A tool to log messages sent and received through ICQ Messenger, Windows Messenger and Windows Live Messenger.

Pros: The SpyPal ICQ Messenger Spy records all messages sent or received through the ICQ Messenger program. In addition to this it also records messages that are sent and received through Windows Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. The program runs in Stealth mode so that other users (other than the owner) is unaware that the messages are being logged, and can be brought back from invisible mode at any time using a single keystroke. Logging reports can be exported to HTML for later viewing and analysis. Monitoring can be started and stopped at specific times automatically and each message recorded is also stored with a timestamp for future reference. The interface is intuitive and fairly good looking.

Cons: Apart from the fact that this has limited functionality, the product is simply over- priced. Presuming that there is a section of customers who desire such a product, it seems unlikely that they would be willing to pay almost forty dollars for this convenience. For the task of message logging, most modern messenger utilities do it on their own and a third party software is not required. There is also the issue of privacy in that this program can easily be misused. The message loggers that come with a standard messenger though not highly secure still provide security enough that different users on the same computer cannot read each other’s messages. The fact that SpyPal captures and stores usernames and passwords is a serious security concern as users may have the same username / password pair for their email.

Overall: 3 stars. It does what it sets out to do, but the fact is that not too many people need this kind of software and for those who do the software is over-priced. There are privacy concerns about the use of this product.