Getting Started

This is a quick start guide to getting you recording chat sessions and displaying them as soon as possible!

If you only need to record or monitor the chat sessions on your local computer, then proceed to the section "Select Your Options".

However, if you need to record or monitor other computers then you must first ensure that the computer where NetChatSpy is installed is able to "see" the network traffic of the other computers. This is normally accomplished by ensuring that the computers to be monitored are all connected to the same local area network. This can be done by connecting all computers to a network HUB (not a switch). Alternatively, if a switch must be used, it can also be connected to a hub as shown below.

If a hub is not available, then at least the network traffic between the internet and your local area network must pass through the NetChatSpy computer. This could be achieved by making that computer an internet gateway. For example, by using Internet Connection Sharing (available as part of Windows 98 and above) the NetChatSpy computer can act as the internet gateway and thus see all internet traffic passing through. The diagram below illustrates this configuration.

The simplest configuration, which is best suited for monitoring only one other computer, is to connect the two computers using a 'cross-over cable' and configure the NetChatSpy computer as an Internet Gateway using Internet Connection Sharing as described above.

Select Your Options

• Start NetChatSpy and click on the Options button on the toolbar.
• Click the Capture tab and enter the filename where you want the chat conversations to be recorded, then click OK.

• Click the Capture button on the toolbar
• Now click the Start button under "Activity Recording". All MSN chat sessions seen by your computer will now be recorded.
• When you want to stop recording, click the Stop button under "Activity Recording".

Note: if you want to see the conversations on-screen during the recording, you will need to tick the "Monitor Whilst Recording" box under Activity Monitoring before starting the recording.

• Click the Report button on the toolbar
• Enter the filename where the conversations have been recorded then click Open
  

• Now click the Run Report button. The program will now read the recording and display the results on screen.
  

• If you want a printed copy of the report, just click the Print Report button.