How to know if a file has 'access' monitor in linux?

How to know who accessed a file or if a file has 'access' monitor in linux

• I'm a noob and have some questions about viewing who accessed a file. I found there are ways to see if a file was accessed (not modified/changed) through audit subsystem and inotify. However, from what I have read online, according to here: http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-audit-files-to-see-who-made-changes-to-a-file.html it says to 'watch/monitor' file, I have to set a watch by using command like: # auditctl -w /etc/passwd -p war -k password-file So if I create a new file or directory, do I have to use audit/inotify command to 'set' watch first to 'watch' who accessed the new file? Also is there a way to know if a directory is being 'watched' through audit subsystem or inotify? How/where can I check the log of a file? edit: from further googling, I found this page saying: http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/online/pages/man7/inotify.7.html The inotify API provides no information about the user or process that triggered the inotify event. So I guess this means that I cant figure out which user accessed a file? Only audit subsystem can be used to figure out who accessed a file?

• Answer:

  Logs from the audit subsystem are based on paths. You can put a watch on a file name even if that file doesn't exist. You'll get log entries if the file is created and accessed. All logs from auditd are saved in one file (generally /var/log/audit/auditd.log). You can list the audit rules with auditctl -l.