Here's how to host your own hit counter using PHP and MySQL, including the exact time of counts.

Use phpMyAdmin to create a new table in your MySQL database. Or if you are comfortable with PHP, write a script instead.
Open your phpMyAdmin then click on your database then on SQL at the top.
In that box type:
CREATE TABLE `counter` ( `id` int(10) NOT NULL auto_increment, `date` varchar(225) NOT NULL default '', PRIMARY KEY (`id`) );

Now that the table is all set up, you need to add some script to your page.
Open up your homepage and in your head tags enter this code:
<? $connect = mysql_connect(HOSTNAME,USERNAME,PASSWORD); if (!$connect) { echo("ERROR: " . mysql_error() . "\n"); } mysql_select_db("DATABASE NAME", $connect); $date = date("l, j.n.Y g:i a"); $SQL = " INSERT INTO counter "; $SQL = $SQL . " (date) VALUES "; $SQL = $SQL . " ('$date') "; $result = mysql_db_query(DATABASENAME,"$SQL",$connect); if (!$result) { echo("ERROR: " . mysql_error() . "\n$SQL\n"); } ?>

This snippet goes where you want the counter to appear on your page:
<? $db = "DATABASE NAME"; $connect = mysql_connect(HOSTNAME,USERNAME,PASSWORD); if (!$connect) { echo("ERROR: " . mysql_error() . "\n"); } mysql_select_db($db); $SQL = "SELECT * FROM counter ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 1"; $retid = mysql_db_query($db, $SQL, $connect); while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($retid)) { $id = $row["id"]; print("$id"); } ?>

Note: This is how I perform the counter script on my websites. There may be other, and perhaps better ways around. I wrote this myself and it does what I need it to do :)