What is Cache, Cookies, and History and How Do You Clear Them...

Each time you access a file through your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc), the browser caches (i.e., stores) it so it doesn't have to keep retrieving the same files or images from the remote web site each time you click Back or Forward. You should periodically clear the cache to allow your browser to function more efficiently.

A cookie is a file created by a web browser, at the request of a web site, that is stored on a computer. These files typically store user-specific information such as selections in a form, shopping cart contents, or authentication data. Browsers will normally clear cookies that reach a certain age, but clearing them manually may solve problems with web sites or your browser.

A browser's history is a log of sites that you visit. When you press a browser's Back button, you are moving back one entry in the history log. Browsers will normally clear history at regular intervals, but you may want to clear it manually for privacy reasons.

See below on how to delete cache, cookies and history for your browser version. To find out what browser version you are on, select the Help button at the top of your browser window and select the About option.

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Internet Explorer 8 and above

  1. Select the dropdown arrow for the 'Safety' menu option found in the upper right of the window.
  2. Click Delete Browsing History... .
  3. Deselect Preserve Favorites Website Data
  4. Select Temporary Internet files, Cookies, and History.
  5. Click Delete.

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Firefox 7.0 and above for Windows

  1. Select Tools from the menu options found across the top of the window.
  2. From the Tools menu, select Clear Recent History... .
  3. From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything.
  4. Click the down arrow next to "Details" to choose what history elements to clear (e.g., check Cookies to clear cookies,check cache to clear cache, etc).
  5. Click Clear Now.

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Chrome

  1. In the upper right of the window, select the picture of a wrench
  2. Select the Tools option
  3. From the Tools menu, select Clear browsing data... .
  4. Select the items you want to clear (e.g., Clear browsing history, Clear download history, Empty the cache, Delete cookies).
  5. You can choose the period of time for which you want to clear cached information from the Clear data from this period drop-down menu. To clear your entire cache, select the beginning of time.
  6. Click Clear browsing data.

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Safari

  1. From the Safari menu, select Reset Safari... .
  2. From the menu, select the items you want to reset, and then click Reset.

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Firefox for Mac OS X

  1. From the Tools menu, select Clear Recent History.
  2. From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything.
  3. Click the down arrow next to "Details" to choose which elements to clear. Click Clear Now.

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Mobile Safari for iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)

To clear cache and cookies:

  1. From the home screen, tap Settings, and then tap Safari.
  2. At the bottom of Safari's settings screen, tap the buttons for Clear Cookies and Clear Cache. To confirm, tap Clear Cookies or Clear Cache again.

To clear history:

  1. From the home screen, tap Safari.
  2. At the bottom of the screen, Safari's settings screen, tap the button for Clear History. To confirm, tap Clear History again.

 

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