Some PC users may need to find out what happened on the system in the past: when the computer was turned on, what applications were launched, browser history, etc. This may be useful, for example, for parents who control how their children use the computer or for other reasons. How to view history on a computer in several ways will be described in the text below.
The Windows operating system has a standard tool that allows you to get information about how the computer was used and what happened to the system (for example, what errors occurred).
You can view the history of actions on your computer with the appropriate tool called "Event Log". To start it, it is enough to perform the following series of actions:
After completing this action, a window will open. The event categories are displayed on the left of the screen, while the names and descriptions of the events themselves are displayed on the right.
Find out which programs and applications were launched
There are a lot of categories, and most of them are useless for an ordinary user. Most often, an ordinary PC user is interested in which applications were launched. It's pretty easy to find out. The relevant information can be found in the category "Windows Logs" - "Applications".
If you go there, you can see the history on the computer that was launched. For example, in the image above, you can see that the Skype update service was running. Also, there you can find out at what time it happened and what result this action had. After these simple steps, you can watch the history on your computer.
If, in turn, you would like to know which applications were installed, you can look at the "Installation" section. It contains information about the installation of not only third-party programs, but also services built into the system.
Checking running applications using a special program
However, it is rather difficult to work with the "Event log". Therefore, this method may not work for some. However, there is a solution - you can use one of the third-party special applications to find history on your computer.
For example, there is a simple program "Executed programs list", which, when launched, runs in the background (that is, does not manifest itself in any way until the user opens it). With it, you can find out which applications were launched on the PC. At the same time, it presents information in the form of a simple list, in which the paths of the location of programs and the time of their launch are indicated.
If you need to know, not only which programs were launched, but also which folders the user entered, then you can use another application - " LastActivityView". The corresponding program is as minimalistic and simple as the first one, but it collects much more information.
How to find out the ON / OFF time of the computer
Some users are interested in viewing the time when the computer was turned on and off. This can be done using the same Windows event log. Having launched the appropriate tool, you will need to go to the "System".
Once in the desired subcategory, you will need to find an item, for which the source value is "Kernel-General" - it is he who is responsible for indicating the time of starting and shutting down the PC.
The description of the corresponding event should be "System start (or shutdown) time ...". This message indicates when the PC was turned on or off.
We look at the changed files on the PC
Now let's see the history of modified files on the PC. It is even easier to do this than to find out the history of actions on the computer. For this you will need:
To find out which files on the computer have been edited for a certain period of time, you can use the already mentioned program "LastActivityView".
Checking the history of visits to sites in the browser
The last thing to consider is how to view your browsing history in a browser. But here you should immediately make a reservation that the features of the process depend on the specific web browser that is installed on the computer. There are a lot of them, so we will consider performing this operation only on the example of the two most popular ones - Google Chrome (and based on Chromium) and Firefox.
To view the history in the Google Chrome browser (as well as Yandex.Browser, Opera, etc.), you need:
- Launch the browser itself;
- Execute the keyboard shortcut CTRL + H.
After completing the appropriate actions, a page will be displayed, which will contain information about all open pages in the web browser.
To view the history of actions in the Firefox browser, you need to perform a slightly different series of actions:
- Open the menu;
- Select "Journal" - "Show entire journal".
A window will open in which you can find out which sites and pages have been opened in the browser for all the time. It is also possible to find out what was opened for a certain period (for example, for the last day or for a week).
But, of course, one should take into account that the history in absolutely any browser on the computer is very easy to clean up. Therefore, if "history" is looked at in order to find out what the child is doing at the computer, then the probability is high that the parent will not see any information there at all.
In this case, it is better to install a special application through which you can collect reliable information about which sites the user visits. One such application is NeoSpy. The program provides a hidden installation function, thanks to which no one, except the one who installed it, will know that it works (this is true, at least for not very savvy PC users). There is a lot of information on the Internet about how to install the application and how to use it.
Video how to watch history on your computer
These are the main ways to view the history of actions on the computer and in the browser. In most cases, they are enough to get the most complete picture of what was happening on the PC in a certain time.
In contact with
You came home, rested and decided to check your mail. But when we approached the computer, we noticed that the mouse was out of place, the keyboard was shifted and, in general, the case was warm. Considering that everyone at home has their own car, this fact seems strange. Why did you use your computer and for what purpose? This is not yet known. But in this article, you will learn exactly how to view history on a computer.
Viewing browsing history in a browser
Let's face it, the first thing you'll want to check is the list of visited sites. To do this, open your browser (I have, for example, Google Chrome) and in the "Options" select "History".
Reference! The same methods are used to view history in other browsers (except for entering the address "chrome: // history /" into the line).
If anxiety and distrust have settled in your soul - regularly clean the list of visited sites. 
Advice! To clear cache, history and other browser junk, it is recommended to use CCleaner.
Viewing log files
All actions performed on the computer are recorded and documented. We just need to refer to this data to find out the information of interest.
