Technology Showcase

Review: Chat Safety Software

February 1st, 2010 by Kiwi Commons

Brief

Product:

MessengerLog 360

Purpose:

A chat monitoring system for multiple platforms.

Released:

May 2009 (current edition)

Cost:

MessengerLog 360 - USD$19.95 for a single license

Rating:

MSN Chat Safety


Introduction:

Worried about what your child is chatting about online? Is chat software for you?

MessengerLog 360 is a new generation of chat monitor that  can record chats from all popular instant messengers: MSN/Windows Live messenger (including version 9.x), Yahoo Messenger (including version 9.x), AIM/AOL (including version 6.x, with encrypted protocol), ICQ (included version 6.x), Google GTalk, and Skype.  It also supports chat recording in both plain text and HTML/Rich text format, including emotion icons, font and colors.


Specifications:

MessengerLog 360
•    System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7, 32-bit/64-bit
•    Records chat from MSN/Windows Live messenger (including version 9.x), Yahoo Messenger (including version 9.x), AIM/AOL (including version 6.x), ICQ (included version 6.x), Google GTalk, and Skype.


Parental Control Features:

  • Records online chat conversations and transmits a transcript to parents via FTP or email. This allows parents to monitor all incoming and outgoing chat conversations.
  • Chat monitor auto start and runs as a background service.
  • Setting are all password protected.


The Good:

Like  most other chat monitors, this program provides a backdoor to your child’s online communications. MessengerLog 360 runs in the background of your computer — hidden from your kids via stealth mode. Messenger Log 360 records chats at the start of the conversation.  With it, you can find out who they’re talking to, and if they’re engaging in potentially unsafe or risky exchanges.  With trend data showing a rise in sexting, cyberbullying and police-reported incidents of online child luring, parents are turning to chat recorders for peace of mind.

Often times if a child knows that their parents can and are reading their online communications, this helps deters them from sharing personal information and pictures, and participating in sexually explicit conversations.


The Bad:

MessengerLog 360 is a chat ’sniffer’ that gathers data, but does not provide much analysis, so it is up to parents to be vigilant in reading through the chat messages. It like many other ’sniffer’ types of program lacks parental control features that allow you to block users on contact lists, pre-approve contacts, censor inappropriate content, receive alerts for solicitous messages, terminate conversations, and disable access to popular chat and instant messaging programs.

My main beef with this program is it lacks real-time monitoring as the chat transcript is not sent until the conversation is over.

Product Image

chat messenger log screenshot

Chat Messenger Log Screenshot

Editorial Review:

This product is great for gathering conversations, but it does not provide enough pre-emptive security features to protect children online. These chat monitors demand a lot of time and attention to examine chat logs and from there, gauge what behaviours require parental intervention.  It also raises the ethical issue of whether you are invading your child’s privacy.

By using monitoring software in secrecy, you run the risk of losing your child’s trust and closing off all communication.  Any monitoring software should go hand in hand with a set of online rules and a thorough explanation of how and why you are using it.  Even then, children may still feel you have them under a microscope and may find somewhere else to conduct their online activities behind your back.

Though many parents use these types of recording software to keep an eye on what their kids are doing online, they serve best as a back up tool, in case your child begins acting different and is having issues opening up about their life.


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Similar Products

Messenger Detect – What makes Messenger Detect a superior choice is its ability to work through a network hub or LAN (Local Area Network).  This means, it does not require the program to be installed on the target system where the chat is being recorded. In addition to application-based messengers, Messenger Detect also monitors web-based messengers (e.g., Facebook chat, Meebo) as these are becoming increasingly popular chat alternatives for kids.
Messenger Detect – USD$26.95 for up to 3 computers

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Chat/Other-Chat-Tools/Messenger-Detect.shtml


Safe Chat Messenger – a user-friendly PC-based program designed to monitor MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and ICQ. Parents are able to block keywords, authorize children’s contact lists, and schedule access hours. This program allows you to block chats that take place on websites and block the entire website as well.  Parents can also review chat logs and disable picture and file sharing at their discretion. While the parental controls limit a lot of messenger features, it allows parents more control over what their children have access to.
http://www.zihtec.com/en/products.html

ParentSnooper – is a PC-based utility that directs parents to their computer’s cached memory, so that users can view information like browser history, keywords and recent documents. But this is something you can easily do via Windows with a set of instructions you can find online.
http://download.cnet.com/ParentSnooper/3000-2150_4-10366008.html

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  • Mw9
    I think this is actually horrendous. You're kids simply cannot develop or as Sandra said, have a trusting relationship with you if you are monitoring all their conversations. Imagine if your boss was monitoring every single conversation you had with work mates!

    Just inform them about dangerous people/scams etc, about only adding friends they know to chats, and set your virus software to only allow chosen/safe sites on your child's login (ALL OF THEM HAVE THIS BASIC SETTING).

    If you have to be a tyrant, maybe you're not fit to teach kids anyway. Its simply voyeuristic to do this. I would have had an intense contempt for my parents if i found out they were engaging in this behavior, and that would have done much more worse than good on the software's part.

    Basic use of technology and actually getting to know your kids' life simply removes the need for this creepy software.
  • whiteshark0121
    One effective way of monitoring our kids internet activity is installing a parental control software to block all unwanted sites. There are a lot of free softwares available out there and one of them can be found on TUKI (The Ultimate Kids' Internet).
  • Sandra
    This is such a big issue between parents and kids. I hear about it all the time in my classroom (grade 8's).

    My advice is to set very heavy and clear ground rules first, and then use this type of software as punishment. Using this type of software (in my humble opinion) puts the message out there of a lack of trust.

    Talk to your kids! I can only tell them so much. They need to hear it from you!
  • Jessica M.
    Thanks for this. I wish I saw it a day earlier though. I attempted to purchase another program I found through a Google Search, but the company was a shame. $30 on my credit card later. Let that serve as a lesson, either do a really detailed search or just use one of the above.
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