Protecting information on your personal computer is always an important issue for each user. Checking your browsing history is a simple task that almost anyone with little experience with will cope with. And how to look at the history of visiting a computer is already a more difficult question.
In addition, the need to check the history of launch and visits may arise when buying or selling a computer to strangers. Or when transferring the device for repair.
Built-in tool
The Microsoft Windows operating system has its own set of trackers that allow you to track what changes occurred with the device, which programs were launched, and what errors occurred. This is just one way to view history on a computer. So, directly to the tool. It is called the "Event Log." On older versions of the operating system, you must do the following:
- go to the start menu;
- activate the computer control panel;
- Before you look at the history on your computer, on the left side of the screen, find a line called "Windows Journal";
- in the list that opens, select the section of interest;
In order to see the history of running programs on Windows 10, you need to do the following:
- Launch the Windows Search feature
- enter the phrase "Computer Management";
- in the left part of the window that opens, activate a line called "Event Viewer";
- Then you can start working with the functions "Windows Logs" and "Logs of applications and services."
So, we figured out where to see the history on the computer. Now it’s worth checking the list of running programs.
Application Launch Check
This function makes it possible to check which applications were running on the computer, what time it happened, and also what errors occurred during operation. To verify this information, you must run the following algorithm:
- in the already running window "Computer Management" select the line "Windows Logs";
- after clicking on it, a list will open, an item called "Application" is selected from it;
- after its activation, another list with various information will appear on the right side of the window (it reports which applications were launched on this device, what time it happened and what errors occurred).
Now you can talk about how to look at the computer history of the emergence of new applications.
Installation History
In order to check what and when of the programs appeared on your device, you must perform the following steps:
- launch the "Computer Management" window;
- activate the line "Windows Logs";
- From the list that appears, select the "Installation" function. A list of data showing applications installed over the past few months appears.
It is worth noting that this system is not too accurate. As an example, a story is given: "The program was installed on 05/06/2018. However, the last installation date is 04/13/2018."
How to look at the computer on and off history
This feature allows you to check who used the device in the absence of the owner. If the computer is password protected, you can check how many times someone tried to get into the system.
You can verify this information using the same algorithm:
- Using "Windows Search" on the taskbar, go to the "Computer Management" program;
- in the window that opens, select "Windows Logs";
- in this case, you must refer to the line "System";
- after its activation, a list of events that have occurred during the operation of the computer will open.
To check everything in direct order, you need to sort the information by date. Then you can simply check the information on the time that interests you.
How to check file modification date?
In order to find out if something happened to the device in your absence, you can check the status of the files. More precisely - the date of their change. It is done like this:
- go to the directory of the file you are looking for;
- right-click on the application shortcut and select the "Properties" item in the list that appears;
- in a new window, scroll down to the lines "Created" and "Modified."
That's all the action.