Optimize Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer v6.0 has a few settings and features that are enabled by default that you should consider changing. Some of these features are not needed, set too high, or could be a security issue.

To make these changes the first thing you need to do is launch Internet Explorer, then from the Tools menu select 'Internet Options...'.

Reduce the Size of Your Web page History:
By default IE keeps track of all the web pages you visited over the last few days. For some people this is a very handy feature to see the sites you have visited, but for other people this is a privacy issue.

To reduce the number of days that IE tracks your browsing history:

• In the Internet Options dialog box, in the History section.
• Find the 'Days to keep pages in history' box and type "1".
• Press the Apply button.

Reduce the Size of IE's Disk Cache
By default IE will try to consume about 10% of your hard drive for its temporary Internet cache. Personally I have never seen any advantage to having a large temporary file cache like this. I recommend you set it to about 10MB or more.

• In the 'Temporary Internet Files' section, press the Setting... button.
• A new dialog will appear, in the 'Temporary Internet files folder' section change the slider so that it reads about 10MB.
• Press the OK button, then press the Apply button.

Prevent the Caching of Encrypted Web Pages
By default IE will cache encrypted Web pages. This can be a privacy issue if someone gets access to your local computers Internet temporary files.

To disable this feature:

• While still in the Internet Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
• In the Settings section, scroll down to the Security section.
• Check the "Do not save encrypted pages to disk" checkbox.
• As a bonus tip, check the 'Check for server certificate revocation (requires restart)' checkbox while you're in this section. This makes sure that the server certificate has not been revoked by the Certifying Authority (CA)
  
• Press the Apply button.

After you finish making all your changes, press the OK button when done.