xxx.yyy.com (or 123.123.23.12) -- this is the host name (or IP address) associated
with the requester (you as
the visitor). In this case, (....com) the requester is coming from a
commercial address. Depending on the requestor's method of network
connection, the host name (or IP address) may or may not identify a specific computer.
Connections via many Internet Service Providers assign different IP
addresses for each session, so the host name identifies only the ISP. The
host name (or IP address) will identify a specific computer if that computer has a
fixed IP address.
[28/Jan/1997:00:00:01 -0500] -- this is the date and time of the request
"GET /sitename/news/nr012797.html HTTP/1.0" -- this is the location of the
requested file
200 -- this is the status code - 200 is OK - the request was filled
16704 -- this is the size of the requested file in bytes
Mozilla 3.0 -- this identifies the type of browser software used to access the page,
which indicates what design parameters to use in constructing the pages
www.altavista.digital.com -- this indicates the last site the person visited, which indicates
how people find this site
Requests for other types of documents use similar information. No personally-identifying information is collected.
1-202-685-7000