“Protected” (password required), are “hits” that can’t get on, counted?

Starting yesterday:
– a rolling list of agendas was under password “wxyz”
– I added info re controversial local development
– we are a small group, only a few people have password. And no one would go to the Agenda’s posting until I send them Notice of Meeting.
– there was a sudden run up in “hits” when I “updated” the posting.
– I removed some content and changed the password. The “hits” kept on going up.
– Hence my question: if someone encounters the requirement for a password that they don’t have, is it counted as a “hit”? even if they can’t actually access the posting?
– another thing happening just now: the “hits” counter showed something like “224”. When I returned a short time later, it shows “178” (I think it was.)

Any help in understanding what is happening will be appreciated! Thank-you.

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]