I have my Windows XP's root directory ( C: ) mounted on my Linux OS (Fedora 8). I have all my Yahoo messenger conversations archived on the Windows OS, but I would like to view those archives in Linux. I tried simply typing:
(where the asterisks represent my username and the tildes are represent the username of the person I was talking to)

However, this simply shows me stuff like the following:
^GI^L^Y^N^G
^W^^O^U^@^O^A^LL^\^E^@^K^M^]

I've already done a brief search online for .dat viewers and Yahoo Messenger Archive viewers, but all the results I found were .exe that could only be used in Windows (which defeats my purpose).

So if anyone knows of anything I could try I would appreciate the help. Thanks.



Jason

A bit of googling reveals that theres no exact application made for opening .dat file. Many applications create files with .dat extension and that it only tells that the file contains some data.
And about your specific problem related to Yahoo messenger, you need to use pidgin to open the archives. Read this.

http://ask-leo.com/whats_a_dat_file.html

That depends on your search-fu and while it may be true from a generic point of view (that many applications create files with a .dat extension) the OP is asking specifically for Yahoo! message .dat logs. I know applications that can parse these .dat files but they're forensics apps and they require Mcrsft wndws (like FTK). Some texts suggest they're and gzipped and XOR'ed with the username (IIGC) and I haven't encountered any tools (yet) for GNU/Linux.

Thanks linuxlover. I will give that a try.

Run this app under wine: ikitek.com/products/Yahoo-Message-Archive-Decoder.html.

"What do I get by registering the software?

In the unregistered version, there are some limitations:
You can only decode the files for several times, after that the software cannot be used anymore.
In the decoded files, words containing numbers or '@' signs will be replaced by an [xxx] sign.
All PRO features, such as password recovery, batch decoding, command-line interface are disabled."

'nuff said, nice try at advertising.

Registering any software is pointless, so you get nothing, and if you need "PRO features, such as password recovery, batch decoding, command-line interface..." no amount of advertising is going to help you there. And if you lost your password, you don't need to be just reading your .dat files in Yahoo messenger archives. you need to consult Yahoo Services for help...how about this advertising for Yahoo Services: http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/edi...d/edit-13.html Good luck!