We often take our computer’s USB ports for granted—we plug in a mouse, flash drive, or phone and expect them to just work. But for system administrators and digital forensics specialists, each such contact is an event that leaves an indelible mark. USBDeview is a small but extremely powerful utility developed by the legendary Nir Sofer (NirSoft) that serves as a “black box” for the history of all USB devices connected to your system.

The best part? The program is completely free, portable (no installation required) and extremely compact, making it a must-have part of any advanced user’s toolkit.

In This Post

Quick Start & Pro Tips

Remotely Monitor USB Devices on Networked Computers

Ensure you have administrator rights on the remote computer you wish to monitor.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator on your local machine.
Navigate to the directory where USBDeview.exe is located.
To connect to a single remote computer, use the command: USBDeview.exe /remote \\ComputerName (replace ComputerName with the actual network name).
To connect to multiple computers listed in a text file, use: USBDeview.exe /remotefile “C:\Path\To\ComputersList.txt” (where ComputersList.txt contains computer names separated by colon, semicolon, space, tab, or CRLF).

Explanation: This powerful feature allows system administrators to centrally monitor and manage USB device activity across an entire network without physically visiting each machine. It is crucial for security audits, incident response, and ensuring compliance by tracking unauthorized device connections.

Download USBDeview

File size: 94KB

OS support: Windows

Windows

Download USBDeview – X32 Portable

Download USBDeview – x64 Portable

Important Features

Detailed Device Listing: USBDeview presents a comprehensive list of all USB devices that have ever been connected to your system, including both currently active and historical devices.
Technical Details & Timestamps: The utility displays extensive information such as device ID, description, type, serial number, Vendor ID (VID), Product ID (PID), and precise timestamps for when a device was first connected, last inserted, and removed.
Port History Tracking: Gain insight into which exact motherboard port or USB hub a specific device was connected to, providing a clear history of its physical connections.
Driver Management: Access information about the drivers used by each USB device and easily uninstall them directly through the application, helping to clean up old system traces.
Data Theft & Contagion Analysis: An invaluable tool for cybersecurity and forensic specialists, USBDeview helps track potential data exfiltration by monitoring USB stick history and analyzing infection vectors.
Remote Management Capabilities: System administrators can remotely access other computers on the network to check USB drive history, disable specific devices, uninstall drivers, or safely remove external disks.
USB Speed Test: Perform a USB Speed Test to measure the actual read and write performance of your flash drives, with an option to publish results to NirSoft’s global database for comparison.
HTML/XML Report Generation: Generate detailed HTML or XML reports of the USB device history, which are easy to archive and present as evidence in security investigations or audits.

Technical Specifications

Software Name	USBDeview
Version	3.10
License	Freeware
File Size	94KB
OS Support	Windows
Language	English (Multilingual support via language files)
Developer	Nir Sofer (NirSoft)
Homepage	https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html
Changelogurl	https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html#VersionsHistory
Last Updated	May 15, 2026

Required Specs

Minimum

OS: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Getting Started

Show Installation Steps

Installation Steps

Download the USBDeview ZIP archive for your Windows architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) from the official NirSoft website.
Extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP file to any folder on your computer. No installation wizard is required.
Double-click the USBDeview.exe executable to launch the program. For full functionality, especially on newer Windows versions or x64 systems, it is recommended to run it as an administrator.

Compatibility: Compatible with Windows 2000 and later versions, including Windows 11. To disable, enable, or uninstall USB items on Windows Vista/7/2008 with UAC enabled, or on x64 systems, you must right-click and choose Run As Administrator.

Common Issues & Fixes

Show Common Issues

Issue: Cannot disable, enable, or uninstall devices → Solution: Run USBDeview as administrator by right-clicking the executable and selecting Run as administrator.

Questions & Answers

Is USBDeview free?

Yes, USBDeview is completely free to download and use. It is released as freeware by NirSoft, allowing users to freely distribute it as long as all files in the package are included without modification.

Is USBDeview portable?

Yes, USBDeview is a portable utility. It does not require any installation process or additional DLL files. You can simply copy the executable file to any folder on your computer or a USB flash drive and run it directly.