Corrupt Temporary Internet Files – How to Get Rid of Them From Your PC

There are several different things that can slow your computers performance and in some cases cause serious errors. One of the most common contributing factors is corrupt temporary files that are located on your computer. But what exactly are these files and how do they slow down your computer.

Temporary files come in a variety of forms. The most common type is data stored on your computer as you are surfing the web visiting web sites. Now, you might believe that this is something that your computer does automatically.

The reality is that it is actually a function of your web browser. But keeping pieces of information stored on your computer, the next time you visit a web site as long as everything matches up and there have been no changes then a majority of the information is already stored there and helps sites load fast.

There are several other types of temporary files, but in most cases you may only have a few at best on your computer. Copies of downloaded files and other data, backup’s of saved files or even previous versions of files you are making regular changes to can all be stored on your PC for future use.

One thing that people commonly do is believe that a web site “cookie” is the same thing as a temporary file. The truth is that cookies are often times used to collect data about how you interact with a website or to even track if you make any purchases on a web site so that the right party is given credit. These generally don’t build up to dangerous levels, but it’s still good to clear them off your PC on a regular basis. In rare cases cookies can potentially be harmful to your computer storing private information.

If left unchecked, over time you can build up a rather large amount of temporary files. At first you may only experience slow performance while you are browsing the web, but eventually there will be so much trash left behind that is scattered all over your hard drive that it actually slows down the proper operation of your hard drive as all of these additional files have to be looked through before the right one is found.

Some of these corrupt temporary file can be malicious files. If you have a virus scanner installed you will sometimes see warnings about these files. Some of them are used by adware to make pop ups appear when you are on the internet. Some are used by malicious software when you visit hacked or dangerous sites and some of these files can be used to download malicious packages to your computer.

To get rid of these files manually is simple most of the time.

#1 If you are using internet explorer go to tools then internet options and then click on browsing history. From there click on the delete button and a pop up box will appear. Select the first four checkboxes and then delete everything.

Sometimes temporary files will not let you remove them. Some malicious files resist all attempts to remove them manually. If this happens you will need software to remove them. If this happens go to the next step.

#2 Download a system and registry scanner and run a free scan. This will show you exactly what is hiding on your computer and help you to get rid of it. If your computer is running slow while browsing the internet or you keep getting warning messages about corrupt temporary internet files you cannot remove follow these steps to get rid of them fast.