METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR LOGGING WEB USER ACTIVITY USING CLIENT-SIDE SUPPORT

Methods and apparatus for tracking client activity associated with a browser running on a client device in conjunction with a server, wherein the client device and the server are in a computer network, are provided. In an illustrative embodiment, a method employs client-side executable content,that is dynamically downloaded into the browser, such as an applet. The client-side executable content or applet is referred to as an "agent." The agent is preferably downloaded into the browser along with a document requested by the client and returned by the server. Once established in the browser, the agent keeps track of user interaction that occurs in the browser, that is, client-side interaction. The granularity of this tracking can be regulated, allowing the agent in the browser to collect as much information as is available, or some subset thereof. The agent then periodically notifies a server-side entity referred to as a "logger" of the information that it has collected. The logger stores the information in a log database for subsequent use.