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Internet Explorer cache | Firefox cache | Mozilla cache | Opera cache | Netscape cache | AOL cache
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Internet Cache
Everything you want to know about Internet cache
 What is cache?
In order to speed up web browsing, web browsers download web pages and store them locally on your PC in cache. When you visit the same page again, your browser speeds up display time by loading the page locally from cache instead of downloading everything again. So Internet cache (also known as Temporary Internet files) stores the content of all web pages that you have visited (including pictures, animation, movies, other downloads, etc) during a session.
How and why to clear cache
Why you should clear cache
- Although storing Internet cache files makes web browsing faster as it usually takes your computer less time to display a web page when it can open page's elements or even the entire page from your local Temporary Internet Files folder, Internet cache can threat to your privacy because everyone who has access to your computer can see some personal information by simply opening the cache folder. Anyone can see what videos you've watched, what pictures you've seen, where you've been online and more.
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- Clearing cache can also significantly improve the speed and performance of your browser.
To protect your privacy, you should use Clear All History - cache cleaner software.
See how to clear cache for all major web browsers
How cache (Temporary Internet files) affect your PC work
As you view webpages, files and pictures associated with those pages are stored in cache (Temporary Internet Files folder) on your computer. Internet cache speeds up the display of pages you frequently visit or have already seen because your browser can open them from your computer instead of from the web.
If you surf the Internet a lot and have enough space on your PC, you might want to increase the size of your cache (Temporary Internet Files folder) as increasing cache space can increase the speed of displaying of previously visited pages. But if you you increase cache size, it decreases the amount of space available for other files on your computer.
Depending on you needs you can easily choose how much space is set for cache (Temporary Internet files).
Note: Files stored in your cache take up space, so from time to time, you may want to clear out files stored in your cache to free up some space on your computer.
See how to:
change cache size
change cache settings
clear browser cache
How to clear cache
Instructions to clear cache for various browsers:
How to clear cache in Internet Explorer
Clearing cache in Internet Explorer 7.0:
• Select Tools -> Internet Options.
• Open 'General' tab.
• In 'Browsing history' area click 'Delete' button.
• In 'Delete browsing history' window click 'Delete files'. This will delete all the files that are currently stored in your cache.
• Click 'Yes', and then click 'Close'.
To clear cache in Internet Explorer 6.x/5.x
• Open 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Internet Options'.
• Open 'General tab'.
• In 'Temporary Internet files' area click 'Delete Files' button.
• Click OK in 'Delete Files' dialog box to clear cache.
Also you can clear cache using Clear All History
Note: in Internet Explorer even if you clear cache manually, cache index.dat file stores information which can show where you have been online. This file can't be deleted manually as it is used by Windows all the time. Using Clear All History you can easily delete cache index.dat file.
How to clear cache in Internet Explorer automatically when you close it
You can adjust your Internet Explorer settings to automatically clear cache whenever you close Internet Explorer:
• Open 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Internet Options'.
• Open 'Advanced' tab.
• In 'Settings' box, scroll down to the section 'Security' and select 'Empty Temporary Internet Files folder' when browser is closed option.
• Click OK to finish.
Note: This option does not delete cookies, but it will clear your cache of other files when you close your browser.
How to clear cache in Firefox
To clear cache in Firefox 2.0:
• Select 'Tools'
• Select 'Options'.
• Select 'Privacy'.
• In Private area click 'Clear Now'.
• In 'Clear Private Data' window put the check mark for 'Cache' and click 'Clear Private Data Now'.
• Click OK.
To clear cache in Firefox 1.5
• Select 'Tools'
• Select 'Options'.
• Select 'Privacy'.
• Open 'Cache' tab and click 'Clear Cache Now'.
• Click OK.
To clear cache in Firefox 1.0
• Select 'Tools'
• Select 'Options'.
• Select 'Privacy'.
• Click 'Clear' next to 'Cache' section.
• Click Ok.
How to clear browser cache in Mozilla
To clear browser cache in Mozilla:
• Select 'Edit'.
• Select 'Preferences'.
• Open 'Advanced' sub-categories and select 'Cache'.
• Click 'Clear Cache' button.
• Click OK to clear cache.
