Delete cookies, temp files and web tracks

Cookies, temporary files, and Web tracks do two undesirable things: they clutter your hard drive and they reveal information about your Web whereabouts. In either case, deleting cookies, temp files, and Web tracks can clear up disk space (and lead to better performance) and provide you with an added layer of privacy. While it may seem like a lot of work, it’s not that difficult to do. Here’s how.

Internet Explorer

We’ll start by using Internet Explorer 8.0 as an example as this is the current version of one of the most popular Web browsers in existence. The steps for other Web browsers are similar, though the wording will vary somewhat. Start by launching Internet Explorer and click on the Tools menu. From there, click on Internet Options. The General tab displays by default. Find the “Browsing history” section and click on Delete. A new window appears listing items for deletion including: Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Form Data, Passwords, and InPrivate Filtering Data. Place a tick mark in the box for any item that you want to delete and then click the Delete button. Back in the General tab, if you are concerned about Web tracks, check the box that says, “Delete browsing history on exit.” Click OK to confirm your choice and exit out of Internet Options.

Internet Explorer 8.0 has added a new feature that you can use when you will be visiting Web sites that you don’t necessarily want other users to know about. This feature is called InPrivate Browsing. For example, if you plan on visiting Web sites that you don’t want other users to be aware of such as online banking sites accessed from a public computer, turning on InPrivate browsing will not store cookies, temporary files, history, or other private data during the InPrivate browsing session.

Mozilla Firefox

The process for deleting cookies, temp files, and Web tracks is even easier in Mozilla Firefox. Simply launch Firefox and click on Tools followed by Clear Private Data. A small box appears with a list of user-selectable items such as: Browsing History, Download History, Cookies, Cache, Offline Website Data, Saved Passwords, and Authenticated Sessions. Mark your selections with a tick mark and then click on the Clear Private Data Now button.

Using Disk Cleanup

Another way to remove cookies, temporary files, and other related files from your computer is to use the Disk Cleanup tool which is built into Windows. Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and click on the Disk Cleanup icon. The tool will start by scanning your hard drive for unnecessary files. Once the scan completes, you will see a list of temporary files that are grouped into categories such as Recycle Bin files, temporary Internet files, cookies, temporary downloaded program files, system memory dump files, offline Web pages, hibernation files, and many more. This list calculates how much disk space you can recover by removing these files. Place a check mark in the box corresponding to the file types that you want to delete and then click on the OK button.

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