What is browser cache and how to clear it. Ways to clear the cache on a computer or laptop. What does clear cache mean?
This article will tell you what a cache is and what types there are. This question is often asked by computer users who do not fully understand the meaning of this term. There are several types of cache memory available on different devices. It is an integral part of the computer and is simply necessary for it to work properly. The article will describe the differences in detail and talk about when the cache should be cleared and what it will lead to.
What is cache memory?
A cache is a section of memory taken from the hard drive that stores information that is most often needed by your device's processor. It helps simplify the processor's work in cases where it needs to spend a long time searching or loading information. Simply put, this is information that is stored very close to the processor itself. That is, the device stores information or commands that are used most often in storage, this allows the device to quickly find the required material. The cache may vary. Let's say there is a cache on a computer, browser, or smartphone. Most often, the device places processed information in this memory area so as not to process it again and not waste extra time. What cache memory is is now clear. Let's see where it is used.
What is a computer cache?
The computer has RAM, which it uses to optimize its performance. Cache memory in a computer is a buffer between the processor and RAM. It is located close to the processor itself, so it is faster for it to use the information stored in it rather than get to the operational one.
Example of work
You can give an example of how cache memory works to properly understand its essence. A person needs to find out phone numbers that he does not remember. Finding telephone numbers in a directory will be equivalent to the processor searching for information in RAM. If these phone numbers are written down on a separate sheet, a person will be able to quickly find them out without searching in a directory. This piece of paper is an example of cache memory. The computer automatically uploads information there that can often be useful. This, of course, greatly optimizes the operation of the computer, thereby increasing its performance.
Browser cache
The browser also uses cache memory. He uploads information, pictures, sounds and more there. This can be seen in the way your browser opens a site you visit often faster than the one you visited for the first time. This happens because the browser “understands” that this site is often visited by you, and in order not to download information from it each time and waste time on it, it saves it in cache memory to optimize the work and save time . The browser uses hard drive space for this temporary storage. The browser cache size can be adjusted in the browser itself. But it is worth remembering that if it fills the entire space with information, then new information will be loaded there by displacing the old one, which is not used. You can easily clear your browser cache if you don't think you need it.
Cache for games on Android
Users of Android smartphones often wonder what cache is for Android. Most often it is required for games with 3D graphics, which require more space for additional materials. Sometimes for games it downloads itself when you enter the game. Using the Internet, the game independently downloads the information it requires and places it in storage. But sometimes it happens that the cache for a game needs to be placed in storage yourself. You can do this by following the instructions for installing the game. Most often, a game with a cache is installed as follows. The installation file is placed anywhere on your device, because this file just needs to be installed. The cache, in turn, must be placed in a specially designated place on your smartphone so that when the game starts, it begins to read information from the right place. If the cache is located where it is needed, the game will function smoothly. The place where you need to copy it is indicated in the game description.
What does "clear cache" mean?
Not many people know what “clear cache” is. This means deleting all the accumulated information on your device that is necessary to optimize the operation of your computer. This should only be done if absolutely necessary. Let's say that after deleting the browser cache, sites that you constantly use will take a little longer to load. After all, he will need to re-download all the information on the site. After deleting the cache on your smartphone, games that require it will not be able to launch without these materials.
A person must understand what clearing the cache means and know what it can lead to. Of course, sometimes situations arise when it is necessary to clean it. This may be due to memory overflow or problems that it can lead to. Sometimes it happens that the cache can interfere with the operation of the computer. This needs to be monitored. CCleaner can find caches on your system that you don't need and remove them. This program greatly helps optimize your computer's performance. It can check your computer for errors, clean the system registry, and also set programs to autoload when the computer starts. This can also be called an important function. After all, often the programs that we download from the Internet are automatically downloaded when Windows starts. If a large number of such programs are loaded when the computer starts, it may take a long time to turn on. The CCleaner program can easily fix this; you can set the autorun programs that you need and which you do not need when starting the system. When you already know what clearing the cache is, you need to find out in detail the reasons why you need to do it.
Why clear the cache?
One of the reasons why this memory needs to be cleared is due to free disk space. This is especially true for people who have multiple browsers. Each browser will take up space from your hard drive for its own personal cache, which can have a significant impact on memory.
It also saves the design of sites. Let's say if you visited the site, your browser will save its design. And after the new design is released, you will not be able to see it, since you will be shown the design saved in your cache. In addition, it also saves your browsing history. If you don't want anyone to be able to view the sites you visit, you can also clear it. Deleting excess cache from your smartphone will also be useful. Often games leave it when deleted. Therefore, there may be a cache of a game on your phone that is no longer on the computer, and this will take up quite a lot of memory. Considering that a smartphone does not have as much memory as a computer, this plays a big role. We hope this article gave you a general understanding and helped answer the question of what a cache is.
