Temporary Internet Files
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Temporary Internet Files is a directory on Microsoft Windows computer systems. The directory is used by Internet Explorer to cache pages on websites visited by the user. This allows such websites to load more quickly the next time they are visited.
[edit] Overview
Each time a user visits a website using Microsoft Internet Explorer, files downloaded with each web page (including html, images, Cascading Style Sheets and JavaScript scripts) are saved to the Temporary Internet Files folder, created a cache of the web page on the local computer's hard disk, or other form of digital data storage. The next time the user visits the cached website, only changed content needs to be downloaded from the Internet; the unchanged data is available in the cache.
Despite the name 'temporary', the cache of a website remains stored on the hard disk until the user manually clears the cache. This is often regarded as a privacy issue [1] [2] [3], because anyone with access to the computer can view the cache. The contents of the folder are indexed using an index.dat file, a form of database.
On Windows XP, the cache is usually located at %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files (where %USERPROFILE% is an environment variable pointing to the root directory of the logged-in user's user profile). However, the cache may be moved by changing a value in the registry. On Windows Vista, the cache is usually located at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files and %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Low\Content.IE5 for Internet Explorer 7 (the setting for 'Hide protected operating system files' must be disabled for the files to be visible).
However, the Temporary Internet Files cache can be useful in certain situations. For example, if no Internet connection is available, previously cached websites are still available offline. Depending on the type of website and how often it is updated, the cached data may not reflect the online version of the website. The cache is also useful for police to collect forensic evidence.
The cache can be cleared by using Internet Options within the Internet Explorer interface, but this method is subject to deletion privacy issues. Many alternative tools exist to erase the data instead.
[edit] External links
- CleanUp! - a free utility to delete Temporary Internet Files, as well as many other temporary files from one's computer.
- Guide to Temporary Internet File settings in IE
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