Anthony, I recieved your text message about spyware. Most ADSL modems have inbuilt NAT firewall which is reasonably effective however a firewall will not necessarily prevent spyware from operating. I have been on the recieving end of spyware and run a current spyware checker regularly. Searching for skype and spyware will bring hits, most of which will tell you that there is zero spyware risk, which is in agreement with my spyware checker.
http://www.auditmypc.com/process/skype.asp indicates that there is no risk associated with skype. I'd worry about your email client and operating system first. You could also turn of java In IE as well as active X scripting, where do you stop??