Many users of modern computers are familiar with the situation when the computer “thinks for a long time”; website pages load slowly, even if you visit them constantly. One of the main reasons for PC slowdown is a full cache. A cache is a storage of temporary information that takes up space in system memory, on your hard drive, and even in the Internet browsers you use.
Clearing the computer's memory cache. If the system memory cache is not cleared, temporary information will become permanent and may reduce system performance and cause computer applications to run slowly. To clear the memory cache, you need to create a shortcut on the desktop by right-clicking on it and selecting the “Create” – “Shortcut” option from the menu that opens. In the window that opens, enter the path to the file “%WINDIR%\system32\ rundll32 . exe ", where %WINDIR% is the directory of the computer in which the Windows operating system is located, and rundll32 . exe is an application used to run dll files. You can come up with any name for the shortcut you create, for example: “Clear cache” or “RAM Clear”. Run the program to clear memory. Clearing the DNS (Domain Name System) cache. Each site has its own individual IP address (for example, 125.0.0.5.). But remembering all the IP addresses of the sites you visit is simply unrealistic. To make it easier, users were offered letter designations for site names - site url (for example,). Each time they type a site name, the DNS service calculates which IP address the name corresponds to and provides the requested resource. To clear temporary files in the DNS service, you need to find the “ Command line Clearing the DNS (Domain Name System) cache. Each site has its own individual IP address (for example, 125.0.0.5.). But remembering all the IP addresses of the sites you visit is simply unrealistic. To make it easier, users were offered letter designations for site names - site url (for example,). Each time they type a site name, the DNS service calculates which IP address the name corresponds to and provides the requested resource. To clear temporary files in the DNS service, you need to find the “": "Start" menu - "Programs" tab - "Standard programs" - "
By periodically clearing your computer's cache, you not only increase the amount of free space on your hard drive, but also increase the speed of processing requests (launching a program, viewing photos/videos), by deleting unnecessary data.
On any computer hard drive there is a small piece of space called the browser cache. It is a kind of storage where fragments of visited sites are collected. In order to save Internet traffic and spend as little time as possible connecting to the necessary resources, the browser is able to save some pictures and other content.
When you frequently visit various sites, your computer's performance decreases, because even after closing the resource, unnecessary files remain in memory. To get rid of this problem, you need to try to remove the excess. To do this, you need to understand how to clear the cache. This procedure is extremely simple, but it is still worth considering it more closely.
How to clear your browser cache
Absolutely all Internet browsers have a function that can be used to clear your browsing history. When developing any browser, an interface is created that is designed to partially or completely clear the cache. This procedure is needed to clear temporary information about the pages visited. To carry out this operation, you just need to open a special browser window and indicate which files are to be deleted. Each individual Internet browser has its own cleaning algorithm.
Yandex ("Yandex") browser
Instructions for users who do not know how to clear the cache in Yandex:
- Click on the icon in the right corner of the browser to open the menu.
- In the menu that appears, select the “Advanced” tab and click on it.
- In the next list that opens, you must select “Clear history.”
- A pop-up window will offer several cleaning methods to choose from. It is possible to clear the cache within a certain period of time. Select the appropriate option.
- In order to clear the cache along with the browser history, check “Files saved in the cache.”
- Uncheck those options that are not needed.
- Confirm the start of the deletion by clicking on the "Clear history" icon.
Opera Internet browser
How to clear the Opera browser cache:
- Click the Opera icon located in the upper left corner of the browser, near the tabs.
- In the window that appears, select "Settings".
- In the next block, open the “General Settings” section.
- Next, select the “Advanced” option.
- On the left we find the “History” icon and click on it.
- From the options presented, select “Disk cache” and click on the “Clear” button.
- You can check the “Clear on exit” option, then when you end the session and close the browser, the program itself will delete all files accumulated during the session.
Browser Mozilla Firefox ("Mozilla")
Let's look at how to clear history and cache files in this browser:
- On the menu bar, which is located above the search bar in the browser, you need to find the “Tools” item and click on it.
- In the list that opens, select “Settings”.
- Then in the window that opens, go to the “Advanced” section and open “Network”.
- In the list that appears, you need to find “Offline storage” and select the “Clean up now” option.
In addition, it is possible to use the hotkey combination Ctrl+Shift+H. This combination allows you to delete from memory the data that was saved during the last session. To visit, delete sites and files that were downloaded from them, press Ctrl+H. The described combinations are relevant for all versions of Mozilla. If the actions taken do not speed up the work of the Internet browser, it makes sense to check the current version of the browser for relevance. Perhaps it just needs updating.
