Temporary Internet Files is a folder on Microsoft Windows which serves as the browser cache for Internet Explorer to cache pages and other multimedia content, such as video and audio files, from websites visited by the user. This allows such websites to load more quickly the next time they are visited. Overview Each time a user visits a website using Microsoft Internet Explorer, files downloaded with each web page (including HTML and Javascript code) are saved to the Temporary Internet Files folder, creating a web cache of the web page on the local computer's hard disk drive, or other form of digital data storage. The next time the user visits the cached website, only changed content needs to be downloaded from the Internet; the unchanged data is available in the cache. Despite the name 'temporary', the cache of a website remains stored on the hard disk until the user manually clears the cache, the cache expires or if the cache is full. This is often regarded as a privacy issue, because anyone with access to the computer can view the cache. The contents of the folder are indexed using an index.dat file, a form of database. The Temporary Internet Files cache can be useful in certain situations. For example, if no Internet connection is available, previously cached websites are still available offline. Certain online media files (such as embedded Flash movies) are not easily accessed directly through Internet Explorer, but are automatically saved into the cache after viewing them. Depending on the type of website and how often it is updated, the cached data may not reflect the online version of the website. The cache is also useful for police to collect forensic evidence. The cache can be cleared by using Internet Options within the Internet Explorer interface, but this method is subject to deletion privacy issues. Many alternative tools exist to erase the data instead. Windows XP On Windows XP, the cache is usually located at where is an environment variable pointing to the root directory of the logged-in user's user profile). However, the cache may be moved by changing a value in the registry. Occasionally an additional (hidden) cache named "Temporary Internet Files" may appear in or in . This location can only be deleted by manually accessing the folder and removing it. One scenario that often (albeit not always) leads to the occurrence of this phenomenon proceeds