Besides me obviously being paranoid.
Is there any application for windows that you can use to check if someone else has been using your computer?
Such as, opening folders, files, start-ups, booting the computer and or anything even more advanced at that, but still optimized enough to not eat away at the storage space of my computer.
I don't trust my fellow humans.
Any suggestions? Don't you dare suggest the built in windows crap, because it's crap.
I don't know about that but what you could do is use a program called truecrypt to look your whole hard drive. unless somebody provides the password on boot it can't be accessed. It's a lot safer than just using the default windows login.
I don't know about that but what you could do is use a program called truecrypt to look your whole hard drive. unless somebody provides the password on boot it can't be accessed. It's a lot safer than just using the default windows login.
Going to check it out, but before that.
How's the stability of it, also.
Sometimes I leave the computer on, I don't think this will help me that much.
Check Recent Items Opened
how to tell if someone has been on your computer
Depending on your Windows version, you have a menu item named something similar to “Recent Items.” This is a quick and easy way to tell what files have been opened recently. Be aware that if the snoop has his head on straight, he could clear this. However, if it’s cleared, you know someone has been on there, too.
Check Recently Modified Files
You can search for recently modified files in the advanced search window. Just set the location to search (all hard drives might be a good start) and the date you want to search back to.
how to tell if someone has been on your computer
Make sure you set it to search for “Date modified.”
Check Which Programs Have Been Opened Recently
Some Windows versions give you a list of recently used programs as soon as you click on the Start button (meant to make them more accessible).
how to tell if someone has been on your computer
You can also use the Event Viewer for some recent activity, including programs opened and the last time the computer was booted up. Go to the start menu and click “Run” and type “eventvwr.msc” and click “OK.”
For more help figuring out how to use the Event Viewer, check out this article by Saikat which explains how to use it to solve Windows problems. It’ll help you get a handle on the viewer which will help you in finding out what a snoop could have been up to.
Check Internet Browsing Histories
What browsers do you have on your computer? Check them all for Internet activity to see if someone’s been going online with it. In Firefox, there is a History menu item.
In Google Chrome you click on the picture of the wrench at the top-right corner of the screen and click History in the dropdown menu.
In Internet Explorer, click the yellow star and choose the History tab.
Many snoops are smart enough to clear the browsing history. Nowadays on some browsers they can choose which history to delete or go completely incognito and browse privately altogether. It is for these reasons that this method will work only for the careless snoop.
Install Tracking Software
If you are wondering if there is an ongoing problem, install tracking software. Varun mentions visikid in an article about parental control software. You can also use other software such as K9 Web Protection to see a log of internet activity and even turn off the internet during specified times. Then there is the infamous keylogger (which often gets a bad rap because hackers often use them for gathering information) for keeping up with snoops on your personal computer.
OR
Windows users just need to open up a program called the Event Viewer, which logs a ton of different things that your computer's recently done. In order to find out when it last awoke:
Head to the Start menu and type "Event Viewer" in the search box. Hit Enter when its option comes up in the menu.
Double click on Windows Logs in the left sidebar, then click on System.
Right click on System and choose Filter Current Log.
In the window that pops up, look for the Event Sources drop down. Choose Power-Troubleshooter from this dropdown and hit OK.
Look at the middle pane of the Event Viewer window. At the top, you should see all the applicable recent events, in descending order of time. Find the time you suspect your computer was used, and see if there are any events. If there are, you can click on them to see more details, like what woke up your computer, in the bottom middle pane.
Originally Posted by HeroicXPharaoh
Check Recent Items Opened
how to tell if someone has been on your computer
Depending on your Windows version, you have a menu item named something similar to “Recent Items.” This is a quick and easy way to tell what files have been opened recently. Be aware that if the snoop has his head on straight, he could clear this. However, if it’s cleared, you know someone has been on there, too.
Check Recently Modified Files
You can search for recently modified files in the advanced search window. Just set the location to search (all hard drives might be a good start) and the date you want to search back to.
how to tell if someone has been on your computer
Make sure you set it to search for “Date modified.”
Check Which Programs Have Been Opened Recently
Some Windows versions give you a list of recently used programs as soon as you click on the Start button (meant to make them more accessible).
how to tell if someone has been on your computer
You can also use the Event Viewer for some recent activity, including programs opened and the last time the computer was booted up. Go to the start menu and click “Run” and type “eventvwr.msc” and click “OK.”
For more help figuring out how to use the Event Viewer, check out this article by Saikat which explains how to use it to solve Windows problems. It’ll help you get a handle on the viewer which will help you in finding out what a snoop could have been up to.
Check Internet Browsing Histories
What browsers do you have on your computer? Check them all for Internet activity to see if someone’s been going online with it. In Firefox, there is a History menu item.
In Google Chrome you click on the picture of the wrench at the top-right corner of the screen and click History in the dropdown menu.
In Internet Explorer, click the yellow star and choose the History tab.
Many snoops are smart enough to clear the browsing history. Nowadays on some browsers they can choose which history to delete or go completely incognito and browse privately altogether. It is for these reasons that this method will work only for the careless snoop.
Install Tracking Software
If you are wondering if there is an ongoing problem, install tracking software. Varun mentions visikid in an article about parental control software. You can also use other software such as K9 Web Protection to see a log of internet activity and even turn off the internet during specified times. Then there is the infamous keylogger (which often gets a bad rap because hackers often use them for gathering information) for keeping up with snoops on your personal computer.
OR
Windows users just need to open up a program called the Event Viewer, which logs a ton of different things that your computer's recently done. In order to find out when it last awoke:
Head to the Start menu and type "Event Viewer" in the search box. Hit Enter when its option comes up in the menu.
