Converting Unix / Epoch Timestamps in Cerberus User Export Reports

Overview

When exporting user account data (User Reports or CSV exports) from Cerberus FTP Server, date and time fields including Create Date and Last Login Date appear as numeric values such as 1725388740 or 0.

These values are Unix Epoch timestamps: the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC.

Why does Cerberus FTP Server export dates in Epoch format?

Cerberus FTP Server stores and exports system timestamps in Unix Epoch format for several reasons:

1. Time zone independence (UTC normalization)

• Server installations, administrators, scripts, and clients often operate across different time zones.
• Epoch time represents an absolute point in time independent of daylight saving time, regional locales, or time zone offsets.

2. Standardization across integrations and scripts

• Preformatted date strings such as MM/DD/YYYY and DD/MM/YYYY can cause parsing ambiguities across regions and tools.
• An integer timestamp provides a consistent data type for database imports, SIEM integrations, PowerShell scripts, and reporting tools.

3. Lossless sorting and comparison

• Numeric values allow straightforward sorting, filtering, and calculation of account inactivity without first converting date formats.

How to convert Epoch timestamps to human-readable dates

In Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, Epoch values can be converted to standard dates and times using the formulas below.

Handling 0 or inactive values

A timestamp of 0 means the event has not occurred.

For example:

• Last Login Date = 0 means the user has never logged in.

The formulas below explicitly handle 0 values to avoid displaying 1/1/1970.

Method 1: Converting to UTC time

To convert the raw Epoch value to UTC date/time:

Formula:

=IF(H2=0, "Never", (H2 / 86400) + DATE(1970, 1, 1))

Replace H2 with the cell containing the Epoch timestamp, such as Create Date (H2) or Last Login Date (I2).

Steps:

1. Insert a column next to the timestamp column, e.g. Create Date (Readable).
2. Enter the formula in row 2.
3. Copy or drag the formula down through the remaining data rows.
4. Format the new column:
   • Select the column.
   • Right-click and choose Format Cells... (or press Ctrl + 1).
   • Under Number, choose Date or Custom.
   • For example: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Method 2: Converting to a local time zone

Epoch time is referenced to UTC. To adjust the result to a local time zone, add the appropriate UTC offset.

Formula:

=IF(H2=0, "Never", (H2 / 86400) + DATE(1970, 1, 1) + (TIMEZONE_OFFSET / 24))

Time Zone Offset Reference

Note: For regions that observe daylight saving time, use the applicable DST offset for the date being converted. A fixed offset formula does not automatically account for DST transitions.

Explanation of formula components

• 86400  Number of seconds in a 24-hour day (60 × 60 × 24). Dividing by 86400 converts Epoch seconds into Excel's fractional-day representation.
• DATE(1970, 1, 1) Sets the Unix Epoch origin.
• TIMEZONE_OFFSET / 24 Adjusts the resulting date/time by the desired number of hours relative to UTC.