20 August 2007
Millions of users of the free internet telephone service Skype were left frustrated at the start of the weekend when a problem with software meant the service was disrupted.
Reports cited a cyber attack was to blame for the outage; however Skype was quick to quash these reports saying a software fault was the reason behind the problem.
The company, which was one of the first to launch voice over internet protocol (VoIP), has been updating its customers via its website blog.
Skype, which is owned by eBay, said it was "working around the clock from Tallinn to Luxembourg to San Jose", to rectify the problem.
A post on the company's blog today by spokesperson Vilu Arak stated: "The disruption was initiated by a massive restart of our user's computers across the globe within a very short timeframe as they re-booted after receiving a routine software update.
"Skype has now identified and already introduced a number of improvements to its software to ensure that our users will not be similarly affected in the unlikely possibility of this combination of events recurring."
He thanked users for their patience adding: "The Skype community of users has been incredibly supportive and we are very grateful for all their good wishes."