By default the archives stored by Yahoo Messenger ^[1] is encoded, which means that you will not be able to read your archive when you are offline, this is typically done to protect users conversations from others.

However there are times when you may want to view and search your messenger archive, but may not have access to a active internet connection.

In such cases a tool called Yahoo ^[2] Messenger Archive Decoder can come in handy, this freeware ^[3] utility will decode all the archive files and view them without having to use Yahoo Messenger.

This tool will also allow you to export your messenger chat archives as txt or rich text files.

We tested this out and it works as advertised, we were able to decode the Yahoo Messenger chat archive with this tool.

Yahoo Messenger Archive Decoder is a portable software ^[4], you can drop it on a portable drive and use it anywhere.

Download Yahoo Messenger Chat Archive Decoder ^[5]