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Skype is a peer-to-peer (P2P) application, meaning that users connect to one another directly and not through a central server for communication. Skype initially uses Internet-based servers to authenticate users when they log in and to track their status, but when a "chat" or instant message, "voice call" or "file transfer" is initiated, the parties involved in the communication do so in a P2P direct connection. If one or both of the users are behind a typical corporate Network Address Translation (NAT) firewall, the communication can be relayed through a Supernode because a direct P2P can't be established behind a NAT. In the case of a file transfer, you will see a message indicating your transfer is being relayed.
So far, Skype hasn't suffered from the ills that bedevil most of the IM applications regarding viruses and worms. But it's most likely only a matter of time before a vulnerability is discovered and exploited. Any application that allows file transfers, IM or voice that can't be monitored, archived or recorded, has some level of risk.
However, Skype's architecture is more difficult to crack than other IM applications open to the Internet, and so it's the safest of those, but there are non-Internet applications like Jabber that are even safer for internal-only IM communication. But if asked if Skype is safer than MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM or ICQ, the answer is "yes" for now.
Myths addressed in the article below: 1. Skype uses a lot of bandwidth on a network. 2. Any computer can be a Supernode. 3. Skype is like any other IM application and susceptible to IM worms and viruses. 4. Skype is hard to stop on my network. 5. Skype is encrypted so I cannot archive IM messages.
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