Tracking the site my users are going to when they leave.

[chrisL]

We would like to have the ability to track where users are going when they leave our site. Not the page they are on when they leave, but what site they actually are going to.

I know it is possible to do this through javascript and an onMouseDown event on your link, but what about when the user exits by typing in the URL they want, or when they do not click your link?

I have done some searching, but have been unable to find any discussion of this topic anywhere, much less a stat tracking application that will do this.

Does anyone know if StatCounter is capable of doing this or if this is even possible? I appreciate any assistance. Thanks.

[webado]

Not by any legal means :D

What you want is to take possession of the user's browser, and that's not allowed.

[robinev]

What you're looking for, Chris, is called "SpyWare". Fortunately, more and more users are taking steps to defeat even those filthy beasts.

But there is a kind-of alternative: You could build a site that generates trust among at least a very large group of users and then, once you've garnered that trust, you could ask your visitors for permission to track them. If your service was valuable enough, then a few of your visitors might agree.

If you try to do it any other way, your site is likely to be branded and banned by some or many of those tools that folks are using to defeat the trackers.