Skype Is Down For Two Days

Internet phone call company Skype was recently off line for 2 days, unable to facilitate phone calls via subscribers high speed internet connections. Skype uses VOIP technology so people do not have to have a dedicated phone line to make phone calls, instant message or to share videos over their computer connection.

Skype spokesman Villu Arak wrote in a blog post Aug. 20 that the outage, which was resolved Aug. 18, happened after a massive restart of its users' computers across the globe as they "re-booted after receiving a routine set of patches through Windows Update." Arak said the high number of restarts in a short time period clogged Skype's network, causing a flood of log-in requests. These, combined with the lack of peer-to-peer network resources, "prompted a chain reaction that had a critical impact." "This disruption was unprecedented in terms of its impact and scope," Arak said.

Skype is back online and processing internet phone calls at the time.