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Whenever I log into a server using ssh. The prompt gives me "last login" information. I was wondering where this information comes from. How can I remove this record so when someone else log into the same server, the person would see my login info with my ip in it?

So how can I do this? For the record, I am not hacking someone's computer and the server runs Ubuntu 12.04.

EDIT: which file logs this kind of information? If I find the file, then I can do anything to it as root.

Thanks.

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  • Ubuntu 11.04 != Ubuntu 12.04.
    – user
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:17
  • Note that this information can also be requested by running last $USER.
    – Jaap Eldering
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:36
  • @MichaelKjörling what do you mean?
    – Gnijuohz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:41
  • != is commonly read as "is not equal to". You wrote Ubuntu 12.04 in the text of the question, but used the ubuntu-11.04 tag. The two are not equivalent, so one or the other must be wrong.
    – user
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:43
  • @MichaelKjörling sorry,I didn't notice my tag was wrong. Thanks!
    – Gnijuohz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:46

7 Answers 7

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In addition to /var/log/lastlog, there are 3 files in /var/run and /var/log: utmp, wtmp and btmp, which hold info about current logins (and additional info), historical and failed logins. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utmp for detailed description. You can't edit the files with normal editors, but could erase them.

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  • 4
    This isn't a proper answer.
    – deprecated
    Oct 14, 2016 at 18:04
64

In Debian and Ubuntu, it is found in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.

Find the line that says:

#PrintLastLog yes

And change it to:

PrintLastLog no

(Or add it if not existing.)

Don't forget to restart your ssh daemon:

service ssh restart
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    dont forget, youll need to restart ssh with the following command: service ssh restart this will all need to be done with root/sudo
    – Cameron Aziz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:20
  • Thanks, but I want to find the file(s) that has(ve) the info more.
    – Gnijuohz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 13:48
  • oh, sorry, looks like ott got this one.
    – Cameron Aziz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 14:02
  • I believe your problem will be solved by deleting the following files: /var/log/wtmp and /var/log/btmp and possibly /var/log/utmp. There may be other files in /var/log that have user logon data (such as /var/log/wtmp.1) so you'll have to wipe those too
    – Cameron Aziz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 14:05
  • No need to be sorry. Your help is much appreciated~
    – Gnijuohz
    Jul 2, 2012 at 14:06
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utmp is normally in /var/run, not /var/log. wtmp and btmp are in /var/log.

ssh is not the only program that writes to these three files. If you delete them, as someone suggested, you will break a lot of programs. They are expected to be there. Change the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file, as Cameron Aziz suggested.

You are not the only process in the shell. You are not using a single-tasking operating system. Getting used to working on a true network operating system was one of the hardest mental shifts I have ever made, right up there with using a mainframe and learning calculus. In practical terms, this means that you should never remove a file unless you know exactly what it does in the system.

In order to get a flavor for just how widely some files are used, take a look at lsof and play around with it. Even lsof only tells you what processes are CURRENTLY using your file, it doesn't give you historical data, so be careful.

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The PrintLastLog configuration keyword pulls information from the /var/log/lastlog file

You can use the command lastlog, to view this information at the command line.

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if "last login" is the only information printed, then you can also try hushlogin. This will suppress all information during login and is controllable per user.

touch $HOME/.hushlogin

You can refer login manpage for more information.

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    – Community Bot
    Apr 5, 2022 at 11:28
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Here's an alternative which works for GNU and BSD (Mac OS X). It also accounts for the fact most settings are commented out by default - they are in El Capitan anyway):

sudo sed -i.bak "s/^#?PrintLastLog yes$/^PrintLastLog no$/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Without the -i.bak change I kept getting:

sed: 1: "/etc/ssh/sshd_config": bad flag in substitute command: 'h'
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Here Is The Command To Do This Automatically:

sudo sed -i "s/PrintLastLog .*/PrintLastLog no/1" /etc/ssh/sshd_config
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