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

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posted on 15 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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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.

Using Windows

Right-click the Start menu. This will open a menu. This method will work on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers.

Click Event Viewer. You can find this towards the top of the menu. A new window will open.

Double-click "Windows Logs". This is in the left panel. The folder will expand.

Click System. This will be underneath Setup'.

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. Click an event to see more details.

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.

Using Mac

Open Terminal. This can be done from the Launchpad, Finder, or Spotlight.

Type last and press ↵ Enter. This will send the command.

View the event log. Terminal will list all recent login events with your account username and the date and time it happened. If you suspect someone is using your computer without your knowledge, changing your password may help.