Vbuzzer or Vbuzzer Messenger, is a voice over IP

Voice over IP

Voice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...

 and instant messaging

Instant messaging

Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...

 software and service, based on open protocols of XMPP

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...

 (for instant messaging) and Session Initiation Protocol

Session Initiation Protocol

The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...

 (for voice over IP). It competes against proprietary protocol based software like Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

, Yahoo! Voice

Yahoo! Voice

Yahoo! Voice is a Voice over IP PC-PC, PC-Phone and Phone-to-PC service , provided by Yahoo! via its Yahoo! Messenger instant messaging application. Yahoo! Voice uses the Session Initiation Protocol , GIPS codec and the Dialpad engine for voice transport...

, as well as other open standard based VoIP software. Vbuzzer offers free basic offers PC-PC, Phone-to-PC calling service as well as a paid PC-Phone service.

Technology

Vbuzzer is a closed source software developed by Softroute Corporation located in Markham, Ontario

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It adopts the common server-client architecture to route the calls and exchange text messages. Vbuzzer text messaging employs the popular XMPP

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...

 protocol and its internet telephony employs the Session Initiation Protocol

Session Initiation Protocol

The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...

 (SIP). Vbuzzer has released versions that run on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and MacOS 10.0+ operating systems. Vbuzzer can also be installed on iPhone, Android, Windows mobile, Nokia and Blackberry platforms. The current release is Vbuzzer Messenger 2.5.072.

Deceptive business practices

The software and the service has been tagged with multiple issues by their users , including non-existent technical and billing support. As of August 2011, the web site does not list any email address or phone number where to be reached.

Features

• Vbuzzer allow users to exchange text messaging, call/fax to the PSTN and reveive incoming PSTN calls/faxes.
• Vbuzzer also offers free Voicemail, Call forward, Caller ID, Chat history logs and RSS Feeds.
• Version 2.0.282 and up can work with Windows Live Messenger (WLM).
• Receive a US or Canada phone number for unlimited incoming calls.
• Free Faxing within US, Canada and China
• Works with Nokia E61,E51,N95 cell phone SIP client

Security

Vbuzzer is based on open standards XMPP

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...

 and Session Initiation Protocol

Session Initiation Protocol

The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...

 as its communication protocols, no security concerns have been reported so far.

Other issues

In June 2005, Vbuzzer was reported to be using source code

Source code

In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...

 from the open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 instant messaging software Miranda IM

Miranda IM

Miranda IM is an open source multiprotocol instant messaging application, designed for Microsoft Windows. Miranda is free software distributed under GNU General Public License.- Architecture :...

; within about 4 weeks after said report, Vbuzzer had removed all of the relevant code.

See also

• Instant Messaging
  Instant messaging
  Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
  
  
• List of XMPP client software
• Comparison of instant messaging clients
  Comparison of instant messaging clients
  The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date...
  
  
• Comparison of instant messaging protocols