Double click on Windows Logs in the left sidebar, then click on System.
Right click on System and choose Filter Current Log.
In the window that pops up, look for the Event Sources drop down. Choose Power-Troubleshooter from this dropdown and hit OK.
Look at the middle pane of the Event Viewer window. At the top, you should see all the applicable recent events, in descending order of time. Find the time you suspect your computer was used, and see if there are any events. If there are, you can click on them to see more details, like what woke up your computer, in the bottom middle pane.
Without having read what appears to be a compendium of copy paste, I have already disabled recent items and such.
I'd much more like an application that would handle this for me rather than working and mucking about using all of that just to casually check what's been going on in my computer.
Originally Posted by Gray
Besides me obviously being paranoid.
Is there any application for windows that you can use to check if someone else has been using your computer?
Such as, opening folders, files, start-ups, booting the computer and or anything even more advanced at that, but still optimized enough to not eat away at the storage space of my computer.
I don't trust my fellow humans.
Any suggestions? Don't you dare suggest the built in windows crap, because it's crap.
Hmm, maybe a keylogger?
A good one will display the time something is typed, if it wasnt when you where on, you know someone is using your pc.
Is it a laptop?
If it is, put something small on it.
If it fell off, someone opened the laptop.
If it's a PC, turn it off and put a hair/light thing on the fans, it's be blown away if it's turned on.
Originally Posted by TheFlyingDutchman'
Hmm, maybe a keylogger?
A good one will display the time something is typed, if it wasnt when you where on, you know someone is using your pc.
Is it a laptop?
If it is, put something small on it.
If it fell off, someone opened the laptop.
If it's a PC, turn it off and put a hair/light thing on the fans, it's be blown away if it's turned on.
Those are all clever ways.
It's a PC, however, I'd like some more accuracy than that.
If I leave the PC on then I'd have no idea on what has been going on.
Even if it was off, there's no guarantees that the strand of hair and or any other object I jam through the fan, which obviously doesn't sound that good, there's a cat loose here in this house and I assure you, he's everywhere.
Any other takes?
Any app, besides classified viruses.
Originally Posted by Gray
Those are all clever ways.
It's a PC, however, I'd like some more accuracy than that.
If I leave the PC on then I'd have no idea on what has been going on.
Even if it was off, there's no guarantees that the strand of hair and or any other object I jam through the fan, which obviously doesn't sound that good, there's a cat loose here in this house and I assure you, he's everywhere.
Any other takes?
Any app, besides classified viruses.
Hmm.
If you shut down the PC, do you turn of the monitor?
If you do, let it on this time.
The "unknown user" will have made it a routine to check your pc now, so they'll automaticly turn off the monitor.
And if you let it on, turn it off.
Also, maybe install a camera/webcam?
Originally Posted by TheFlyingDutchman'
Hmm.
If you shut down the PC, do you turn of the monitor?
If you do, let it on this time.
The "unknown user" will have made it a routine to check your pc now, so they'll automaticly turn off the monitor.
And if you let it on, turn it off.
Also, maybe install a camera/webcam?
Don't think any of those options will work either.
Craft, again, but unreliable.
I have a webcam, although I never use it because I honestly don't see a point in staring at each other while talking, it's always tons of awkward silences.
So I have it turned away from the seat, completely, if I were to turn it towards it, then it'd seem fishy.
It also has a bright green light that lights up if I use it, locally, remotely and anyhow-ly.
Originally Posted by Gray
Don't think any of those options will work either.
Craft, again, but unreliable.
I have a webcam, although I never use it because I honestly don't see a point in staring at each other while talking, it's always tons of awkward silences.
So I have it turned away from the seat, completely, if I were to turn it towards it, then it'd seem fishy.
It also has a bright green light that lights up if I use it, locally, remotely and anyhow-ly.
No, I'm not, I just want to make sure.
I like monitoring what's going on around me, I'm like an overly advanced watchdog, I serve no other purpose in life really, other than aimlessly floating around life seeing and gathering information on others.
Tried most, if not all of those.
Not helpful. Sorry.
Originally Posted by Gray
No, I'm not, I just want to make sure.
I like monitoring what's going on around me, I'm like an overly advanced watchdog, I serve no other purpose in life really, other than aimlessly floating around life seeing and gathering information on others.
Tried most, if not all of those.
Not helpful. Sorry.
Well, as a desperate attempt, you could put a bat file in there, and replace all the shortcuts on your screen to it, so anything will open that bat file.
The function of the bat file?
Make the PC restart over and over again.
If the user has no knowledge of PC's it'll keep going, and if the user plugs the power off, you'll know it since you left it on.
Kinda a extreme way, and the user will know that you know.
Thats kinda all I got atm.
Originally Posted by TheFlyingDutchman'
Well, as a desperate attempt, you could put a bat file in there, and replace all the shortcuts on your screen to it, so anything will open that bat file.
The function of the bat file?
Make the PC restart over and over again.
If the user has no knowledge of PC's it'll keep going, and if the user plugs the power off, you'll know it since you left it on.
Kinda a extreme way, and the user will know that you know.
Thats kinda all I got atm.
I think I'll wait until someone comes with another solution.
Hoping that someone does. But I guess I should just give up right now, that way it'll be a pleasant surprise instead of a sour apple once it's finished.
There's this wonderful thing called passwords. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and click "Lock this computer" whenever you aren't using your computer. If you want something more, download a keylogger. There's a lot of really good ones out there that does everything that you want and takes screenshots of it and sends it to your email.
Originally Posted by yugurt
