19 Dec 2019 by demon36  tech_stuff

skypenotforlinux

skype has a linux version but its an electronjs web based app, just like discord, spotify and slack it has a bunch of processes running in the background, uses a lot of ram for a voip program and sometimes misbehaves. to make it more annoying skype is blocked by most ISPs in my location, so here is how I use skype on debian linux for text messaging only -voice support is on the plugin's todo list-

  • I use pidgin, it is available in repos of most distributions
  • I use skypeweb purple plugin -purple is the backend messaging library that pidgin uses-
    • after it gets installed you'll find an option to add a skype account in pidgin
    • it might require you to log in using the website first
  • I use the command sh ssh -D 8123 -f -C -q -N user@my_modest_vps for creating a local socks 5 proxy server that pipes traffic to a cheap multipurpose VPS using ssh tunneling
  • I configure the skype account in pidgin to use the proxy 127.0.0.1:8123
  • hint: there is also a facebook plugin for pidgin

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