Browsers use a cache to temporarily store information from Web pages. When you load a Web page, the information is automatically downloaded to your browser cache. Saving information to the cache means that your computer can access this information from the cache the next time you visit the same Web page. It makes the Web pages you visit most often load faster, and reduces the load on the server that hosts the page.
The key difference between a cache and a cookie is the type of information it stores. Cookies store information about you so that websites can access it. The type of information stored is limited to simple things, such as user preferences, IP addresses and information about the type of websites you visit. A cache stores information that relates directly to the Web pages you visit and includes a larger variety of information types. Browser caches store video, audio, text and images.
The major risk in using cookies and caches is that anyone with access to your computer can look at the information. Cookies can also be used to track your internet habits. Since your browser cache can store many different types of data, it can also take up a lot more space on your hard drive. Modern browsers let you specify the amount of space you want to allocate to the cache. Browsers may also attempt to access a cached version of a Web page when there is a new version of the Web page, which can cause problems with loading the page.
What Is the Difference Between Cookies & Spyware?
The differences between a cookie and spyware can seem subtle at first, but there are many differences to how they operate and...
The Difference Between Web & Database
The web is a term used to describe the Internet, which is a collection of interconnected computers that interact with each other...
Differences Between a Biscuit & a Cookie
The difference between a biscuit and a cookie is often hard to discern, especially if you're an American debating semantics with an...