Application log
This journal stores information about all programs and games that run on the computer. Most importantly, the exact time of launch and use is recorded. To open it, we find the item "Administration" in the "Control Panel" and select "Computer Management".
Recently modified files
Also on Windows you will find recently created, viewed and edited files. To do this, simultaneously press Win + R on your keyboard and enter "recent" in the text field.
In the window that opens, you can view recent files.
How to restrict access to a computer and set a trap
If you are not interested in who, when and why used your computer, but just unpleasant - set a password. Go to Options - Accounts - Login Options. Here click on the "Add" button and enter the desired combination.
Personal data is harder to get to now.
You came home, rested and decided to check your mail. But when we approached the computer, we noticed that the mouse was out of place, the keyboard was shifted and, in general, the case was warm. Considering that everyone at home has their own car, this fact seems strange. Why did you use your computer and for what purpose? This is not yet known. But in this article, you will learn exactly how to view history on a computer.
Viewing browsing history in a browser
Let's face it, the first thing you'll want to check is the list of visited sites. To do this, open your browser (I have, for example, Google Chrome) and in the "Options" select "History".
Also, the list of visited sites is called by simultaneously pressing Ctrl + H or by writing "chrome: // history /" in the address bar.
Reference! The same methods are used to view history in other browsers (except for entering the address "chrome: // history /" into the line).
If anxiety and distrust have settled in your soul - regularly clean the list of visited sites. 
Viewing log files
All actions performed on the computer are recorded and documented. We just need to refer to this data to find out the information of interest.
Application log
This journal stores information about all programs and games that run on the computer. Most importantly, the exact time of launch and use is recorded. To open it, we find the item "Administration" in the "Control Panel" and select "Computer Management".
Then click "View Events" - "Windows Logs" - "Applications".
The list displays information about running applications.
Security log
Here you will find the most interesting information: all information about entering and exiting the system (turning on / off the machine). Compare the data from the log and your real time at the computer.
Recently modified files
Also on Windows you will find recently created, viewed and edited files. To do this, simultaneously press Win + R on your keyboard and enter "recent" in the text field.
In the window that opens, you can view recent files.
How to restrict access to a computer and set a trap
If you are not interested in who, when and why used your computer, but just unpleasant - set a password. Go to Options - Accounts - Login Options. Here click on the "Add" button and enter the desired combination.
Personal data is harder to get to now.
But if "catching" an unknown visitor becomes an obsession, then a trap is set. To do this, you need to use the standard "Task Scheduler".
- Click on "Create Basic Task".
- Enter a name and select Trigger.
- Indicate the required action (in my case, sending a message by e-mail).
Now, when you turn on your computer, you will receive an instant notification and catch the "intruder" in hot pursuit.
Good day.
It turns out that not all users know that by default any browser remembers the history of the pages you visit. And even if several weeks, or maybe months have passed, by opening the browser log of visits, you can find the coveted page (unless, of course, you have not cleared the history of visits ...).
In general, this option is quite useful: you can find a previously visited site (if you forgot to add it to your favorites), or see what other users are interested in sitting at this PC. In this short article, I want to show you how you can view history in popular browsers, as well as how to clear it quickly and easily. So…
How to view the history of visiting sites in the browser ...
In most browsers, to open the history of visits to sites, just press the combination of buttons: Ctrl + Shift + H or Ctrl + H.
Google chrome
In Chrome, in the upper right corner of the window there is a "list button", when you click on it, a context menu opens: in it, you need to select the "History" item. By the way, the so-called keyboard shortcuts are also supported: Ctrl + H (see Fig. 1).
Rice. 1 Google Chrome
The story itself is a simple list of Internet page addresses, sorted according to the date of visit. It is quite easy to find the sites that you visited, for example, yesterday (see Fig. 2).
Rice. 2 History in Chrome
Firefox
The second most popular (after Chrome) browser at the beginning of 2015. To enter the journal, you can press the shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + H), or you can open the "Journal" menu and select the item " Show entire log«.
By the way, if you do not have a top menu (file, edit, view, log ...) - just press the left ALT button on the keyboard (see Fig. 3).
Rice. 3 opening a log in Firefox
By the way, in my opinion, Firefox is the most convenient library for visiting: you can select links from yesterday, even for the last 7 days, even for the last month. Very handy when searching!
Rice. 4 Visit library in Firefox
Opera
It is very easy to view the history in the Opera browser: click on the icon of the same name in the upper left corner and select the "History" item from the context menu (by the way, the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + H are also supported).
Rice. 5 Viewing history in Opera
Yandex browser
Yandex browser very much resembles Chrome, so here everything is almost the same: click on the "list" icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select " History / History Manager»(Or just press the Ctrl + H buttons, see Fig. 6).
Rice. 6 viewing the visit history in a Yandex browser
Internet Explorer
Well, and the last browser, which could not simply be included in the review. To view the history in it - just click on the "star" icon on the toolbar: then a side menu should appear in which you simply select the "Journal" section.
