how do you see who accessed a file last on a network

How do you see who accessed a file last on a network?

• Step 1: Right Click the start menu and select Computer Management.
• Step 2: Click on Shared Folders, then click on open files.
• Step 1: Type Resource monitor into the start menu search box.
• Step 2: Click on the disk tab in resource monitor.

Full Answer

How do I see who has accessed a file last?

Review the Subject field on the General tab to see which network user accessed the file last. Click to see full answer. Similarly, it is asked, how do you check who has accessed a shared folder?

How do I see who is accessing my server files?

To view which files the user is accessing, click on Open Files (from left navigation pane). Here you will see a list of files that have been accessed by the user (or users). If the full path to a file is not fully displayed, just mouse over a file to see the path. Also Know, how can I tell who is accessing my server files?

How do I find the file being asked about?

This person is a verified professional. Verify your account to enable IT peers to see that you are a professional. You can use Computer Management and connect to the server that is hosting the file. Then you can look at System Tools > Shated Folders > Open Files. Find the file are being asked about in the list on the right.

How can I see who is sharing files on my computer?

See all the folders they are sharing (Computer Management -> System Tools -> Shared Folders -> Shares); See who (from their network) is connected to their computer (Computer Management -> System Tools -> Shared Folders -> Sessions); What shared files are opened (Computer Management -> System Tools -> Shared Folders -> Open Files).

How can I tell who last accessed a file?

How can I check who last opened a file?Enable auditing for files and folders via User Manager (Policies - Audit - Audit These Events - File and Object Access). ... Start Explorer.Right click on the files/folders select Properties.Select the Security tab.Click the Advanced button.Select the Audit tab.Click Add.More items...

Can you see who accessed a file on a shared drive?

Double-click "Audit Object Access" in the details window. This opens the audit properties for users who connect to your shared folder. Check the boxes labeled "Success" and "Failed." Selecting "Success" creates a log file each time the user connects successfully.

How can I tell who has accessed a folder?

Step 2 – Right-click the folder or file and click “Properties” in the context menu. Step 3 – Switch to “Security” tab and click “Advanced”. Step 4 – In the “Permissions” tab, you can see the permissions held by users over a particular file or folder.

How do you see who is accessing a shared file?

To view "who" is connected to a share or shares, click on Sessions (from left navigation pane). You will then see all the connected users.

How do I view open file history?

Recently Accessed FilesPress "Windows-R."Type “recent” into the run box and press “Enter” to open the list of recently visited files.View recently opened files from other users on the same computer by clicking inside the File Explorer location bar and replacing the current user's name with a different user.

How do I monitor a shared folder?

If you want to monitor who's currently accessing the shared folder, you can simply go to Computer Management Console ->Shared Folders ->Open Files. It will display the username, the file the user is currently accessing with what kind of access, read or write.

How can I tell who has an access open?

You can use utility software, such as the Computer Management utility or the Server Manager utility, to determine who has an Access database open in the exclusive mode and to determine what computer has an Access database open in the exclusive mode.

How can you tell when a Windows file was last accessed?

How To Use Last Access Time Stamps In Windows Search ResultsIn the Start Menu search area, Type * and press Enter. ... Switch the Window view to Details.Right-click the category bar and click More.On the next window scroll down and check the box for Date Accessed and then hit OK.

How do I monitor access to a file?

With native auditing, here is how you can monitor file and folder access on a Windows file server:Step 1: Enable 'Audit object access' policy. Launch the Group Policy Management console (Run --> gpedit.msc) ... Step 2: Edit auditing entry in the respective file/folder. ... Step 3: View audit logs in Event Viewer.

How do you find who has a file open in Windows?

There is a built-in function in Windows that shows you what files on the local computer are open/locked by remote computer (which has the file open through a file share): Select "Manage Computer" (Open "Computer Management") click "Shared Folders" choose "Open Files"

How to see what folders are shared on a network?

Select Share in the navigation pane or double-click (double-tap) the Shares entry from the middle panel . Then, Computer Management immediately loads all the folders that are shared on your computer or device with the rest of the network. For each of them, you can see details such as the Share Name and Folder Path, and also the number of active Client Connections. The latter tells you how many users (computers) from the network are accessing that folder.

How to track who accesses your shared folders?

One of the easiest ways to track who accesses your shared folders and files is using Computer Management, a tool that's built into Windows. The first thing you have to do is open Computer Management, and one fast way to do it is to search for it.

Where is the Shared Files list in NetShareMonitor?

Shared Files list displayed by NetShareMonitor. On the right side of the window, you can find the Settings button. It opens a window from which you can change the General, Session Settings, and Log Settings, according to your preferences. Settings for NetShareMonitor.

Can you see who is using your shared files?

