SniffIM

Most instant messaging clients have a chat archiving feature that can be quite handy in case you want to review a conversation. Some dedicated applications can search the logs and decipher them to reveal the contents of the recorded messages.

SniffIM is one of those tools and it aims to provide quick access to both Yahoo! and MSN Messenger archived chat history. The software is able to scan an entire network to discover and display the messages exchanged through the above mentioned chat clients.

The program is very lightweight and doesn't require installation, so you'll be able to run it right out of the box. Also, there are no configurations to be made, simple start the sniffer and it will begin the search on the spot.

Thanks to a very easy to use interface, SniffIM is accessible for all users, even to beginners. The conversations are structured in several categories which can be viewed with only a mouse click from the left-side panel.

SniffIM filters all the network traffic and checks every packet for MSN IM and Yahoo! PM and conference archived conversations. As soon as it finds the messages, you can save all of them in a RichText Format (RTF) document.

For anyone who needs to review some messages you sent or received a long timer ago, SniffIM can surely be truly helpful. You should note, though, that the program cannot trace conversations taking place in Yahoo! chat rooms, nor network packets if an HTTP proxy is used for connecting to Yahoo! Messenger.

To sum it all up, SniffIM is definitely a tool to try in case you want to check out some older messages exchanged through Yahoo! or MSN Messenger. Very easy to use, the software is well suited for all users, experienced or not.