Skype has an embarrassing bug where a simple set of characters, easily mistyped, will crash the iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows apps plus (as we just discovered) Skype for Windows.
The characters are http://: (note the extra colon)which is easily done when typing a web link.
We just tried sending that text from the latest release of Skype for Windows (7.4.0.102) and the sending software immediately crashed when we pressed Enter to send the IM.
Weekend Update: Microsoft has updated Skype with commendable speed. Skype desktop for Windows v7.5.0.102 and later have removed the bug.
The IM with the troublesome text isn’t sent. So it seems that the full Skype software for Windows isn’t immune to this bug as some press reports suggest. (Thanks to Peter V. on the Isle of Man for his help with some quick tests).
Skype for Windows integrates into Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft staff were quietly sniggering over Apple’s embarrassing texting bug not realizing that fate would exact it’s sweet revenge so quickly. At least Apple’s ‘text message of death’ characters had to come from non-Latin sources and not a simple typing mistake.
Hopefully Microsoft will release some fixes very quickly. A filter on their instant messaging system (to block the buggy text) won’t work because the flaw happens to the sender before the text is sent to Microsoft.
