File Extensions - LOG File Fomat

SUMMARY: LOG files are usually text file logs of processes running on your machine.

The LOG file extension normally means that the file is a text file containing log information created by a particular program. There is no specific format to LOG files; they may contain the dates and times a particular program ran, what tasks it performed, how long those tasks took, etc. And, LOG files are not always text files but may be in a proprietary format depending on the software program that created them.

If you're running out of hard drive space, LOG files can sometimes be safely removed if they are a couple of days old and you have closed down all running software. However, before you do so, you should consider what process created the LOG file, in case you really need to keep the file. Examine the filename as well as the date and time the file was created. For safety, DO NOT double-click LOG files; open them from within Notepad or another text editor to ensure the file contains readable log information and is not some other proprietary file format.

Windows users: NOTE that unless you have configured your computer with the file extension viewing tweak, it is possible that a filename that looks like it ends with ".log", especially one attached to an e-mail message, actually has a hidden OTHER extension, meaning that if you double-click the file, it may actually run a computer virus! Since LOG files are supposed to be logs of application tasks, I would be VERY WARY of a LOG file sent via electronic mail. Unless, of course, you are diagnosing a problem with someone's computer or software and these reports are needed for proper diagnosis.