Monitoring user activity on a Linux system is an important aspect of maintaining security and accountability. By keeping track of who is accessing the system and what they are doing, administrators can better secure their systems and troubleshoot any issues that may arise. One way to monitor user activity is by using the acct or psacct tools.

The acct tool, short for “accounting,” is a command line tool that comes pre-installed on most Linux distributions. It is used to monitor and log user activity on the system, including login and logout times, commands executed, and CPU usage. The data collected by acct can be used to create detailed reports on user activity, which can be useful for audits or investigations.

To start using the acct tool, simply type “accton on” in the terminal. This will enable process accounting on the system, allowing the tool to start monitoring user activity. Once enabled, the acct tool will create a log file in the /var/log/account/pacct directory, which can be viewed using the lastcomm command.

Another useful tool for monitoring user activity on a Linux system is psacct, which is a set of utilities that provide more advanced accounting capabilities than the basic acct tool. Psacct includes commands such as sa, dump-acct, and accton, which can be used to generate reports on user activity, view process accounting data, and enable process accounting, respectively.

To install psacct on a Debian-based system, simply run the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install psacct

Once installed, psacct can be used to monitor user activity on the system in much the same way as the acct tool. The data collected by psacct can be used to generate reports on user activity, view system resource usage, and monitor user processes in real-time.

In conclusion, monitoring user activity on a Linux system is essential for maintaining security and accountability. By using tools like acct and psacct, administrators can keep track of who is accessing the system and what they are doing, helping to prevent unauthorized access and ensure that system resources are being used efficiently. By incorporating these tools into their system management practices, administrators can better protect their systems and troubleshoot any issues that may arise.