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ProcessActivityView vs FileMonitor: catalog facts
ProcessActivityView	FileMonitor
Best for: Seeing which files a specific Windows program touches	Best for: Security researchers watching file activity on a Mac
Free Freeware from NirSoft, free to use and redistribute unmodified.	Free Free download from Objective-See.
Windows	macOS, Command line
Per-file counts of opens, reads, writes and bytes Shows which DLL opened each file All 4 strengths for ProcessActivityView Per-file counts of opens, reads, writes and bytes Shows which DLL opened each file Can launch a process and trace it from the start Command-line options for scripted runs	Shows which process touched which file Useful for malware analysis and troubleshooting All 3 strengths for FileMonitor Shows which process touched which file Useful for malware analysis and troubleshooting Source code published on GitHub
The published requirements list versions through Windows 8 Injects a DLL into the inspected process All 3 limitations for ProcessActivityView The published requirements list versions through Windows 8 Injects a DLL into the inspected process Separate builds are needed for 32-bit and 64-bit targets	Command line only, with no graphical interface macOS only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Not open source
License: Freeware	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ProcessActivityView nirsoft.net/utils/process_activity_view.html Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for FileMonitor objective-see.org/products/utilities.html Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.