Like all web servers on the Internet, my web host collects and stores all of the information that your web browser sends when it requests a web page, including (but not necessarily limited to):

• the name, domain, and numerical Internet address (IP Address) of the computer from which you accessed my web site
• the date and time you accessed this site
• the Internet address (url) of the web page that you came from
• the page you requested from this site and the number of characters sent to your computer
• the header information your web browser software sends to identify itself
• the operating system on your personal computer
• status of the page request
• the amount of time it took the server to fulfill the request

Despite what some folks will try to tell you, this information is pretty much innocuous and harmless. I don't do anything with the information in the logs except occasionally check out the statistics so I can see if anyone is using the web site, and which parts of the web site they like (or dislike) most. It's nice to know which search engines and web sites are sending people to my web site; such information comes from the referral url. Not all browsers are created equally, and different browsers understand the same code in different ways. The header information sent by your browser helps me present information in a way your browser can understand. The page request status alerts me to errors that may be present in my pages, so I can fix them. The operating system information is interesting, mainly because it gives me an indication of how many people are using which operating systems. This is good for spotting technology trends.