I want to understand what is VOIP and how it works with video? After you a
finish a VOIP with video call like Gmail or Skype, where does the video stream
go to? Is it saved anywhere online or does it just disappear on the internet?
Some people say that what goes on the internet stays on the internet.
In this excerpt from
Answercast #67, I look at the difference between streaming audio/video on
the internet and posting information to websites.
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Stays on the internet
Well, what people say is partially true. If you put something on a server (like, if you post on a website, on Facebook, as a comment on Ask Leo!, whatever), there are enough different things out there automatically copying what’s going on that it’s very hard to undo.
That’s one of the reasons we all strongly suggest that you never post
something online that you wouldn’t want your parents to read on the front page
of your local newspaper. Because one way or another (we’ve seen politicians
fall into this trap again and again), once it’s on the internet, you can’t get
it back.
Streaming media
However, when you talk about streaming audio and streaming video, that’s
actually something different.
What I’ve been talking about so far is something where you are placing
information (comments, or photos, or videos) on a website where it is actually
stored on that website. That basically should always be considered to be
something that you can’t undo. Once it’s up on the internet like that, it’s
there forever, for all practical purposes.
Streaming on the other hand doesn’t do that. What a streaming audio call
does or a streaming video call does (using technologies like Skype and like
Google Talk) is that they actually send bits from your computer to your
recipient’s computer. They stream bits back from the recipient’s computer to
yours.
Now, there may be servers involved in-between in getting that data from your
machine to their machine, but they are not storing it. I’ll talk about
conspiracies in a minute, but they’re not storing it. All they’re really doing
is facilitating the transfer of the audio and video information from your
computer to his and the reverse from his to yours.
A way to think about it is that putting something up on the internet is kind
of like putting water in a bucket that someone can drink from later. Anybody
that comes along can drink from that bucket and there’s always going to be your
water in it.
On the other hand, streaming is sort of like you’re handing a glass of water
to the person across from you; there’s no third party; there’s no place where
it’s being stored. You’re just giving them the water, and maybe they’re giving
you water back – or tequila or who knows.
Point being though that it’s a transfer between you and this other person
where there’s no intermediary doing anything to what is you’re
transferring.
Conspiracy theories
Now, when I start to talk about conspiracy, the issue is that there are
people who believe that even streaming audio and streaming video are being
captured or can be recorded by third parties. Most notably, many people (or
some people, I should say) are concerned that their government might be
monitoring and recording what it is they’re transmitting between the two.
That’s why good programs like Skype (I’m not sure about Google) will encrypt
the data so that, even though it might get recorded, what’s being recorded is
nothing more than encrypted noise.
The other practical reality is: you’re also trusting the person at the other
end. The person at the other end could, of course, be recording the audio and
the video of your video phone call.
So those are the kinds of things that worry people.
For me, I’m not worried. The basic technology is to get the audio from my
machine to yours so you can hear me; get your audio from your machine to mine
so I can hear you; do the same with video.
Nobody’s in the middle storing it; we’re just not that interesting.
So it’s not something that concerns me. Streaming – true, real-time streaming –
is not something that I expect to be stored on the internet forever. Unlike
uploading a file.
End of Answercast #67 Back to –
Audio Segment
Conspiracy theory or not, it is the job of the NSA to know about everything that occurs via electronic communication that could be a threat to the national security. This involves intercepting signals and, if necessary, codebreaking to decipher the signal content. To that end, there are several places on the Internet backbone where the NSA can intercept and record everything. Some of these places are public knowledge, some are not. How much is recorded and how long it is kept is a state secret. There is a huge data processing facility in Utah about ready to occupy and open for business. It has the capacity to record everything that transpires on the Internet and keep it forever. The problem is how to separate the real gems from a huge stream of glass fakes and give the gems further attention. Encrypted video? Puhleeeze! The NSA does that during idle cycles of their supercomputers.
“You’re just not that important.” I love that phrase and I’ve repeated it a few times lately to a few people (I hope Leo doesn’t mind).
I’ve heard the conspiracy theories, including the one that says the CIA/FBI has the software makers give them the codes to decipher the encryption. I’ve also heard that they also listen in to all regular phone calls.
Whether these are true or not, I could care less because I’m just not that important. If they really are listening in and will be recording and monitoring my Skype calls, what they are looking for is terrorist plots, security risks, etc. I don’t engage in that business, so it doesn’t bother me.
And I don’t engage in illegal activity or embarrassing activities, so even if they are doing this and you get a rogue employee try to exploit something, there is nothing to exploit. I’m just not that important.
Shame Leo! We are interesting! That’s the raison d’etre of “big data”!
We have a tendency to see certain things as disconnected when in fact they may be easily related.
In the realm of web security, there is the “dog chasing its tail” problem. Better encryption is developed, but faster and more efficient technology can crack it quicker. It’s a never ending cycle.
So, why not keep a copy of the transmission as it occurs, encrypted or otherwise. The fact that it is encrypted just makes the problem of decoding it a little more interesting. Don’t get me wrong – I am not a snooper, hacker, or any other such criminal, but neither am I a fool. The way I present this is simply to reinforce the manner in which real snoopers and hackers see it!
Like the two previous comments, I have nothing to hide. I have to ask though, why is it when the telephone became prevalent, legislators saw it fit to prevent “snooping”, which is what those agencies mentioned do, but when the internet was born, the whole idea was turned on its rear? In Canada at least, police must seek a court order to wiretapp a phone! Sure the internet enhances criminal capability, but it also enhances policing and investigative ability. It is in fact benign to the nature of evil, but so many who should know better just don’t realize what they are losing by seeing web technolgy as something more! After all, “freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose”, as per Kris Kristofferson!
Now, to myself and those who commented earlier, I like Leo’s technical and practical perspective. I don’t care for politics in a forum such as this, so please, let’s stick to the technicalities of Microsoft and related software.
Cheers,
Peter Wall
Hi leo,
I want to know about 3g video calling, Can a third party or someone from a telecom company record video calls made through 3g service. remember i m not talking about skype.
18-Dec-2012