OT...Question about Windows XP

[john hobdeclipe]

Does Windows XP keep any kind of log file that would tell me when various softwares have been launched?

Or to put it another way: Is there any way I can determine if a certain application was used during a certain time frame?

And if so, how do I access this information?

Thanks

[PaulF]

Hi John,
Right click on My Computer, Select Manage, Expand system tools, expand event viewer, select application.
PaulF
Hope this helps

[john hobdeclipe]

Thanks, but that didn't help. That just gave me a list of errors and warnings.

In my case, I need to know if a software "Time and Chaos" was launched during the week of April 8 to April 14.

It's a security thing...I need to know if the house guest who snooped around in my emails also found the nook where I keep some passwords.

[winchman]

Go to Start, then All Programs.
Right click on the program in question.
Select Properties, and then General.
Near the bottom is: Accessed: which shows the last date and time the program was used.


I did a Google search for "windows program usage log", and there were some results that looked like they might be useful.

Roger

[winchman]

Here's something else that might help.

Go back to the Event Viewer, click on Help, then Help Topics, then Index, then auditing, files and folders

It says:
You can audit file and folder access on NTFS volumes to identify who took various types of actions with the files and folders.

Roger

[bruto]

Go to C:\Windows\Prefetch and you'll see the last access time and date for any program. It isn't cumulative though, so won't tell you anything but the last use.

[Evan]

Open the search function, kill the miserable little dog and then select all files and folders. Search for *.log and it will find a bazillion log files. Start looking...

[spope14]

Do you know the EXE file that launches this? Is it internet based? These things may help find out where you need to go. Internet histories, registry keys and Dll's may be found using a search of the C: drive with these dates in mind. The "log" idea above also helps.

[nheng]

There's a very nice utility (free) called Ccleaner from Piriform software that cleans out histories, logs, prefetch and more. It does the same with the registry and seems to do the best job of any program I've seen. It is small and fast and has made two of my XP systems just about silent by clearing out the cr-p that Windows has to paw over.

Anyway, when you first click the "Analyze" button, it quickly produces and shows a list of what it is going to remove. That list will highlight many of the logs. Do the same under the "Applications" tab

Just a warning though (which the program will also give you), uncheck any autocomplete or run selections if you access your email accounts without entering a password (or other accounts as well) as it will clear them.

Den

[Rookie machinist]

Something you might wan to do in the future is create a password for you acount to protect you and also enable a guest account so any visitors can use the computer without worry.