Underground Security Paper
 
Encrypting Instant Messaging Conversations 

 
 
Whenever you talk online with your instant 
messaging (IM) client of choice, your conversations 
can be, and in all probability are, recorded, 
monitored, and read. Any data which travels over a 
network can be viewed using programs known as 
packet sniffers, with some specially crafted 
programs, such as IM Sniffer or AIM Sniff, 
designed exclusively to capture IM 
communications. No matter how pathetically dull 
your treacherous life is, chances are someone is 
bored enough to fuck with it. 
 
What will soon follow is a list of various programs 
and plugins which you can use with most standard 
IM clients to encrypt your conversations. The focus 
will be predominantly on Windows systems (though 
the tools discussed are often available for other 
platforms as well), and will also only cover free (as 
in beer) software, as there’s no need to pay when 
there are plenty of gratis alternatives.