UtilForge

Hide Log Details

For information technology teams and anyone who asks for help · runs on this device · New

Share the log. Keep the names to yourself.

Runs on your own deviceNo sign-upNo trackingReady to share

A computer log shows who did what, on which machine, from which address. That is what makes it useful to a helper, and it is also what makes it risky to paste into a forum, a support ticket or an artificial intelligence assistant. This page swaps every real name and address for a numbered label, the same label every time the same detail appears, so the story of the log survives.

The short answer. Paste the lines, choose what to hide, and copy the result. Usernames, computer names, Internet Protocol addresses, email addresses and device identifiers become labels such as [USER-1] and [COMPUTER-2]. The check runs on your own device, and it can miss unusual formats, so read the result before you share it.

How it works, in four steps

  1. Paste the log linesFrom a server, a firewall, a laptop or an application.
  2. Choose what to hideEverything is ticked to begin with.
  3. Copy the hidden logShare it. Keep the key on your own screen.
  4. What this tool cannot doIt finds common patterns only. Names inside free text, passwords and secret keys need your own eyes.

Your log

What should be hidden?

What stays on your device

This page makes no connection to any other computer. The log you paste is changed on your own screen, and nothing is saved when you close the tab.

Why hide the details first

Helpers ask for logs because a log shows the order of events. The same lines also hold the names of your staff, the names of your machines and the addresses of your network, and once they are pasted into a public forum or a tool run by another company you cannot take them back. Replacing each detail with a label keeps what the helper needs, which is the sequence, and removes what an outsider could use.

How the labels work

The first username becomes [USER-1], the second [USER-2], and so on. If [USER-1] appears forty times, a helper can still see that one person failed to sign in forty times. The key lists which label stands for which real detail, so you can read the reply with the real names back in. Do not share the key.

What this tool cannot do

It looks for common shapes: values after words such as user, host and computer, standard system log headers, Windows domain names, home folders, Internet Protocol addresses, email addresses and device identifiers. It does not understand sentences, so a name written inside a free-text message, a password, a secret key or a customer number can stay in the result. Read the result through before you share it, and take out anything else that identifies a person or a business.

Questions and answers

What does this tool actually do?

It replaces usernames, computer names, network addresses, email addresses, device identifiers and website names in a log with numbered labels, so you can share the log without sharing the real details.

Will it catch everything?

No. It finds common patterns. A name inside a free-text message, a password or a secret key can stay in the result, so read it through before you share it.

Can I get the real names back?

Yes. The key under the result lists each label and the detail it stands for. Keep the key on your own screen and do not share it.

Which logs does it work on?

Plain-text logs from Linux and Windows machines, firewalls and web servers. It works best on lines that use words such as user, host or computer before a value.

Does UtilForge.org keep what I paste?

No. The log stays on your own device and is changed on your screen only.

Keep going

Related tools

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Did this check help you?

Tell UtilForge what worked and what did not. Each button opens an email to lindsay@utilforge.org that you write and send yourself. UtilForge will only quote your words on this site if you say it may, and then with your first name and country only.

Yes, it helpedSomething was missing

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