Browsers: Caches, Extensions, and Plug-ins

Owned by Alexis Pae
Last updated: Jun 01, 2022 by Tyler Mackie
3 min read

Web browsers allow users to access the internet. Common browsers include but are not limited to:

  • Google Chrome  

  • Mozilla Firefox  
  • Internet Explorer  
  • Microsoft Edge Microsoft unveils new Edge browser logo that no longer looks like Internet Explorer - The Verge
  • Safari (Apple)  


Frequently users will experience issues on a specific browser, which can be determined by having them try the same process on a different browser. 

Clearing the cache:

Google Chrome:

  1. In the browser bar, enter:
     chrome://settings/clearBrowserData
  2. At the top of the "Clear browsing data" window, click Advanced.
  3. Select the following:
    • Browsing history
    • Download history
    • Cookies and other site data
    • Cached images and files

    From the "Time range" drop-down menu, you can choose the period of time for which you want to clear cached information. To clear your entire cache, select All time.

  4. Click CLEAR DATA.
  5. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

Mozilla Firefox:

  1. From the History menu, select Clear Recent History.

    If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it visible.

  2. From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything.
  3. Next to "Details", click the down arrow to choose which elements of the history to clear; to clear your entire cache, select all items.
  4. Click Clear Now.
  5. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

Internet Explorer:

  1. Select Tools > Safety > Delete browsing history....

    If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it visible.

  2. Deselect Preserve Favorites website data, and select:
    • Temporary Internet files or Temporary Internet files and website files
    • Cookies or Cookies and website data
    • History
  3. Click Delete. You will see a confirmation at the bottom of the window when the process is complete.
  4. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

Microsoft Edge:

  1. In the top right, click the Hub icon (looks like star with three horizontal lines).
  2. Click the History icon (looks like a clock), and then select Clear all history.
  3. Select Browsing history, then Cookies and saved website data, and then Cached data and files. Click Clear.
  4. After the "All Clear!" message appears, exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

Safari:

  1. From the Safari menu, select Clear History... or Clear History and Website Data....
  2. Select the desired time range, and then click Clear History.
  3. Go to Safari > Quit Safari or press Command-Q to exit the browser completely.


Browser Extensions:

"Different browsers have different extension systems. Firefox has the most powerful one. Many people use Firefox because of this — Firefox makes many advanced extensions possible that wouldn’t be possible on other browsers. Because of its history, even extensions that would be possible in another browser may only be available for Firefox.

Chrome also has a thriving extension ecosystem and there’s probably also a Chrome extension for most everything you’d want to do. Chrome places more limits on its browser extensions so they can’t be quite as powerful as they are in Firefox, but these limits allow Chrome to present a permissions system and restrict extensions a bit more for security.

Internet Explorer has a very small add-on ecosystem. Few add-ons are available, and most of the Internet Explorer add-ons in actual use are probably browser toolbars like the terrible Ask toolbar that were foisted on users through bundling with other software. If you want add-ons, Internet Explorer is not the browser to use.

Safari and Opera also have extensions available, but their ecosystems are much smaller than Firefox’s and Chrome’s." 

Browser Plug-ins:

"Note that extensions, or add-ons, aren’t the same as browser plug-ins. “Plug-ins” are things like Adobe Flash, Oracle Java, or Microsoft Silverlight. They allow websites to embed and render content — Flash movies, PDFs, or Java applets, for example — that are rendered with the plug-in... Essentially, extensions add features you can use, while plug-ins add features websites can use."