FileGuard-FIM (File Integrity Monitoring) is a professional-grade, real-time security tool designed to detect unauthorized file system changes instantly. It monitors critical directories and alerts you via Desktop Notifications and Email Alerts the moment a file is accessed, modified, created, or deleted.

🚀 Features

• Real-Time Detection: Monitors file events (Create, Modify, Delete, Move) with zero latency.
• Dual Alerting:
  • 🖥️ Desktop Pop-ups: Instant visual feedback on your screen.
  • 📧 Email Notifications: Detailed activity reports sent to your inbox.
• Spam Prevention: Configurable cooldown periods to prevent inbox flooding.
• Detailed Logging: Comprehensive audit trail saved to logs/activity.log.
• Cross-Platform: Works efficiently on Linux and Windows.

⚙️ Configuration

1. Open config.json in the project folder.
2. Add Folders: Update "monitor_folders" with the paths you want to protect.
3. Setup Email (Crucial for Alerts):
   • Gmail Users: You MUST use an App Password.
   • Go to Google Account > Security > 2-Step Verification > App Passwords.
   • Generate a new password and paste it into "email_password".
   • Set "sender_email" to your Gmail address.

{
    "monitor_folders": [
        "/home/user/Desktop/critical_files", (Your Folder path)
        "/var/www/html"
    ],
    "sender_email": "your_email@gmail.com",
    "email_password": "abcdefghijklmnop", 
    ...
}

🛠️ How to Use

1. Prerequisites

Ensure you have Python 3 installed. Linux users should use a virtual environment to manage dependencies cleanly.

2. Installation (One-Time Setup)

Open your terminal in the FileGuard-FIM directory and run:

# Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate the environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Install required libraries
pip install watchdog plyer

3. Running the Tool

To start monitoring, simply run:

# Ensure your virtual environment is active (you should see (venv) in your prompt)
python fileguard_fim.py

4. Running in Background (Linux)

To keep the tool running even after you close the terminal:

nohup python fileguard_fim.py > /dev/null 2>&1 &

To stop it later, run pkill -f fileguard_fim.py.

📝 Logs

All detected activities are recorded in logs/activity.log with precise timestamps:

2025-12-28 20:38:57 - File/Folder Created - /path/to/file.txt
2025-12-28 20:39:00 - File Modified - /path/to/file.txt

🛡️ Security Disclaimer

This tool is intended for defensive security monitoring. Protect your config.json file as it contains sensitivity email credentials (chmod 600 config.json is recommended).

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Vision KC
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