How to clear browser cache in Opera
To clear cache in Opera 9.x/8.x:
• Select Tools -> Preferences.
• Open Advanced sub-categories and select 'History'.
• Select 'Empty now' next to 'Disk Cache' and 'Memory Cache'.
• Click OK to clear cache.
To disable cache in Opera 9.x/8.x:
• Select Tools -> Preferences.
• Open Advanced sub-categories and select 'History'.
• Click on the dropdown for 'Disk Cache' and select Off.
How can I clear cache in Opera 7.x
• Select 'Edit'.
• Select 'Preferences'.
• Open the Advanced sub-categories and select 'History'.
• Select 'Empty now' next to 'Disk Cache' and 'Memory Cache' to delete all cach.
If you want to clear cache automatically every time you exit Opera, put check mark for 'Empty on exit' option.
• Click OK.
How to clear browser cache in Netscape
Clearing cache in Netscape Navigator 9.X
• Open 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Options'.
• Open the Privacy tab.
• Click 'Clear Now' under the Private Data section.
• Check 'Cache' and 'Clear Private Data Now'.
• Click OK.
To clear browser cache in Netscape browser 8.x
• Open the 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Options'.
• Open the Privacy tab.
• Select 'Cache'.
• To clear cache click 'Clear' button.
If you want to clear cache on browser exit, select 'Clear cache on browser exit' option.
To clear cache in Netscape Navigator 7.x/6.x
• Select 'Edit'.
• Select 'Preferences'.
• Open the Advanced sub-categories and select 'Cache'.
• Click 'Clear Disk Cache' and 'Clear Memory Cache' buttons.
• Click OK to clear cache.
How to clear cache in AOL
To clear cache in AOL 9.0
• Click Start, select Settings -> Control Panel.
• Double-click 'Internet Options'.
• Click 'Delete Files'.
• Click OK.
Clearing cache in AOL 8.x/7.x
• Click Start, select Settings -> Control Panel.
• Double-click 'Internet Options'.
• Click 'Delete Files'.
• Click OK.
How to change cache size
A larger cache allows more data to be quickly retrieved, but more of your hard disk space is used.
How to change cache size in Internet Explorer
To change the size of browser cache (space used by Temporary Internet Files folder) in Internet Explorer 7.0:
• Open 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Internet Options'.
• Open 'General' tab.
• Click 'Settings' button in Browsing history area.
• In 'Temporary Internet Files and History Settings' window in 'Disk space to use' set the maximum amount of disk space allowed for cache. Recommended space for Temporary Internet Files folder (cache) - 50 - 250 (MB).
• Click OK.
To change the size of cache (browser cache) in Internet Explorer 6.x/5.x:
• Open 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Internet Options'.
• Open 'General' tab.
• In 'Temporary Internet files' section click 'Settings' button.
• In 'Settings' box, under 'Amount of disk space to use', slide the bar to the right/left to increase/decrease the amount of disk space used by the Temporary Internet Files folder (cache).
• Click OK.
How to change the size of disk space for cache in Firefox
Pages you view are normally stored in a special cache folder for quicker viewing the next time you visit the same page. You can specify the amount of disk space the cache can use here.
When you quit Internet Explorer, it performs cache maintenance. If maintenance takes longer than you wish, you can decrease the size of disk cache.
To change cache size in Firefox 2.0:
• Select 'Tools'
• Select 'Options'.
• Open 'Privacy' tab and select 'Cache' sub-category.
• In "Use up to ... MB of disk space for the cache" set how many MB of disk space you want to use for storing cache. The default size is 50MB.
When you quit Firefox, it performs cache maintenance. If maintenance takes longer than you wish, you may decrease cache size.
Changing cache size in Mozilla
To change the size of disk space for cache in Mozilla:
• Select 'Edit'.
• Select 'Preferences'.
• Open 'Advanced' sub-categories and select 'Cache'.
• Set how many MB of disk space you want to use for storing cache.
When you quit Mozilla, it performs cache maintenance. If maintenance takes longer than you wish, you can decrease the size of disk cache.
How to change cache size in Opera
To change the size of disk space for cache in Opera (increase cache size / decrease cache size):
• Open the Tools menu.
