Software

When you first get your computer, you'll have all the latest programmes set-up. After a bit though, the supplier will update their software with bug fixes and enhanced features.

This usually means shelling out, because operating systems like Windows or the Mac OS may want you to buy new CDs and instruction books.

Luckily though, browser updates and fixes tend to be free and can be downloaded from the web.

Check out your browser supplier’s updates page for new security updates. When you see that one's available, install it ASAP. Here are some handy links:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.mspx
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/security.jsp
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798

Every time you look at a web page, your web browser will store a list of websites you’ve visited. Windows will store all this info in what are called temporary Internet files or cache.

Whenever you log off your account we tell your browser to delete these. But to make sure your browser stays in tip-top shape and to stop someone rooting through what you’ve looked at, it’s a good idea to regularly clear the temporary Internet files from your computer. Here’s how to do it:

In Internet Explorer on computer
  1 Close down all Internet Explorer windows
  2 Open the Windows Control Panel. (to do this, click on Start, then Settings and then Control Panel)
  3 Double-click the Internet Options icon (if you’re using Windows XP you may need to first select Network & Internet Connections)
  4 When the Internet Properties window loads, click the Delete Files button (in the Temporary Internet Files section in the middle of the window)
  5 Put a tick in the box next to Delete all Offline Content
  6 To confirm, click OK in the message box that appears
  7 Close down the Internet Properties and Control Panel windows and restart Internet Explorer

In Internet Explorer on Mac OS X

  1 Open Internet Explorer on your Mac
  2 Click Explorer from the top menu bar
  3 Click Preferences to open Internet Explorer Preferences
  4 Select the Advanced option from under the Web Browser heading
  5 In the Cache section, click the Empty Now button
  6 Then click OK to return to Internet Explorer

In Netscape
  1 With one Netscape window on screen (and with no other Netscape windows open), select Preferences from the Edit menu.
  2 In the left-hand side of the preferences window, click the '+' beside the Advanced option. This should reveal three more options, one of which should be Cache.
  3 Click the Cache option.
  4 Now, in the right-hand side of the preferences window, there should be two buttons labelled Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache.
  5 Click each of these, and click OK each time when asked to confirm.
  6 Click OK to close the Preferences window