What does "cache" mean? How does it affect my Internet experience?

Each time you visit a Web site, your browser is capable of storing a copy of the pages you visit on your hard drive. This is called "caching." Most browsers, by default, store these pages automatically. The reason they store the pages on your hard drive is that, in theory, when you revisit a Web site, the page on that site will load faster if it is called up from your local machine rather than waiting for the page from the server.

The problem with this process is that if you are looking at a "cached" page from your local machine, you will not see the most recent version of the page. If the page has changed since your last visit, you won't see the changes. Also, caching can interfere with filling out forms on Web sites.

Therefore, a good practice is to make sure your browser is set up to "never" store pages and always retrieve the newest page from the Web server. Here is how to do it.

Internet Explorer users

In your browser, go to the menu at the top and select TOOLS.
Go to INTERNET OPTIONS.
Go to the GENERAL tab.
Look at the section named "Temporary Internet Files" and click the SETTINGS button.
Select the option that reads, "Check for newer versions of stored pages EVERY VISIT TO THE PAGE."
Save your changes and exit window.

Netscape users

In your browser, go to the menu at the top and select EDIT.
Go to PREFERENCES.
Look for the ADVANCED tab and click on it.
Look for "CACHE" and select the option that reads, "Compare the page in the cache to the page on the network EVERY TIME I VIEW THE PAGE."
Save your changes and exit window.

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