To read Sysmon logs, open Event Viewer and go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Sysmon > Operational. Select an event, note its ID and name, then inspect its structured fields—such as the process, command line, file path, or network destination. A record describes activity, not whether that activity was malicious; interpret it with host context and related events.
Open the Sysmon Operational log
- Open Event Viewer on the Windows computer.
- In the navigation pane, expand Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Sysmon.
- Select Operational, then choose an event in the center pane to inspect its details.
This is the channel used on modern Windows systems. On older systems, Sysmon events may instead appear in the System log, according to the Sysinternals Sysmon reference. Microsoft also documents forwarding Sysmon events to a centralized log platform in its Sysmon events documentation.
Read the event ID and its fields
Start with the event ID and event name to identify the type of activity recorded. Then examine the fields available for that event. Depending on the event, these may include process and parent-process details, command line, file paths, hashes, network addresses and ports, and identifiers. The fields make a record specific; the ID alone does not explain why the activity occurred.
Event ID 1: Process Create
Event ID 1 records a newly created process. Check the executable path, command line, and parent process for context. The event includes hash information and its hash type. Its ProcessGUID helps correlate activity across events even when Windows reuses a process ID.
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Event ID 3: Network Connect
Event ID 3 records TCP or UDP connections and associates them with a process using its process ID and GUID. When reviewing one, relate the destination address and port to the initiating process. NetworkConnect is disabled by default in the Sysinternals documentation, so its absence does not show that no connection occurred.
Event ID 5: Process Terminated
Event ID 5 records process termination, including the time, process GUID, and process ID. Use its identifiers to relate the termination to earlier process activity where those records are available.
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Event IDs 12–14: Registry Events
These events record registry-object or value changes. Inspect the registry target and the process context rather than treating the change alone as a verdict.
Event ID 16: Configuration Change
Event ID 16 records Sysmon configuration changes and cannot be filtered. It can help explain why the event coverage on a host changed.
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Event ID 22: DNS Query
Event ID 22 records process-associated DNS queries, including failed or cached queries. Microsoft notes that this event is unavailable on Windows 7 and earlier.
Event ID 255: Error
Event ID 255 indicates a Sysmon error. The cause can include heavy load, an internal bug, or unmet security or integrity conditions. Check whether telemetry remains reliable when this event appears.
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These are examples, not a complete event catalog. Look up the ID in the official Sysmon reference for its documented meaning and fields.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Decide what an event does—and does not—show
Sysmon records activity; they do not, by themselves, establish malicious intent. As Microsoft puts it, “Events don’t indicate malicious intent” in its Sysmon events documentation. A rare process or connection is not automatically malicious, and a common one is not automatically safe.
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Use the record as a lead and correlate it with related events and other host evidence. For process activity, examine the executable path, command line, parent process, hashes, and process GUID. For network activity, connect the destination address and port to the process that initiated it. For file or registry activity, consider the target alongside the process context. The significance depends on the host and situation.
Check collection coverage before interpreting a missing event
Sysmon’s active configuration determines which event types are collected and which filters apply. Microsoft’s Sysinternals documentation says NetworkConnect (ID 3) and ImageLoad (ID 7) are disabled by default. Therefore, a missing record can reflect configuration or platform support rather than an absence of activity. Check the active configuration and applicable event filter before drawing conclusions from a gap.
Configuration also affects event volume. Microsoft advises reviewing and tuning filters to balance visibility with volume. When a log is busy, grouping or sorting records by fields such as image, command line, target filename, destination port, or registry key can help identify what accounts for much of the activity. There is no single universal configuration: the right event types and filters depend on the investigation goal. When comparing configurations, consider which event types and fields they collect, their filtering rules, and the volume they are likely to produce.
Keep timestamps and language differences in mind
Sysmon timestamps are recorded in UTC. Keep that timezone explicit when building a timeline or comparing Sysmon records with logs that use another timezone.
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