SoftPerfect File Access Monitor now freeware

[Batu69]

 

The comprehensive hard drive activity tracker SoftPerfect File Access Monitor is now freeware. The program enables logging and filtering all the file system activity on a PC, including file creations, reads, writes and deletions.

 

Setup requires installing a service on your system. This isn’t as convenient as portable products, but does deliver more reliable results, and allows logging more of what’s happening as Windows boots.

 

Using a service to log activity means there’s no tell-tale program window or system tray icon, handy if you want to secretly monitor the system.

Reports are easy to understand, even for non-technical users. Hitting "Chronological" displays a list of recent file system actions in time order, and color-coding allows you to find key events -- file creates, deletes -- in seconds.

 

There could still be thousands of events to explore, but simple filtering will help you tune out the noise. In a click or two you’re able to view operations of a specific type (create, read, write, delete, move, more), by a specific user or process, or within a particular time frame.

 

Alternatively, you can set up the program to log only the data you need. If you’re looking for ransomware, for instance, you might monitor reads, writes and deletes of common data file types in your documents folders.

 

Whatever you’re logging, a simple report manager automatically generates reports every hour, day, week or month. These can be saved to files or sent by email, which again could be handy for stealthy monitoring of user actions.

 

A simple database manager completes the package by automatically purging old records, and keeping any drive space used to the absolute minimum.

Overall, SoftPerfect File Access Monitor can’t compete with something like Sysinternals Process Monitor for low-level power, but its service-based logging and general ease of use make it a good choice for simple file logging tasks. Especially as it’s now free. Take a look!

 

Article source

[Petrovic]

SoftPerfect File Access Monitor, previously a commercial program, has been released as a freeware version by its parent company.

 

The program has been designed to monitor file operations such as read or write on Windows machines.

 

File Access Monitor supports the monitoring of local and network connected systems. Setup of the application is not overly complicated but it is still not as easy as clicking on its shortcut to start it up.

 

First thing you will realize is that the program displays a connect prompt on start. It is set to connect to localhost -- the local system -- by default. There is also a password field, but that can be left empty on first run.

SoftPerfect File Access Monitor

 

You may add a password to the app to protect it from unauthorized access. Once connected, a list of available drives is listed in the interface.

You may click on any drive to browse its structure, or to be more precise, the folders and files that were accessed based on filters set in the program window.

 

 

The program lists all file operations on the right side of the program window once you select a folder or file. The example above highlights several operations including creation, read and deletion operations.

 

Each operation is linked to a particular user, a process, and time. This makes it easy to link any file event to a user account and process.

 

A click on the chronological button opens the list of file operations in chronological order. Each file is listed with its name, process, user account it was executed under, time, and details when you open the chronological view.

 

 

You may click on any header of the table to sort the data accordingly (the default sort order is by time). This allows you to sort by operation, process, or file name among other things.

 

Filters are listed at the top to display matching file operations. If you are only interested in delete operations, operations by a specific user or process, then you may use the filters to display only those in the interface.

 

The same filtering options are available in the main program window as well. Apart from those, you may also use the find functionality to search for files or folders.

Simply enter a partial or full name, and wait for the population of the results. You may double-click on any entry to jump to the location right away in the main program window.

SoftPerfect File Access Monitor was a commercial program and it comes as no surprise that several administrative features are built-in that appeal to businesses more than to individuals.

 

You may save logs at any time, but can configure the program to create reports in intervals automatically as well. These can be saved to csv, HTML or plain text files, created hourly, daily, weekly or monthly, or sent to an email address.

 

The settings lists other useful options. You may configure filters there to block files or paths from being monitored, or add include paths and files instead. The operations tab lets you furthermore deselect operations that you don't want to monitor, and include or exclude processes.

 

We have reviewed several alternatives in the past: File Watcher Simple, Windows Explorer Tracker, What Changed or Disk Pulse are but four of the programs designed for the task.

Closing Words

SoftPerfect File Access Monitor is a professional file access monitor for Windows. SoftPerfect has turned the program into a legacy product. This means that it is no longer developed or updated, but available for free to all users.

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[Batu69]

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