How to check the history on the computer to know if someone has accessed and used your computer?

Many users do not have the habit of setting passwords for their computers, especially when working in the office. However, this also causes some trouble because strangers can illegally access your computer to steal information or use your computer for other purposes.

If you are suspected that someone has access and illegally use your computer, you can apply some of the following procedures to check the history of turning on/off, see the recent activities on your computer to determine the body Receive and repeat that.

Part 1: Check history on Windows computer

1. Check the recent activities in “Jump Lists”

If you notice, you will see the current new versions of Windows 10 no longer display a recent list of activities on the system (except for newly installed applications) in the Start menu as before. (Switch to the sequel below if you are running on the old Windows 10 release, or the previous generation Windows versions).

However, you can still easily check the list of files that have been accessed recently on the system by right -clicking on applications in the Start menu as well as the taskbar task.

For example, you want to check if someone has secretly opened your Word documents? Run the Microsoft Word application, open any document, then right -click on its icon on the taskbar and look at the section “Recent“In the context menu appears. Here, you will see the full list of documents that have been opened recently on Microsoft Word, which easily detects all abnormalities if someone sneaks up his document.

You can do the same thing in the Start menu. Right -click on any application you think that someone may have accessed recently, including web browsers. However, if you have automatically deleted browsing browser history, nothing can be displayed.

In addition, you can also open the Explorer file and see the list of files that have been accessed recently in the section “Quick Access”.

However, if this installation is not turned on by the default, you will have to actual activation by navigation. “Start -> Settings -> Personalization -> Start”.

Press the left -left switch “Show Recently Opened Items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar and in File Explorer Quick Access“To switch it to the state.

2. Check the list of Recent Activity (old Windows 10 versions and previous generation Windows)

On Windows 10, click Windows + E To open the Explorer file, here you will view the image files, compressed files, TXT, Word, Excel, PowerPoint has just been opened.

On Windows 7, click on Start menuand you will see the list of all the programs that have been opened recently and if there is a strange program or you do not use it before appearing on this list, the likelihood that someone has opened your computer. Please hover through the item Recent items On the right side of Start Menu, you will see the list of files recently opened.

However, the drawback of this solution is that if your computer is illegally smart enough, they can delete recent activities and delete recently opened files, so it is difficult for you Detecting whether your computer is accessed and used by someone?

3. Check Windows Event Viewer

Windows will store a full copy of successful login as well as failed login. You can take advantage of this point to check if someone has accessed your computer?

To see the successful or failed login times, visit Windows Event Viewer.

To access Windows Event Viewer, first press the key combination Windows + R To open the tremor window, then enter Eventvwr.msc in it and then press EnteR or click OK To open the Event Viewer window.

Monitor your computer when you are absent

Here you click the mouse button Windows logsthen click Security. In the middle of the list you will see the login times with the date and time of login. Every time you log in, Windows will record the login times for about 2 to 4 minutes before.

In addition, you can check the account that has accessed your computer before (if there are multiple accounts). To check, you double -click on the specific login, this time on the screen will appear the Event Properties window. And you will see the account name lying next Account name.

4. Display details of the last login

The last solution you can think of is to set up the detailed display of login information when the computer starts. This operation will display your account in the last login, whether successful or failed.

You will have to edit Windows Registry, so before you do you should proceed to create a backup first.

Press the key combination Windows + R To open the tremor window, then enter Regedit Go to the tremor window and press Enter or click OK To open Windows Registry.

On the Registry Editor window, you navigate the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Next right click on the System selection folder New => Dword Value To create a new Dword and name this Dword is Displaylastlogoninfo.

Double click on Displaylastlogoninfo and set the value in the frame Value Data To be 1.

From now on when you log in to the computer, you will see the final detailed login information and any failed login.

5. Activate Logon Auditing

Note: Logon Auditing only works on the Professional version of Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10 and does not work on the Home version.

To activate Logon Auditing, first open Local Group Policy Editor. Press the key combination Windows + R To open the tremor window, then enter GPEDIT.MSC in it and then press Enter To open Local Group Policy Editor.

Or other way is to enter GPEDIT.MSC Go to the Search frame on the Start Menu and click Enter.

Next on the Local Group Policy Editor window, you navigate the key:

Local Computer Policy => Computer Configuration => Windows Settings => Security Settings => Local Policies => Audit Policy

Double click on the Policy settings Audit Logon Events In the right frame to adjust the option.

Next on the Properties window, you can choose to choose herC Success To display successfully login. Also you can choose to choose Failure To display the failed login.

6. Check the files used recently

To check the files used recently, open any applications you use regularly and check the option Open Recent (or similar) in the menu File. Not all applications have this option, but it will show users recently opened files, searching files that you don't recognize.

You can also search for modified files on specified days. Open the window and enter a relevant word on the left of the window, then select the option Date Modified And choose a day on the calendar appears.

Windows will then search for all files in the Library folder to be changed that day. You can do the same in drive C: But Windows changes multiple files to use for normal purposes, so this may not get the same result.

7. Check the web browser history

Finally, don't forget to check your web browser history. It will display a list of all recently opened websites and approve it by day. But one thing you need to note is that the web history history may be deleted easily, but you can completely search for browsing history that has been deleted.

The best way to prevent someone from using your computer is to set a Windows user account password. Then whenever you leave the computer but don't want to turn it off, press Windows + L to lock the screen.

Part 2: Check operating history on Mac

On the computer using the Mac OS operating system, you can only check if anyone uses your computer when you leave and leave the device in mode Sleepthat is, it only saves operations to wake up the computer from the mode Sleep. You can follow these steps:

Open the dialog box Console by pressing Command + Spacebar, Or click on the icon Spotlight and search it. Type “Wake” Go to the search bar, then scroll down to the bottom of the list, you will find the most recent login activities.

A few simple tricks, but effectively help you check your computer users when you are not there. This is quite useful to control the use of your children's computers or children, but in other cases you should put a password for your computer to ensure safety.

Refer to some of the following articles:

I wish you success!