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Use Reports to Evaluate Internet Activity > Application reporting > How is user agent data collected?
How is user agent data collected?
Administrator Help | Forcepoint Web Security and Forcepoint URL Filtering | v8.4.x
Related topics:
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Application reporting
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Client app and operating system summary data
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Client app use details
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Operating system use details
The user agent is an HTTP header that web browsers and other web applications use to identify themselves and their capabilities. Your web protection software captures and logs user agent data when users browse the Internet. If the user agent data includes client app and operating system information, that information is parsed and displayed in application reports.
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If a client app or operating system is installed in your network, but is not used for Internet access, it does not appear in application reports.
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Because there are no widely-adopted standards for user agent headers, your software is not able to identify all Internet-accessing applications.
Some applications, in fact, deliberately disguise their identity in the user agent header in an attempt to avoid detection.
The application browsing data that Log Server receives includes the user agent header, user name, and source IP address. If Log Server is configured to perform data reduction tasks (like recording visits, or consolidating records), the appropriate algorithms are applied and the data is forwarded to the Log Database.
User agent strings are available for search as soon as they are recorded in the Log Database. This includes both the strings associated with client apps and operating systems, and strings used by other types of web apps.

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Use Reports to Evaluate Internet Activity > Application reporting > How is user agent data collected?
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