Chat Watch is a powerful monitoring tool that can log all messages send and received via popular instant messaging networks, such as Yahoo, AOL, ICQ and MSN.

Although most people are led into believing that this is actually a keylogger, Chat Watch is much more than that, being able to log not only the messages you type on your computer, but also the ones you receive from the contact you're chatting with.

The interface may seem a bit overwhelming at the first glance, but it's just a matter of time until you get used to it.

There's a dedicated button to start logging chats, with separate options for each of the aforementioned networks. Of course, you can easily view logs straight from the main window and you can choose either to view all logs at once, or only the accounts you select.

The “Settings” menu is the one that needs more time because it has tons of features, all of them supposed to enhance Chat Watch's functionality.

For example, you can install and set up plugins, you can configure log storage and security, define hotkeys to control the application using keyboard shortcuts, chat scheduling for recording conversations at a user-defined time, email settings for sending conversations on emails and even network preferences for copying the logs to a network folder and not on the local computer.

Chat Watch works just fine, but there seem to be some compatibility issues with Windows 7, as the application closes every once in a while all of a sudden. Plus, you need administrator privileges to run the program.

All in all, Chat Watch is a handy chat monitoring tool and since it comes with such an impressive list of features, it can be safely used by beginners and more experienced users alike.