However, it can't alert you when a remote user does that. On the other hand, NetShareMonitor is a handy and easy to use app that does all that, but also alerts you when somebody is trying to view your shared files.

How to see who reads a file?

To see who reads the file, open “Windows Event Viewer”, and navigate to “Windows Logs” → “Security”. There is a “Filter Current Log” option in the right pane to find the relevant events.

Where is the file name in a.txt file?

In the below image, you can see file’s name (C:UsersAdministratorDocumentsNew Text Document.txt), which is visible after you scroll down the side bar, under the “Object Name” field.

How to audit a file in GPO?

Here are the steps: Open “Windows Explorer” and navigate to the file or folder that you want to audit. Right-click the file and select “Properties” from the context menu.

How to access advanced security settings?

On “Security” tab, click “Advanced” to access “Advanced Security Settings for” window appears on the screen.

What happens after you open the Group Policy Management window?

After you have opened the “Group Policy Management” window, you will have to create a new GPO, or edit an existing one.

Can Lepide audit a file server?

You can use Lepide’s File Server auditing software to track the file-read events on your Windows File Servers and audit all type of file server changes much easily. The following image shows “Read successful” report. The complete audit information about a file access is shown in a single line record.

Can you find out if you have MS auditing?

unfortunately I'm afraid you won't find out without MS auditing turned on. I'm afraid you will need to tell the requester that you can't find that.

Can you forward audit logs to a separate server?

I've never tried it, but I assume you can forward those audit log entries in the same way as you can forward other event log entries. So in theiory, forwarding to a separate server could work - but this would cause additional network traffic as well as server load on the monitored servers and the monitoring server.

How to audit employee data?

Right-click the file (Employee_Data) that you want to audit and choose Properties. Go to the Security tab and click Advanced to open the Advanced Security Settings window. Go to the Auditing tab and click Add to create a new audit entry. The Auditing Entry window appears .

How to add a domain to a file?

Navigate to Configuration > Domain Settings and click + Add Domain in the top-right corner to add a new domain. Provide the Domain Name along with its username and password. Add required domain controllers and click Save. To add file servers, navigate to File Audit > Configuration and click the Add Server button located in the top-right corner. ...

How to close a file on Windows 10?

Find the file are being asked about in the list on the right. Beside the file name you will see who has it open and the Open Mode (read only; read-write). If they don't need it open any more, you can right click on it there and click Close Session and that one file will be closed for that one user.

Do terminal services connect to the same server?

Edit: BTW, the users use terminal services to connect to the same server. They are not mapped to the drives from workstations.

What is Net Share Monitor?

Net Share Monitor is another small (636 KB), free, portable, and standalone application which monitors local or remote shares. It tells you who is connected and what files are being access. Just like ShareMonitor and Computer Management, you have the ability to disconnect users or access to files. Two features unique to Net Share Monitor, however, is the ability to log all activity related to shares and play a sound to notify the user a new connection has been opened to the shares. Features lacking in Net Share Monitor include not being able to create a new share or stop sharing a share.

What is ShareWatch?

Image by the developer. ShareWatch is a very small (77 KB) free, portable, and standalone application which monitors all shared folders and files on your computer. Like Computer Management, it allows you to disconnect a user’s access to your computer or to a file at will.

How to see what happened in Windows 7?

In Windows 7, everything now shows up under File System task category, so in order to see what happened, you’ll have to click on each one and scroll through it . In order to make it easier to look through so many events, you can put a filter and just see the important stuff.

How to filter security logs?

Click on the View menu at the top and click on Filter. If there is no option for Filter, then right-click on the Security log in the left-hand page and choose Filter Current Log. In the Event ID box, type in the number 4656.

How to get gpedit on Windows 8?

In Windows 8, simply go to the Start Screen and start typing or move your mouse cursor to the far top or bottom right of the screen to open the Charms bar and click on Search . Then just type in gpedit. Now you should see something that is similar to the image below:

Can you track someone who edits a file?

So if there’s a folder or file that you want to know who is accessing, then this is the built-in method without having to use third-party software.

Question

there is a Windows Server 2008 R2 based system. I want to track, when a file gets last read (like jpeg was viewed or txt-File was opened in notepad) by a real user. Real user means not to be a service user, a backup run, shadow copy or an anti-virus check.

Answers

I would refer you on this well explained technet blog resource that exactly provides the same solution for what you are looking here : http://blogs.technet.com/b/mspfe/archive/2013/08/27/auditing-file-access-on-file-servers.aspx

All replies

The problem is all real user or service accounts at the file system level look exactly the same. Depending of the number of users we are talking about, you can develop a custom solution to filter events.

Answers

As you said Audit is the only way so if it is not enabled, we do not have another option to get these information.

All replies

As you said Audit is the only way so if it is not enabled, we do not have another option to get these information.