clearing stuff (cookies, etc.) from browsers

[wpshooter]

I have never exactly understood WHY it is necessary to MANUALLY go in and clear certain stuff (cookies, etc., etc.) out of the browser and if so, why this process is not somehow automated so the computer user is not having to constantly remember to do this.

Can someone give me their explanation of this or point me to an article which explains this ?

Thanks.

 

[troytime]

on the flipside, why wouldn't it be manual?

cache files are there to make your browsing faster (and to save bandwidth)
cookies are there to make your browsing experience better (websites remember you and your settings, etc)

Are you one of those guys that clears all browsing history and cache every day or several times per day?

 

[MrChad]

It is not necessary.
Most users do not need to do it on a regular basis.
There are ways to automate this process if you choose to do so.

Temporary internet files (cache) speeds up browsing because the browser can reload an image or HTML file from the local drive rather than pulling it down over the network connection for every request. This improves page loading time and the user experience. Every browser I know of sets a cap on the size of its temporary cache storage and will purge older cache items automatically when it reaches that cap. Persistent cookies allow me to save my user credentials at sites so that I do not have to log in every time I visit. It makes using web applications such as Gmail, Google Reader or even this forum a lot more convenient.

 

[wpshooter]

Originally posted by: troytime
on the flipside, why wouldn't it be manual?

cache files are there to make your browsing faster (and to save bandwidth)
cookies are there to make your browsing experience better (websites remember you and your settings, etc)

Are you one of those guys that clears all browsing history and cache every day or several times per day?

No, absolutely not.

The reason I am asking is because I was having a problem with the video freezing on a particular application and the FIX per Comcast's instructions was to clear the cookies and cache. This DID seemed to have fixed the video problem. But what I am looking for now is an explanation of WHY it was necessary to purge the cookies and cache in order to fix the video problem and if this is the proper fix, WHY is this not done automatically instead of me having to hunt around for this being the cause of the video freezing problem ?

Thanks.

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: wpshooter

Originally posted by: troytime
on the flipside, why wouldn't it be manual?

cache files are there to make your browsing faster (and to save bandwidth)
cookies are there to make your browsing experience better (websites remember you and your settings, etc)

Are you one of those guys that clears all browsing history and cache every day or several times per day?

No, absolutely not.

The reason I am asking is because I was having a problem with the video freezing on a particular application and the FIX per Comcast's instructions was to clear the cookies and cache. This DID seemed to have fixed the video problem. But what I am looking for now is an explanation of WHY it was necessary to purge the cookies and cache in order to fix the video problem and if this is the proper fix, WHY is this not done automatically instead of me having to hunt around for this being the cause of the video freezing problem ?

Thanks.

In a case like that you may have had an old or buggy version of a resource file, control, applet, or other content that was preempting the browser check for a new version on the server side. By clearing the cache you forced the browser to reload whatever it was from the server, presumably getting a new copy that didn't have the problem. As for why it was necessary, there are several reasons why something gets stuck in the cache, that all boil down to "it didn't look different enough." As for why it wasn't automated, that's because it is a fairly uncommon occurrence.

 

[wpshooter]

Originally posted by: Markbnj

Originally posted by: wpshooter

Originally posted by: troytime
on the flipside, why wouldn't it be manual?

cache files are there to make your browsing faster (and to save bandwidth)
cookies are there to make your browsing experience better (websites remember you and your settings, etc)

Are you one of those guys that clears all browsing history and cache every day or several times per day?

No, absolutely not.

The reason I am asking is because I was having a problem with the video freezing on a particular application and the FIX per Comcast's instructions was to clear the cookies and cache. This DID seemed to have fixed the video problem. But what I am looking for now is an explanation of WHY it was necessary to purge the cookies and cache in order to fix the video problem and if this is the proper fix, WHY is this not done automatically instead of me having to hunt around for this being the cause of the video freezing problem ?

Thanks.

In a case like that you may have had an old or buggy version of a resource file, control, applet, or other content that was preempting the browser check for a new version on the server side. By clearing the cache you forced the browser to reload whatever it was from the server, presumably getting a new copy that didn't have the problem. As for why it was necessary, there are several reasons why something gets stuck in the cache, that all boil down to "it didn't look different enough." As for why it wasn't automated, that's because it is a fairly uncommon occurrence.

Thanks. That splains it pretty well.

 

[aceO07]

Originally posted by: wpshooter
I have never exactly understood WHY it is necessary to MANUALLY go in and clear certain stuff (cookies, etc., etc.) out of the browser and if so, why this process is not somehow automated so the computer user is not having to constantly remember to do this.

Can someone give me their explanation of this or point me to an article which explains this ?

Thanks.

Firefox has an option to clear out everything when you close the browser. It even has a 'private browsing' mode if you want to do banking or something else private.