Condobloke

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Linux Mint was sailing along beautifully (as it does)....an Update made its presence known via the little blue dot down beside the clock area .....
I clicked on said blue dot....skype update,....I forget the version number, but this occured on the 28th August, and the version number was prior to 8.29.0.41.

I installed it in the usual manner.
Immediately after I used thunderbird email client to open my emails which come to thunderbird via gmail. I have used this system for quite a long time with no dramas
My incoming emails are filtered to various folders...but the bulk go to either Inbox, BleepingComputer or Linux.org

To the inbox...there was a mildly annoying instances(s) of the email not opening.....same in BleepC...just mildly annoying, not all....but in Linux .org...every single email would not open.
I closed Thunderbird...rebooted etc etc ....all to no avail.

I racked my brain attempting to, think of what I had changed....any other updates, alterations of any kind in the timespace this hasd happened.......and the only culprit appeared to be....Skype.

On the 29th August, another Skype update presented itself. 8.29.0.41

I installed it in the usual manner.

Problem Gone.

My question is this.

How could an update for a seemingly unrelated program affect an email program. ?....and in such a manner ?

To allow the paranoid side of me free rein......skype is owned by Microsoft. Do I trust msft not to use their skype program to gather a little /lot of info from Linux PC's....contacts info etc etc etc.....No....I do not.

OK...paranoia cap now off

Anyone experience anything similar ?.....Ideas...?
 


I have no idea how something seemingly unrelated like Skype could have affected your emails.
But then - Skype is closed-source, proprietary, non-free software - so who knows what it is doing behind the scenes?!

A piece of software like Skype should NOT have caused any problems with your ability to open your emails. So the fact that it did is extremely concerning!

I've never had a need for video conferencing software, but I know a lot of Linux users use Skype for the sake of convenience. But personally, I don't trust it and wouldn't use it. I'd probably go for something truly free and open-source like Jitsi!

BTW - you can use Jitsi in any browser without having to install it on your PC/device by going to https://meet.jit.si - where you can create a securely encrypted room/channel that you can also make private by adding a password.

Once you have started a room, you can invite people to join/participate in a conversation by sending them an email. Don't forget to tell them the password to use for the room.

There is also a jitsi app for Apple and Android phones/tablets that acts as a front-end for the meet.jit.si website.

The software running on the site is free to use, secure and 100% free and open source.

And if you don't trust the people running the jitsi website with your data passing through - you can always set up your own instance of the jitsi meet application on your own server and create rooms there and then invite people to your server via email - again providing a password if the channel is private!
 
Thanks Jas, I have earmarked that site/software, and will put it to good use soon.
 
Perhaps updating Skype also updated another dependency which is shared between the two applications?

It looks like Sype for Linux and Jitsi are both electron apps. In that case who knows. Electron is finicky.
 
If you do all your updating using the GUI shield, all changes are captured in Synaptic.

Choose File - History.

Where the entry pops up for August 2018 and points to the right, click the arrow, it will point down and show daily entries that can be examined.

Cheers

Wiz
 
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Don't always believe "completely removed" from SPM.

In Nemo, your File Manager, go click Files System and do a search for skype.

Depending on how you installed Skype in the first place, there might be a .deb in /var/cache/apt/archives, and other traces.

Better is

Code:
sudo apt-get purge skypeforlinux && sudo apt-get autoremove

The autoremove part covers the /var/cache/apt/archives end of things.

You could still run the command and see if there is any output.

Avagudweegend

Wiz
 
Clean as a whistle !

Have a good one....dont forget the aeroguard and have a cold one for me.
 
I trust nothing from microcrap. Once they bought out skype, it was removed from my machine. I replaced it with a program called "Wired", it works very well, it's free, and you can chat, video, or audio with it, just like skype. It comes in Linux, Mac, and Windoze flavors.
 
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I trust nothing from microcrap. Once they bought out skype, it was removed from my machine. I replaced it with a program called "Wired", it works very well, it's free, and you can chat, video, or audio with it, just like skype. It comes in Linux, Mac, and Windoze flavors.

Thanks for sharing, Bayou, I wasn't aware of that option, and to @arochester for clarifying the link.

Avagudweegend all ;)

Wizard
 

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