2 Easy Ways to Find Out the Last Time Your Computer Was Used

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A user-friendly guide to finding recent computer usage history

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: August 27, 2024 Fact Checked

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Using Windows

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Using Mac

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Video

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Q&A

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Warnings

Do you think someone has been sneaking on your computer? You can use Windows' Event Viewer or Mac's Terminal to see the last activity on your computer, including when it was powered on. Here's how to know when your computer was last used.

Things You Should Know

On Windows, right-click the Start menu and click "Event Viewer". Click "Windows Logs" → "System" to view the event log.
To add a filter, click "Filter Current Log…" → "Event Sources" → select "Power-Troubleshooter" → "OK".
On Mac, open Terminal. Type "last" and press "Enter" to view the event log.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Windows

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1
Right-click the Start menu. This will open a menu.^{[1]
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- This method will work on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers.
2
Click Event Viewer. You can find this towards the top of the menu.^{[2]
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- A new window will open.
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This is in the left panel. The folder will expand.
This will be underneath Setup'.
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View the event log. You'll see a list of everything that happened on your computer with the date, time, source, event ID, and more.^{[3]
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- Click an event to see more details.
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Find when your computer was turned on (optional). If you want to filter the event log to only show when your computer was powered on, do the following:
- Click Filter Current Log… in the right panel.
- Click the Event sources: drop-down menu.
- Select Power-Troubleshooter.
- Click OK.
- View the date and time for each event.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Mac

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Open Terminal. This can be done from the Launchpad, Finder, or Spotlight.^{[4]
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This will send the command.
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View the event log. Terminal will list all recent login events with your account username and the date and time it happened.^{[5]
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- If you suspect someone is using your computer without your knowledge, changing your password may help.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I delete events from Event Viewer?

Community Answer

On the right side under where it says "Action" you click "Clear Log" and it gives you the option to save and clear or to just clear the logs.

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Question

How do I use my web cam to capture whoever logs in to my computer?

Community Answer

You can use a batch script to do that. Copy and paste this code: @echo off if not exist "C:\Login History" mkdir "C:\Login History" if not exist "C:\Login History\history.log" echo Login History>"C:\Login History\history.log" echo %userdomain%\%username% logged in at %date%%time%>>"c:\login history\history.log" Then, save it as C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp\anyname.bat To view who logged in, open C:\Login History\history.log

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Question

Can I find out when my computer was turned on?

Community Answer

Yes, via the system log within the event viewer. It will show you the date and time of the events and you might be able to tell if there is something suspicious.

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