Skype squashes bug that sends messages to random contacts

Yesterday Microsoft confirmed a bug in Skype where instant messages were being sent to the wrong person from their contact list. Sometimes it was just a few messages, while other times it was a whole conversation. Today, the company has started releasing patches for the software on the Skype Garage blog in a post titled "Hotfix for multiple Skype clients." Get the latest version of Skype from here: skype.com/go/getskype.

The blog post is filed under Windows and I was told this hotfix is already out. When I inquired about the others, it turned out that the Linux version has also already been patched.

The affected versions are as follows: Skype 5.10 for Windows, Skype 5.8 for Mac, Skype 4.0 for Linux, and Skype 1.2 for Windows Phone. The versions you want to upgrade to are Skype 5.10.0.116 for Windows, Skype 5.8.0.1207 for Mac, and Skype 4.0.0.8 for Linux.

Here's what Skype had to say about the release:

The hotfix addresses an issue that occurs only when a user's Skype client crashes during a Skype IM session, which may in some cases result in the last IM entered or sent prior to the crash being delivered to a different IM contact after the Skype client is rebooted or logged in as a new user. Although we cannot determine precisely how many users may have been affected by this error, we believe the number is small given the very specific circumstances under which the error occurs. In addition, we have fixed File Sending on the desktop versions of Skype where it was not possible to save files for users who have a hard disk drive in FAT32 format.

Skype yesterday released a statement saying it was "rolling out a fix for this issue in the next few days and will notify our users to download an updated version of Skype." This was then followed by an updated statement:

Based on recent Skype customer forum posts and our own investigation over the past couple of days, we have identified a bug that we are working hard to fix. This issue occurs only when a user's Skype client crashes during a Skype IM session, which may in some cases result in the last IM entered or sent prior to the crash being delivered to a different IM contact after the Skype client is rebooted or logged in as a new user.

Although we cannot determine precisely how many users may have been affected by this error, we believe the number is small given the very specific circumstances under which the error occurs. At Skype, our customer experience is paramount and we are working hard to release fixes for impacted clients within the next several days.

We sincerely apologize to our community for any inconvenience.

It's great to see Skype resolve this problem so quickly. I will update you again when the other hotfixes are released.

See also:

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• Syria pushing malware via Skype to spy on activists
• Skype knew about IP address security flaw back in 2010
• Microsoft mocks Facebook, Twitter in Skype ad campaign
• Microsoft adds Facebook video calling to Skype for Windows
• Zara Phillips declares Facebook dangerous, prefers Skype