>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>Recently I was forced by Skype to update to the "latest" MS version. Which I don't like really, but I was forced.
>>
>>OK, this thread has meandered the usual way but now that I noticed an important piece of its title, I have to go back to its source. Because I think I've found the cause of the problem and hence a possible way to solve it.
>>
>>It's the first word that's the problem. You also said it - "MS version".
>>
>>Now if we could find a version which isn't a MS version, I think we could just sit and enjoy our drinks.
>
>I agree; I wish we could find the older - prior to MS - version. I wonder if such installation exist, would it possible to uninstall the MS version and install the older one. I suppose we will never find out.

You should be able to run both versions at the same time on the same machine (with a few tweaks)... you can get old versions from here:
https://skype.en.uptodown.com/windows/old

I know for sure there is a way to do it -- I did it a while back. You can hack a couple of files and not only get rid of the ads, but also theforced updates. I don't remember exactly how I did it now -- but I found instructions with a google search in a few minutes when I did it.