CryptoCat is a free to use web app that offers users an encrypted chat interface. The site is quite easy to use: the chat host creates a room by naming it. He is then taking to the room’s URL and picks a nickname for himself. Next he shares the room’s URL with friends who then join the room by choosing nicknames for themselves.

Your messages are encrypted inside your own browser using AES-256 and 4096-bit asymmetric keys. After one hour of inactivity, conversations are automatically wiped by the site.

Features:

• A user-friendly web service
• Offers secure chatting interface
• Encrypts your chats
• Deletes messages after 1 hour of inactivity
• Similar sites: OneTimeSecret, Encipher.It, File-Encryptor and Encodor.
• Also read related article: Five Online Encryption Tools to Protect Your Privacy.

Check out CryptoCat @ www.crypto.cat (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

Talkwheel has some interesting applications for work groups who are looking to keep their discussion more organized. They can create a private conversation and easily go back and forth, and have their conversations stored for other members of the work group to see and add their thoughts to.

Talkwheel wants to change the way we communicate on the Internet. By having all the conversations linked it makes for a different way of looking at conversations. You can quickly see all the comments made by a user, and because they are all linked in a wheel, you can see the person they addressed.

Features:

• Innovative new take on sharing publicly.
• Private chat for work groups to organize their discussion.
• Ability to see all of a users comments and who they were for with the wheel feature.
• Real time communicating.

Find Talkwheel @ www.talkwheel.com

Chit Chat for Facebook is a wonderful freeware application for Windows computers. The app’s setup file is sized less than 3 MB and installs in a jiffy. Once the app is installed, you sign into your Facebook account using your Facebook-registered email address and password. A list of your Facebook contacts is loaded up and you are able to chat with them, like in any other desktop IM clients. Notifications for friends coming online and going offline are provided in the bottom right of your screen.

In the app’s preferences you can control numerous options such as whether or not save chat conversations, disabling notifications, setting keyboard hotkey shortcuts, and adding date-stamps to messages in the chat window.

NOTE: With AVG and a few other antivirus software, you might receive notifications that the Chit Chat app is malware. These notifications are false positives and should be ignored.

Features:

• A user-friendly freeware app.
• Compatible with Windows computers.
• A desktop app to let you chat with Facebook friends.
• Supports multiple languages.
• Offers notifications, chat logging, and numerous other modifiable options.

Check out Chit Chat for Facebook @ www.chitchat.org.uk/english (by MOin from Thumb Press)

Blither is a Twitter client that is absolutely free to use. The tool lets you chat with your Twitter friends in a simple way. When you first visit the tool’s website, you start by authorizing it access it to your Twitter account. You can then create a chat group from within Blither’s interface by typing in the names of people you want to chat with and typing in a subject for the group. Once you have authorized access to the app, you can also initiate this group by tweeting “!b” and adding @names of the people you want to chat with. Your resulting tweet will include a link to the chat group that others can join and start chatting on. It is all very simple and gets set up quickly.

Features:

• A user-friendly web tool.
• Lets you add chat to Twitter.
• Provides its own interface.
• Lets you create multiple chat groups.
• Lets you use Tweets to create chat groups.
• Similar tools: Bonfire, TodaysMeet and Tagch.at.
• Also read related article: How To Chat On Twitter Hashtag Topics With Joint.

Check out Blither @ www.blether.co (via TheNextWeb) (by MOin from Thumb Press)

eM Client is a Windows desktop app which downloads your messages to your local drive and lets you easily manage and respond to them. The tool currently supports numerous email services including Gmail and Hotmail. IMAP and POP3 protocols are also supported. The free version of the app has a 2 email account restriction which can be lifted by opting for the premium version that presently costs $49.95.

Setting up the program is quite simple. You download the setup files sized at nearly 20 MB and then specify your email account details to the app. Next your messages are downloaded and your accounts appear in the left pane. Apart from emails, you can also add calendar entries and even maintain a list of contacts. Built-in instant messaging capabilities let you chat with friends from ICQ, MSN, Facebook, Yahoo, and AOL.

The center pane lists your messages. You can click on one and have it load up in the center-bottom pane.

