On my trip to Scotland in April, I wanted to take Skype along with me so I could check voicemail & chat messages while surfing the net on my dad's laptop. Since there is no official portable USB version of Skype, anyone wishing to carry "Skype On A Stick" needs to make a few tweaks here and there. The good news is that it is easier than you might think to achieve this. In fact, it's child's play which is really good news for a techno doof like me.

First, go into the Skype folder on your computer and look for skype.exe. Normally it is in the "phone" folder. Now right-click on that skype.exe file and copy it to a folder on your USB stick (you can create a directory folder called "SkypeUSB" or something similar). Note, I said "copy" and not "move"! You have to keep the original "skype.exe" file in its usual place for Skype to work normally on your computer.

Now within the SkypeUSB folder on your USB stick (next to your copied skype.exe), create another directory folder called "data" (without the speech marks). Next, using Microsoft Notepad, open a new text file and name it "skype.bat" (again, without the speech marks). Inside this text file, write the following line and then save the document : skype.exe /datapath:"Data" /removable . Once saved, place this text file inside the "data" folder you just created. And then you're done.

Clicking on skype.exe on your USB flash-drive will now run Skype portably without the need to properly install it on the computer you are using. You can log on, make phone calls, start chats, etc just as you would with any regular Skype installation. Even if the computer you're using already has Skype installed and running under another username, you can still run your USB version without the two programs conflicting with one another.

This portable method of Skype works perfectly for me. I plugged the USB stick into an internet cafe computer (despite the cafe owner looking at me worriedly) and Skype instantly booted up.

Just remember to pack your Skype phone or headset and you can make calls at will!