Choosing Your Skype Name and Password

When you launch Skype for the first time, you see the Sign In to Skype window.
To use Skype, you must set up a Skype Name and password. A Skype Name is what other people on Skype see when they contact you. You use your Skype Name to log on to Skype in combination with a password. Because you choose your Skype Name, pick one that’s unique to you and easy to remember.
To establish your Skype Name and password, follow these steps:

1. Click the Don’t have a Skype Name? link. The Create a New Account page opens.
2. In the Enter Skype Name box, enter the name that you’ve decided to use. One of the first questions that may pop into your mind is, “How will all my friends and family find me on Skype?” If you already have a screen name that you use for your email, try using the same name or something very similar on Skype. However, be aware that Skype Names must start with a letter and not include spaces. Skype Names also must be between 6 and 32 characters long, including letters and numbers. All Skype Names are converted to lowercase letters, even if you use uppercase letters when you create your account. What if you have a great idea for your Skype Name but somebody else beat you to it and registered the name on Skype? For that possibility, Skype offers you alternative names to pick from — but also allows you to set one of your own choosing
3. Choose a password and enter it in the Password box. A Skype password must be at least four characters long. All Skype passwords are case sensitive. You are asked to enter your password again in a second Password box to make sure that you entered it accurately. Pick a password that is easy for you to remember but difficult, of course, for others to guess. A good technique is to pick two short but unrelated words and separate them by some nonalphabetical characters — for example, latte67chair.
4. 4. Select the check box to accept the Skype End User License Agreement and the Skype Privacy Statement. Although you agree to the License Agreement when you download Skype, you must check it again when you create an account before you can successfully log on to Skype.
5. Click Next to continue to another Create Your Account Screen; there, enter your email address. Entering your email address is optional but recommended. Be sure to fill this in. Email is the only way to retrieve a lost Skype password. Also, if you don’t have email, you’ll have a difficult time making use of features such as SkypeOut and SkypeIn
6. Enter your country, region, and city. This information is optional, but it’s useful when other skypers search for you.

After you complete the Skype Name information, a page that looks much, if not exactly, appears. Click the Sign In button to launch Skype. Skype is now live and ready to use, and you are greeted with a helpful Getting Started guide. We encourage you to take the time to view this simple tutorial, although you can find out how to perform all these tasks in this book as well. The guide walks you through the general steps for:

• Testing your sound settings
• Adding a Skype Contact
• Making a Skype call

If you want to refer to the Getting Started guide again, you can open it at any time through the Skype menu by choosing Help>Getting Started.