The Recent Items directory stores the links of the files and folders that have been accessed recently, for quick access.įrom that list, you must differentiate what you accessed and edited the last time, and what was edited without your knowledge. Check Recently-Edited ItemsĪnother quick way to check if your system has been in use is to check the “Recent Items” folder, which tells you if anything on your PC has been modified recently. Using the given method above, you can also monitor other activities on your computer. Using the Event Viewer, you can determine if and when your computer was used in your absence. You will then be able to see more details about the log entry, stating when the device was powered on and when it was shut down.

Now double-click on the log which seems suspicious to you. You can now see different entries for system logs for when the computer was put to sleep (shut down) and when it was woken up (booted up) for different dates. įrom the filter window, expand the Event sources drop-down menu, scroll down, and then select Power – Troubleshooter.Now click Filter Current Log from the right-side pane. įrom the left pane of the Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs and then click System.Open the Event Viewer by typing in eventvwr.msc in the Run Command box. The Event Viewer records all events occurring on your machine, including the details for any errors, BSODs, power states, etc.įollow these steps to check when your PC was powered on and off: To check the last time your Windows PC was powered on or off, you need to use the Event Viewer. Thus, you can check when your computer was last powered off and powered on. This is also the default Windows setting. Check Windows Eventsīoth Windows 10 and 11 track and store user activity (if enabled). That said, someone who accessed your PC with a malicious attempt can also be smart enough to remove their footprint y deleting the relevant browser history, in which case, you may not be able to determine if and when your PC was used to browse the web. This will let you know if someone had accessed your PC without you knowing. Using the browser history, you can determine when a specific webpage was accessed. If you want to open the browser history in a separate tab, then click Open full History view from inside the History pane. If you use the CTRL + H shortcut keys, it will open the browser history in a new tab. This will open your browser history inside a pane on the left. Ĭlick on the History (Watch) button from the left menu of the browser.Note: Using the CTRL + H shortcut keys will open the History pane on the left side of the current tab.

If you want to view it in a separate window, click Manage History at the bottom of the pane. Here, you will see the browser history in the scrollable pane.Click on the menu button (3 lines) in the top-right corner of the browser.If you want to open it in a separate tab, click on the menu button of the History pane (3 dots) and then click Open history page. You will now see the History pane on your current tab.Chrome History will now open in a new tab and you can check all of the previous web pages visited arranged through time.Expand History, and then click History again.Click on the ellipses (3 dots) in the top-right corner of the browser.Note: You can use the CTRL + H shortcut keys on most web browsers to view the browser history, as opposed to the methods given below. To check which websites have been visited on your computer, you must check the online browser history for each browser, like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Vivaldi, Opera, etc.īelow you’ll find the different methods to access the browsing history of different web browsers: If someone has been meddling online using your computer, then surely they must have left a trace of it. If you suspect that someone had recently gained access to your computer, perform all of the following tasks to get the access details, and also be able to track even more data if it happens again in the future. To check what has been done, you can track different kinds of activity, such as tracking internet usage history, checking any deleted files or folders, checking for recently-editing data, or checking when the computer was booted the last time. Preemptive Measures to Check Recent Activity on WindowsĪn unauthorized user may have made different kinds of changes to your computer.

Keytouch to track computer activity