Skype - memory leak, or ...?
I wonder if anyone else has had this problem, and/or knows a fix.
I use Skype occasionally, and have found it very useful - until this last few weeks.
I don't know what's changed, apart from an updated version of Skype (4.2.0.169) but if I use it now for talking (as opposed to IM), it will within a few minutes increase its CPU use to 100% at which point the far end can't hear me. I then can't close it using its own icons - I have to do Ctrl-Shift-Esc and shut it down from there.
When I first start a call, it will be around 35% CPU, which then bobs up and down, going (say) 50%, 40%, 65%, 55%, 75%, 70%, 95%, 100%, clunk.
While I'm not in a call, it sits there using no resources at all.
Windows 7 home edition, 2GB RAM, Pentium 4, 3.2GHz, 8 MB/S broadband. Avast antivirus, Windows 7 firewall.
It will do this with no other "user" software running.
I have disabled the Skype "insert" into Firefox - the one that highlights every telephone number on the page and offers to call it for you. That reduced the "starting" CPU usage from 55% to 35%. I've also got "Skype Extras" turned off - with that on, it started at 75% and crashed within a minute or so.
This is with the desktop machine - I've not tried yet with the laptop: that will be interesting.