How to Clear a Browser Cache

By learning to clear a cache you are freeing up space on your computers memory, thus enabling it to go faster, and you are also safeguarding yourself against some unwarranted security and privacy threats. Your web browser stores up all the information that you access with it, and sometimes an overload of this data can cause the browser and the machine to slow down drastically.

Information regarding web pages, downloaded content, images, text and other files are stored in the browser cache and this needs to be filtered or cleared out on a regular basis, along with the Internet cookies. Typically, all this information is stored in a 'Temporary Internet Files' folder that you can easily locate on the machine. If you are really interested in cleaning out a browser cache, you must know that this process is different for different web browsers.

Internet Explorer

If you are using Internet Explorer provided by Microsoft, you must follow these instructions in order to clear your browser cache.

• Open Internet Explorer and click on the 'Tools' menu. Now choose the 'Delete Browsing History' menu.
• Alternately, open Internet Explorer and press 'Ctrl + Shift + Delete'. This will open the 'Delete Browsing History' window.
• Now tick against the option that says 'Temporary Internet Files'.
• Now click on 'Delete' at the bottom of the window to clear your browser cache.

This method will successfully clear your browser cache if you are using Internet Explorer.

Mozilla Firefox

The method that you use will also depend on the version of Firefox that you are using. If you are using version 3.5 or 3.6, follow these instructions.

• Open Firefox and then click on the 'Tools' tab. Now select 'Clear Recent History'.
• Alternately, you can also open the 'Clear Recent History' window by opening Firefox and pressing 'Ctrl + Shift + Delete'.
• Now you need to select 'Everything' from the box beside the option 'Time Range to Clear'.
• Now click on 'Details' and then select 'Cache'.
• By pressing 'Clear Now' you are clearing the cache from Firefox.

Note that this method will only work for version 3.5 or 3.6. For lower versions of Firefox, follow these instructions.

• Open Firefox and click on the 'Tools' tab. Now select 'Clear Private Data'.
• You can also open the 'Clear Private Data' window automatically, by opening Firefox and then pressing 'Ctrl + Shift + Delete'.
• Now all you need to do is select the box next to 'Cache' and then click on 'Clear Private Data now'.

This is how you can clear a browser cache in Firefox.

Google Chrome

Chrome is the newest web browser offered by Google, and it has many new features as compared to Mozilla Firefox. Here are the instructions in order to do it on Google Chrome.

• Open Chrome and click on the Tools menu. You will find this menu-tab in the shape of a spanner or a wrench in the upper right corner of your browser.
• Now click on 'Options'. In the new window that opens, select the 'Under the Hood' tab and then select 'Clear Browsing Data'.
• Now select the box next to 'Empty the Cache' and then click on 'Clear Browsing Data'.
• You can select and de-select other items on this checklist too. You can also set the time period for things to be deleted, by selecting the appropriate option from the drop-down box.

Following this method will clear the cache from your Google Chrome web browser. These methods are very similar to the ones you will apply to erase search history.

Macintosh

If you are using an Apple Mac the process of clearing the cache will be slightly different for you. Follow these instructions to clear the cache on a Mac.

• If you are using Safari 3.0, open Safari.
• Now go to a non LexisNexis page.
• Click on the 'Safari' menu and then click on 'Empty Cache'.
• You will get a window to re-confirm your decision. Click on the 'Empty' button.

If you are using Safari 4.0 you must follow the same steps. Instead of the 'Empty Cache' option you will see 'Reset Safari'.

• If you are using Firefox 3.5 for Macintosh you need to open Firefox.
• Now got to a non LexisNexis page, and click on 'Tools' on the menu bar.
• Now select 'Clear Recent History' and select 'Everything' from the drop-down box beside the 'Time Range to Clear' option.
• Open the drop-down box under 'Details', and select 'Cache'.
• Click on 'Clear Now' and then click on OK.

This method will clear your browser cache on a Macintosh.

Hopefully, this will answer your question, "How do I empty browser cache?". Once you have read these instructions you can attempt to clear the cache on your computers web browser. Clearing a browser cache is very simple indeed, as you can see from these instructions. Doing so will help your computer perform better.