How to Delete Files in Internet Explorer 7 and 8

Internet Explorer makes Web browsing easier by automatically saving files on your computer. They include a temporary Internet browser cache of the pages you've visited, "cookies" or text files containing important information about your web browsing, and your history, which is a list of the websites you've browsed. These files make Web browsing faster and more convenient, but if you let them accumulate, they can slow down your computer and place your privacy and security at risk. Internet Explorer includes tools that let you quickly delete these files to reclaim space on your hard drive.

In both Internet Explorer 7 and 8, click "Tools" and "Internet Options." Under "Browsing History," select "Delete." Internet Explorer 7 has buttons that let you delete files. Internet Explorer 8 has check boxes that let you choose which files to delete.

Select the files you'd like to delete. Selecting "Delete Files" or "Temporary Internet Files" will delete the cache of webpages, images and media such as videos and music files that have been stored on your hard drive to make pages load faster. Selecting "Delete cookies" or "Cookies" will delete files which contain information such as your preferences, login credentials. While deleting these files can protect your privacy, it will also log you out of any site you were logged into previously. Make sure you have a list of all your current usernames and passwords so that you can log back in.

Choosing "Delete history" or "History" will delete the list of websites you've visited within the last three weeks. The only downside to deleting the history list is that it may be difficult to find a webpage you had visited previously. The history will no longer be accessible within the "Favorites" sidebar until you begin browsing and saving pages in your history again.

Selecting "Delete Forms" or "Form Data" will delete any information that was saved when you typed into a form in Internet Explorer. Selecting "Delete Passwords" or "Passwords" will delete any passwords that were automatically saved when you signed into a website.

In Internet Explorer 8, you also have the option to delete your InPrivate Filtering data. This data is saved when InPrivate Filtering detects whether a website automatically shares information about your visit. Internet Explorer 8's InPrivate Browsing feature can prevent temporary files from being stored on your hard drive in the first place. To activate the feature, open a new tab and click "Browse with InPrivate."

In Internet Explorer 7, you can delete all your files by clicking the "Delete all" button. Clicking this or any other of the delete buttons will delete your temporary Internet files. In Internet Explorer 8, you must ensure that the correct check boxes are checked, then click "Delete" to remove the data from your hard drive.

For more tips, read The Best Free Web Browsers for Windows and How to Solve Problems with Add-Ons in Internet Explorer.

Sources:

"Delete temporary Internet files" Microsoft.com