Cleaning the Cache, Cookies, and Other Simple Maintenance Tasks

A cache and cookie might sound like a good thing, but they both can actually clutter your hard drive with outdated information. To find these items and more, you will need to open Internet Explorer. The Internet browser uses these features to make your browsing life easier.

Internet Explorer uses a cache to temporarily store visited pages. This simple act makes those pages load faster upon a subsequent visit. However, the cache can become very large over time and quite unnecessary. You should regularly purge the cache of your browser to increase the healthiness of your hard drive.

A cookie is a file which can tell a site who you are. For instance, a Yahoo cookie would tell their website that you have returned and fill your login information, which effectively means they remember you. However, there are cookies that can be bad. (Who has ever heard of a bad cookie!?) These cookies may track your behavior across the Internet, logging the sites you visit and more, and then report that information back to a central server.

So what should you do? You should delete the cookies and the cache on your computer periodically, not only to free up space on your hard drive, but also to eliminate those pesky cookies that may be tracking your activity. 

1. Start Internet Explorer from your programs list.
2. Select Tools from the toolbar.
3. Choose Internet Options.
4. A window opens where you can manage your browser settings. Under Browsing History, select Delete.
   
   

   

5. One by one you can purge the system of unwanted and unneeded files. Choose Delete next to each item.
   
   
   

This simple act can help keep your hard drive healthy. While it’s not necessary to do, it can free up hard disk space and purge any festering items from the system.