Google Chrome ("Google Chrome")
This Internet browser is widely considered the fastest, and if it starts to freeze, this is a signal that it urgently needs cleaning. Below are instructions that tell you how to clear the cache:
- Open the settings panel. This can be done by clicking on the corresponding button, which is located in the upper right corner of the browser.
- Select the "Tools" item.
- Next, from the menu that opens, check “Show additional settings” and “Clear history”.
- In the menu that opens, indicate the period for which you want to delete the information.
- Place a checkmark next to the "Images and other files" block.
- We check that other marks have been removed.
- By clicking on the "Clear history" button, we confirm the deletion of data.
Above we talked about how to clear the cache in the Google Chrome browser. If you need to delete your website history, check the appropriate box in the saved data management menu. You should also know that if you log into the browser in incognito mode (hot keys - Shift+Ctrl+N), it will not save your browsing history.
Internet Explorer ("Internet Explorer")
The standard browser for Windows is Internet Explorer, and although it has very limited capabilities, many people use it. Let's analyze the algorithm of actions:
- Open the program menu and select the “Service” option (if the menu is not displayed by default, press Alt on the keyboard).
- In the section that opens, select “Delete browsing history.”
- In the window that appears, check the box next to the “Temporary Internet files” block.
- If, apart from deleting temporary data, nothing else is required, uncheck all unnecessary checkboxes and click the “Delete” button to confirm the action.
Safari
When using the normal settings of the Safari Internet browser, the folder containing temporary files is located in the following path: Documents and Settings, directory “[User Name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple\Safari”.
Let's look at how to clear the cache in the Safari browser:
- Open the main menu and select "Reset Safari".
- In the options window that pops up, check the box next to “Delete all website data.”
- We check that all other marks have been removed.
- We confirm the operation by clicking on the “Reset” button.
If, after all the work done, Internet pages still load poorly, you should clear the Windows cache.
Almost all programs create temporary files when running, which will slow down Windows, so they need to be deleted. Now let's look at how to clear the cache on your computer:
- Open "Start".
- We go along the path - "All programs - Standard".
- Launch Command Prompt as administrator (right mouse button).
- In the window that opens, enter the command - ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
- Ready!
Since nowadays people are increasingly using various gadgets, it is worth considering ways to clean them.
"Android"
Let's look at how to clear the cache on Android.
The cache of this system and all applications that run on this platform is cleared in two different ways:
- Using the built-in utility.
- By launching one of the special programs (for example, Clean Master).
Clearing the cache using the utility is safer, since the system will not harm itself. But when using third-party programs you need to be extremely careful.
iPhone
Now let's look at how to clear the cache on an iPhone.
On an iPhone, first of all, you need to clear the Safari browser, and then find and download an application that will clear the iPhone’s memory. The best program for this purpose is Battery Doctor.
Many of us have come across this word, but not everyone knows what a cache is? This is the name for a special place that is allocated on the hard drive of each computer and is used to store copies of the pages that you have visited. This was done to save traffic and quickly load the necessary pages. So, once you visit any of the sites, its fragments are saved in the memory of your hard drive.
What is browser cache
Every day we go to a huge number of sites where photos, videos, and text are located. If we come here for the first time, then all the information we receive, both graphic and text, is loaded directly from the server. If all the settings on your computer are made correctly, then after opening the site for the first time, all data about it will be saved on your hard drive in a specially designated place.
You can evaluate all the advantages of caching yourself. To do this, load the main page of any site using the mobile Internet. Type any query into the search bar, then follow the link. After that, return back to the main page. You'll notice that it opened faster this time, and that's because the data was loaded from your cache the second time.
Each webmaster sets the settings of his resource purely individually. If a web resource is created on platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and the like, then caching will be available to the developer in the form of plugins.
When clearing the cache, all data about previously visited sites is deleted from there. What is it for?
Why do you clear the cache?
It is recommended to clear your cache periodically. This is due to the fact that sometimes some pages may not be displayed correctly for us due to the fact that some changes have appeared in them, and our browser automatically loads the version saved on it.
If viruses or malware are detected on your computer, it is also recommended, along with treatment, to clear the cache to prevent re-infection.
How to clear cache
Let's look at the procedure for clearing the cache using popular browsers as an example:
- Internet Explorer. The browser offers to clear the cache as follows. Find the “Service” item and select “Delete browsing history.” A window will open next to “Temporary Internet files”, where you need to check the box. Then click “Delete”.
- Google Chrome. Having decided to clear the cache in this browser, we find an item in the menu called “Tools”, where there is “Show additional settings”. The next step is to click “Clear History”. Here you can also choose what exactly you want to delete – “Images and files”, “For the entire period”. Having selected the required item, click “Clear history”. The cache has been deleted.
