Cache

Wikipedia defines “cache” as the following:

“In computer science, a cache (pronounced /kæ/, like “cash”) is a collection of data duplicating original values stored elsewhere or computed earlier, where the original data is expensive to fetch (owing to longer access time) or to compute, compared to the cost of reading the cache.”

Now for the layman. Cache is simply a place in your computer where data is stored, of places that you frequently go to so that the next time you want to go there, all the variables are easily accessible. You don’t have to “find” them again.

Simply put, imagine, you spend one hour on the internet. You have visited over 50 different sites or pages of sites. The first time you visit each page or site, the door is locked. So the internet gives you a key so that you may enter the page or site. Each key is then stored in the cache so that if you want to go back there later, the door is already unlocked. All you have to do is walk in. This explanation is very simplistic but I am sure that you get the idea.

Cache is also known as Temporary Internet Files which is covered below.

Anyway, I have set my personal computer up so that each time I turn it off, I throw away the keys. By doing this, I am freeing up memory and space on my hard drive for the next time that I use it.
If you would like to just set your computer up to do this, then this is what you have to do.

Temporary Internet Files

The Temporary Internet Files are a record of the sites and pages within the sites that you have visited. To free up some space on your hard drive, you can delete your Temporary Internet files easily using the method that your browser offers. To do this, see below…

To delete your cookies, just press the “Delete Files…” button as indicated in GREEN in the image below. Another small window will come up asking you if you would like to delete all files in the Temporary Internet Files. Note that there is also a check box if you wish to delete your offline content too. This refers to any sites that you have actually SAVED on your computer so you can view them when you are not online.

Now there is a way that you can set your computer up to limit the amount of Temporary Internet Files your computer keeps on the hard drive.

If you click on the “Settings…” button as shown by the BLUE in the picture above, you will get another popup window as shown in the picture below.

In this window, you will be able to see how much space is reserved for your Temporary Internet Files. Generally by default, it is quite high. As you can see by the setting in the RED box below, I have set mine to only 2MB. You can set yours to anything you wish.

Just a recommendation: If you are connected to the internet via high speed, you can set your temporary internet Files space to 2 to 5MB. If you are using a Dial Up connection, I would recommend that you set it around 10MB.