Overall, eM Client is an excellent desktop application for people who desire a faster way to use their email services. The app will also help people who want to read their emails offline.

Features:

• A user-friendly desktop app.
• Compatible with Windows.
• A desktop app for emails.
• Supports numerous email services.
• Has built-in integrated messaging for popular networks.

Check out eM Client @ www.emclient.com (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

Bonfire is a Twitter client that incorporates live chatting within Twitter’s interface. Seeing as how Facebook users were excited about Chat’s inclusion in the social network and continue to actively use it today, the developers of Bonfire felt an instant messaging application for Twitter was direly needed – and they were right.

Now by signing up with Bonfire and authorizing it access to your Twitter account you and other Twitter friends who have activated Bonfire can chat with one another. Bonfire’s interface is incorporated right within Twitter so you can tweet and ‘chat-tweet’ at the same time. All you have to do to start using this service is visit Bonfire’s homepage and request an invite.

Features:

• A user-friendly web service.
• Lets you chat with Twitter friends.
• Incorporates within Twitter.
• Offers a friendly interface for instant messaging.
• Similar tools: t.imo.im, TodaysMeet and Tagch.at.
• Also read related article: How To Chat On Twitter Hashtag Topics With Joint.

Check out Bonfire @ www.bonfire.im/extensions/busy.html (via TechCrunch) (by MOin from Thumb Press)

Connected2Me is a free to use web service that lets others anonymously chat with you. You start by registering for an account by selecting a username and password for yourself. You are automatically logged in and given a URL to share with others. Visitors to this URL can start sending you messages to which you can reply. Each conversation appears in a new tab in your dashboard and each recipient’s name is coded thus keeping identities anonymous. The entire process is very fast and extremely user-friendly.

Features:

• A user-friendly web app.
• Lets you create chat rooms.
• Lets you chat anonymously.
• Sorts different chats into different tabs.

Check out Connected2Me @ http://connected2.me (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

They have a free plan, which lets you have 1 agent. To get additional features like online support, branding, support statistics, time tracking etc., you have to sign up for one of their paid plans starting from 10$/month.

Features:

• Simple live support system for websites in the cloud.
• Set up in minutes.
• Cross browser.
• Archives chats.
• Geographical tracking – see where your chats are coming from worldwide.
• Supports multiple agents.
• Customized messages.
• 256-bit Security.
• Intergrates with 3rd party CMS platforms like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla.
• Free account provided.

Check out HelpDen @ www.helpden.com

Once you have signed up for an account, all you need is to setup the shoutbox by selecting from the available ready-made theme or create your own custom theme. So whatever website design you have can perfectly blend with your shoutbox. You can choose to display the shoutbox to their directory, set its category, as well as set up the size and background color.

Once your one-step set-up is done, you can copy and paste the embed code to your website choosing between object embed, or Javascript embed. You can create as many Shoutboxes as you need and administer each shoutbox on your account dashboard where you can view messages, ban by name of IP, edit the appearance, and delete shoutbox you don’t use.

99Shoutbox also integrates with other social networking websites like MySpace, Friendster, and more. This tool is ideal for webmaster and bloggers who need a quick way for their visitors to chat and hangout in their pages.

Features:

• Easily embeddable shoutbox.
• Integrates with social networks.
• Create a voice message.
• Easy to install.
• Choose from ready made themes.
• Available in multiple languages

Check out 99Shoutbox @ www.99shoutbox.com

ChannelME is a free to use web service that lets you and your friends simultaneously browse a particular website. You start by providing ChannelME with a website URL. A virtual browsing room for you and your friends will then be created. You can share the URL of this room with your friends who, upon visiting the URL, will be required to enter a nickname. These nicknames are used to chat with your friends while viewing the webpage. Links on the webpage are clickable and you can leave notes anywhere on the page for your friends to see.

Features:

• A user-friendly web service.
• Lets you and your friends browse the web together.
• Lets you and your friends leave notes on the site.
• Notes can be dragged and reordered.
• You can chat with your friends.
• Similar tool: Nur.ph and Screen2.

Check out ChannelME @ www.channel.me (by MOin from ThumbPress)