- Mozilla Firefox. Find and open “Settings” in the menu of this browser, then the “Advanced” tab. There we find the “Network” item and go through the content, finding “Cache web content”. Nearby we see the “Clear Now” button, after clicking on it, our cache will be cleared.
- Opera. In the “Settings” section, select “Security”. We find “Clear browsing history”, where in the “Delete the following elements” section, select “From the very beginning”, where there is “Clear history”, click the found button.
- Yandex. Browser. To clear the cache of this browser, select the tab called “Tools” in the open menu, then select “Deleting browsing data”. A list will open in front of you where it says “Delete specified items”. In this list, select “All time”. By checking the box next to “Clear cache”. To clear our cache, all you have to do is click on “Clear history”.
Or a computer designed to store temporary files. Everything you find on the Internet is saved: web pages, pictures, videos. Of course, they are not saved entirely, but only partially, in order to make it easier to access this information when you want to view it again. But over time, this data accumulates and can amount to hundreds of megabytes, which slow down all processes associated with the operation of the application. Therefore, it is important to know how to clear your browser cache.
There is nothing complicated, you will see for yourself that deleting unnecessary temporarily saved data is easy and quick. But each program: Yandex, Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome - they are cleaned in a certain way. Therefore, for each of them, it is important to know how to clear the cache of the browser you use most often.
The most common browser today, so it would be logical to start with how to clear cached data from Google Chrome.
Everything is very simple with him:
- Go to the “History” tab (ctrl+H).
- Click “Clear history”.
- We select only the item related to saved files and images.
- “All time” period.
- Click “Clear history”.
Click clear history
All! We were able to clean saved Google Chrome files in five simple steps.
Temporary files, as well as all site visits through the application, are not saved entirely if you use the Incognito mode. This tip also applies to other browsers. On Google Chrome, this mode is activated by pressing ctrl+shift+N. Other browsers almost always have the same key combination. But the “Incognito” mode is inconvenient to use all the time, since no data will be saved at all: visited pages, passwords, cookies.
Yandex
Yandex.Browser is the second most popular after Chrome, sometimes even ahead of it. On Yandex, temporary files are also easy to clean, the instructions will be almost the same, except that the buttons are called a little differently.
- Press the button at the top with three sticks.
- Select the “Advanced” tab.
- Then "Clear history".
Advanced - Clear history
- The period is “All the time”, and the checkbox is only next to the line with cached files.
- Click “Clear”.
You can quickly get to the tab where you need to clear the history using the combination ctrl+shift+delete.
There is also a new Yandex.Browser, but the algorithm for clearing cached data is no different.
Opera
Modern versions of Opera offer the same easy way to delete cached data as in previous applications. With Opera, just like with Chrome or Yandex, you don’t have to worry about clearing the browser cache.
- Ctrl+shift+delete, the history clearing window appears.
- We set the desired period, check the box only for the line with cached images and files.
- Click “Clear...”.
Opera 12
Things are a little more complicated with Opera 12. There, to clear temporary data, you need to:
- Go to the general settings of the program.
- Open the “Advanced” tab.
- Item "History".
- Opposite the “Disk cache” line, click the “Clear” button.
Clear cache in Opera 12
You can also put a checkmark next to the corresponding inscription, so that all unnecessary data will be cleared when exiting the program.
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is also one of the most popular applications for surfing the Internet, is still used by many today, and also has a number of advantages. Thanks to the modern design in Mozilla, any user can easily clear temporary information.
- In the menu we find the settings button.
- Open "Privacy".
- Click on the button responsible for deleting recent history.
- We put the marker on “Cache” and remove from the remaining items.
- Click “Delete now”.
Auto cleaning
Like on Opera 12, on Mozilla Firefox you can make the program clean unnecessary data on its own.
- On the “Privacy” tab we find “History deletion settings”.
- Check the box next to “Cache” and click “OK”.
Now Mozilla will independently get rid of temporary data after exiting the program.
Internet Explorer
10 and 11 versions
New versions delete cached data in the same way as in most previous programs.
- Ctrl+shift+delete.
- We put a marker on the item regarding temporary files.
- Click “Delete”.
In the application settings, you can also enable the automatic cleaning option through the “Browser History”.
8 and 9 versions
In Internet Explorer 8/9, the cache can be cleared in a similar way. However, the buttons and options will have slightly different names.
- Open “Service” in the menu located at the top.
- Find "Delete browsing history".
- Select the item related to temporary data and mark only it.
- Click “Delete”.
Automatic deletion of cached data is also enabled.
Now you understand how easy it is to perform such an operation as clearing the browser cache. It is advisable to perform it periodically so that the speed of the application, on which the speed of the Internet depends, always remains as high as possible.
