YInformer is the ultimate Yahoo Messenger (YM) buddy/ID scanner. This program will allow you to scan your YM buddies or any YID to see if they are online, even if they are in invisible or stealthed! This program does NOT rely on the P2P packet (that most other programs use) that is not accurate when it comes to stealth detection. Best of all, you do not have to have your ID added to that persons buddy list like the P2P requires.
For best results, it is highly recommended to use the latest version/build of Yahoo Messenger. We develop and update this program based off the latest production release, this does NOT include beta builds of YM! For the latest YM, visit http://messenger.yahoo.com

This program will let you scan on anyone in Yahoo Messenger for online status. Simply install this program and use the Y Informer shortcut to launch this program.


You will need 1 yahoo id for a bot. It is recommended to use a bot that does not resemble your primary ID and to not use an alias of your primary. Basically, create a new YID from yahoo.com and use it as your bot.

Login to the YID bot, if you want the program to automatically login when you load Y Informer, check the Auto Login option and then click on Login. It is important to type in the bot name correctly without typo, should you make a mistake...please click on the username box to completely clear it. Try not to use the backspace or delete keys to make corrections. There is a reason for that posted at http://www.programmingsource.net/www/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=247.

After logging in, type in a YID to spy on and then click on the Scan button. Give the program a few moments to complete it and you will see the results in the box below the YID. You also have the option of doing a continuous scan that will scan an ID every 5 minutes. We recommend to not use this feature unless absolutely needed. Its best to use the single scan.

If you are wanting to scan for webcam broadcast, check the box in the Manual Scan for webcam. Note - the continuous scan will not have the cam feature to save resources.

You can also view your scan history and export it as a text file (.txt) or an html file (.html). The html export will save it as an IE shortcut that you can open and see a "web display" of results. Please note that these exported files are saved locally on YOUR pc and not our webserver!

You MUST allow this program internet access through any firewall(s).

Yes, we provide free support via our forums or email. It is best to use our community forums as any issue you may have may have already been answered in there!

YInformer does not primarily use the P2P (peer to peer) protocol that other programs rely on. YInformer uses its own crafted packet to determine the online status of any Yahoo ID. Not saying that the other programs do not work or work as well but YInformer is unique from the rest (that have been copied from YInformer...you all know who you are!). The only other program that scans ID's that I have respect for is Buddy Spy by a talented individual named Unsakred. Most other programs are cheap knock offs that have used packet sniffers to rip the protocol used.

This is a good question that I would love to address:
Yes, there are some online sites that will render a user status and you do not even need to download a program to do it. There are some drawbacks to this though. There are only a couple (that I know of) sites that offer this and the ones I have been to do not always stay up and running. Those sites have been either shut down due to bandwidth issues or they are on a "not so good" host. So it is hit and miss with those sites...not to good if you want the status of someone and that site does not load for you. YInformer is reliable and easy to use and does not rely on a webserver for its main function.
YInformer will also return (if selected) if the user has their webcam being broadcast, these online sites do not have that feature.
YInformer will let you view and/or save your scan history, unlike our web counterparts.
YInformer lets you scan a LIST of names so you do not have to go 1 by 1!
Do you really need another reason?

This can be attributed mainly to a firewall like Norton, McAfee, Zone Alarm, ect. Make sure you have allowed access through any firewall installed on your pc.

Check the "Language for non-Unicode Programs" under the Regional/Languange Options in the control panel. This should be under the Advanced tab, it MUST be English!

If you have broadband (cable/dsl) internet, your broadband modem and/or a network router (DLink, Linksys, Netgear, ect) can have a very restrictive firewall as well. Make sure your broadband modem is allowing access or disable its firewall. If you have a network router, try removing it completely by plugging your pc directly into your broadband modem.
Bottom line is...something on your pc or your network is blocking the traffic needed for those programs to access the internet. It is beyond our scope of support as we can not trouble shoot your pc or network.

At first, this was the only site for YInformer (yinformer.programmingsource.net). I have recently purchased www.yinformer.com to be YInformer's official home. PS Soft (programmingsource.net) is the parent site/provider, yinformer.com is the official homepage of the program. PS Soft still retains all rights and copyrights to the program though.

NO, absolutely not! However, if you are stalking or harassing someone and get caught, that could be different!

I have never heard of this happening. If you use YInformer excessively, your ID could get banned for a while though.

We understand that there are concerns over privacy. YInformer simply utilizes flaws in Yahoo's protocol that allows this information to be displayed. Yahoo is responsible for their user's privacy, so any questions/concerns need brought to Yahoo's attention.

We have some information regarding that at the url below. It does have some strict guidelines.
YInformer Terms of Use

Yes it does in most cases. However, YInformer was developed on a 32 bit platform. Officially, we offer support for only 32 bit versions of XP, Vista and 7.

Again, there is no official support for 64 bit systems. However, the #1 thing that causes this is the updater. By default, the updater will install YInformer to c:\program files\yinformer, which is the default path for the installer and updater. 64 bit versions typically install to c:\program files (x86)\YInformer. So if your installation went into the x86 folder (64 bit) and you ran the updater....more than likely the updater installed it to the normal path and not the x86 path and that is why it will not launch or work right.

This is why we stress to check the path of the program as there are so many dependecies from having the right application path.

In conclusion, YInformer typically works well on 64 bit systems. Make sure when you install it or update it that it goes to the appropriate path location to YInformer!