• Select Preferences.
• Open the Advanced sub-categories and select "Cache".
• Set disk space and memory space.
• Click OK.
Note: Setting the disk cache to zero does not mean that nothing is written to disk, but that it will be avoided as far as possible.
How to change cache size in Netscape browser 8.1
To change cache size (increase cache/decreasecache) in Netscape browser:
• Open the 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Options'.
• Open the Privacy tab.
• Select 'Cache'.
• In "Use up to ... KB of disk space for the cache" set how many KB of disk space you want to use for storing cache.
How to change cache settings
Cache settings in Internet Explorer
How Internet Explorer cache settings affect your web browsing
The more files you can load from your hard disk, the faster your browsing speed but these pages might have changed since being stored on your computer. Internet Explorer provides n easy way to set how often you want Internet Explorer checks for updated content.
Update cache settings in Internet Explorer
Every visit to the page
When you return to a page you viewed previously, Internet Explorer should check to see whether the page changed since you last viewed it. If the page has changed, Internet Explorer displays the new page and stores it in the Temporary Internet Files. Note: selecting this option can slow down web browsing.
Every time you start Internet Explorer
When you view a web page that you have visited before in the same Internet Explorer session, Internet Explorer uses cached temporary Internet files instead of downloading the page.
Automatically
If you select this setting, Internet Explorer checks for new content only when you return to a page that you viewed in an earlier session of Internet Explorer or on an earlier day. Over time, if Internet Explorer determines that images on the page are changing infrequently, it checks for newer images even less frequently.
Never
Internet Explorer does not check for newer content.
You can easily change cache settings in Internet Explorer to improve browsing performance.
Tip: To find what fits your needs best, you may try several combinations of update cache settings and cache size.
How to change cache setting in Internet Explorer
To change the size of browser cache (space used by Temporary Internet Files folder) in Internet Explorer 7.0:
• Open 'Tools' menu.
• Select 'Internet Options'.
• Open 'General' tab.
• Click 'Settings' button in Browsing history area.
• In 'Temporary Internet Files and History Settings' window there are four ways to check for newer versions of pages that are stored in the Temporary Internet Files folder:
- Every visit to the page - you're assured of the most current content, but it's slower to browse previously viewed pages;
- Every time you start Internet Explorer - Internet Explorer checks for new information on your first visit to a web page, but not on subsequent visit(s) in the same browsing session.
- Automatically - Internet Explorer checks for new information automatically
- Never: Internet Explorer does not check for newer content
• Click OK.
Cache settings in Mozilla
Your computer stores copies of frequently visited web pages in the cache on your hard drive. This way, the computer doesn't have to retrieve the page from the network each time you view it.
To set cache settings:
• Select 'Edit'.
• Select 'Preferences'.
• Open 'Advanced' sub-categories and select 'Cache'.
Disk cache is saved to your hard disk and can be used again even if you have turned your computer off. When you exit Mozilla, it performs cache maintenance. If maintenance takes longer than you wish, you can reduce the size of the disk cache.
Cache size - size of the memory cache. NoteL A larger memory cache allows more data to be quickly retrieved.
Clear Cache - click this button to clear the disk cache.
Cache Folder - Shows the current location of the disk cache folder. Using Choose Folder button you can choose a folder location for the disk cache.
Compare the page in the cache to the page on the network
- Every time I view the page - select this if you want Mozilla to compare a web page to the cache every time you view it
- When the page is out of date - select this option if you want Mozilla to compare a web page to the cache when the page is determined by the server to have expired.
- Once per session - select this option if you want Mozilla to compare a web page to the cache each time you start Mozilla.
- Never - select this option if you do not want Mozilla to compare cached information to the network.
If pages that should be in the cache are taking longer to appear than they should, make sure the preference is not set to "Every time I view the page," because the verification requires a network connection that takes time.
Opera Cache settings
Memory cache
Opera uses your computer's memory to temporarily store recently visited Web pages.
Disk cache
Opera stores pages locally so that you can access them quickly when you revisit them. Increase the disk cache if you want to keep more local copies of Web pages, and keep them longer.
By default, Opera will cache all content (documents, images, and other content) on Web pages.
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