By the way, in my opinion, it is not entirely logical to hide the history of the visit under the "asterisk", which most users associate with the chosen one ...
Rice. 7 Internet Explorer ...
How to clear history in all browsers at once
You can, of course, manually delete everything from the log if you don't want someone to be able to view your history. Or you can simply use special utilities that will clear the entire history in all browsers in a matter of seconds (sometimes minutes)!
One of the most popular programs for cleaning Windows from "garbage". It also allows you to clean the registry from erroneous entries, remove programs that cannot be removed in the usual way, etc.
Using the utility is very simple: you run the utility, clicked the analysis button, then ticked the boxes where needed and clicked the clear button (by the way, the browser history is Internet History).
Rice. 8 CCleaner - cleaning history.
In this review, I could not fail to mention another utility that sometimes shows even better results in disk cleaning - Wise Disk Cleaner.
Alternative to CCleaner. Allows you not only to clean the disk of various kinds of junk files, but also to perform defragmentation (it will be useful for the speed of the hard disk if you have not done it for a very long time).
Using the utility is just as simple (besides, it supports the Russian language) - first you need to click the analysis button, then agree with the cleaning points that the program has assigned, and then click the clear button.
That's all for me, good luck everyone!
Many users are interested in whether someone will be able to view the history of his visits on the computer and what he did on the computer. All history is stored in logs on a computer or in a browser. Of course, you can't get complete statistics, but you can still find out some information.
View recent documents
You can view which documents were recently opened by the user in a special folder designed for this. In English it is called “ Recent"Or" Recent documents ".
In order to do this, it is necessary to carry out a series of manipulations with the "Start" button. Right-click on the "Start" menu and click on " Properties».
Then open the "Start Menu" tab and click the " Tune". Check the boxes next to "Store and display a list of recently opened documents in the Start menu", "Store and display a list of recently opened items in the Start menu". 
Then, in the menu settings, click on the value "recent documents" to display the checkbox. 
Now open the Start menu with the left mouse button and you will see the "Recent Documents" tab. By clicking on it, you can view which documents have been recently opened on this PC.
Visit history
In addition to the fact that you can see the last viewed documents on a computer, a similar story can be found about his actions on the global Internet. That is what he was looking for in the browser.
To see where you went on the Internet, you need to click on three vertical points in the upper right corner of the browser. 
The procedure is the same for all browsers, the only difference is in the interface. More details about viewing history in all modern browsers can be found in our article.
There is also a Google function for tracking user actions. In order to enter it, you need to configure your Google browser for your account so that history data is displayed and saved there. Then after a while, if you want to see what you were doing, go to your Google account. Find the tab " My actions", Go to Apps & Web Search. Here you can see what was happening in your account on your smartphone, on your computer - that is, wherever you are registered. 
Utilities launch history
The history of running the utilities can be seen using special programs and the event log. The latter will be discussed later. And you can also find out the history in a special folder.
Almost all programs can be found on the C drive. Go to the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder. Find the folder with the utility, for example, Google Chrome. Right click on the executable file to launch and go to properties.
The window will show the time of creation, modification and last access to the file.
There is an easier way to find the location of the executable file:
ExecutedProgrammlist
Using a program such as ExecutedProgramslist, the user can view a list of utilities and file packages that have been run on your computer, and can also track activities on the computer. Install this utility and run it. Then scan your computer. 
The software will display all the utilities that have been launched. By right-clicking on one of the programs in the window, you can save the selected elements.
From this program you will learn the following information:
- File name.
- Time of change.
- Time of creation.
- Start time.
- File size.
- File attribute.
- Extension.
- The version of the program.
- Company name.
And so about each running program.
LastActivityView
This utility collects information and displays it in its event log, can display almost the entire history of the computer. 
- Copy typed text on the keyboard.
- Tracking any activity on the computer.
- Access to instant messengers and screenshots of correspondence at a given time.
- Covert tracking.
Flaws:
- Limited features in the free version.
Download the program, run the installer and after installation go to the settings window. This tab explains all the points that will be necessary when working with the utility. 
The interface is simple and straightforward even for a beginner.
NeoSpy
Another paid PC spy spy that allows you to record the activity on your computer.
- Preservation of the collected information.
- Covert surveillance of the computer and user actions.
- Simple and user-friendly interface.
Flaws:
- There is no version for smartphones.
- The full version is paid.
Install the program, then run the settings. All parameters, as in the previous utility, are explained in detail. 
To start while turning on the computer, you must check the box " Run at startupWindows». 
You can also configure tracking of the opening and closing of windows, automatically create a screenshot when the window is opened. All this is done using tags on the corresponding tasks. 
Snitch
Unlike previous solutions, it is undemanding to computer resources, therefore it allows you to monitor user actions even on weak PCs.
- Works without internet access.
- Hidden installation mode.
- Not demanding on computer resources.
Flaws:
It is not necessary to make adjustments before first use. All parameters set by default allow for detailed tracking. Everything is pre-installed.
