How to View Linux Login History

The Linux operating system is a multi-user operating system. This means that more that one user can be logged on to a single computer at a time. The "last" command is used to display a login history for all users. It can also be used to show the login history of a single user. If the user's are logging into from a remote location, you can use the "-a" option with the command to show the IP address of the remote computer.

Instructions

1. Open a terminal window which is found under the "System Tools," "Utilities" or "Accessories" section of the main menu depending on your distribution.

2. Type the command "last" to see the login history of all users.

3. Type the command "last <username>" to see the login history of a single user. Replace "<username>" with the username for the particular user.

4. Type the command "last -a" to see the login history along with the IP address of the computer the user logged in from (the user's local computer).

5. Type the command "exit" to close the terminal window.

References

• Linux Man Page: last