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• Internet Provider
  The company that connects you to the internet. Eg: Telstra Big Pond, Ozemail
• World Wide Web   /   The Web
  The collective name for all of the webpages world-wide. This webpage that you are currently reading is part of the Web. In addition to the Web, the Internet also includes email, newsgroups, bulletin boards and so on.
• Webpage / Website
  A webpage is a single page on the World Wide Web, such as the page you are reading right now. The term website refers to a collection of multiple webpages, such as the City of Fremantle website.
• Browser
  A browser is a program that allows you to browse the World Wide Web.
  Two popular browsers are Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
• Netscape
  A popular Browser program that lets you "surf" the Internet.
• Internet Explorer
  A popular Browser program that lets you "surf" the Internet.
• URL
  The address of a webpage. The letters stand for "Universal Resource Locator".
  For example, the url of the City of Fremantle website is http://www.freofocus.com.au .
  
• Location Bar
  A drop-down box which shows the URL (address) of the current webpage. Typing an URL in the location bar and pressing return will move you to that webpage. Clicking the arrow button at the right of the box produces a pull-down menu displaying the most recently typed URLS.
  
• Search engines
  Facilities that let you search the World Wide Web for search terms that you specify.
  There are too many popular search engines to list here.
• Cache
  Your browser stores copies of the pages you visit in a cache on your harddrive, in order to speed your online viewing. When you revisit a page, the browser may display the version from your hardrive instead of taking time to reload the page.
• Typed URLS
  A stored list of addresses that you have manually typed into the location bar
• History
  Your browser keeps a record of the URLS of webpages you have recently visited. When webpages are displayed, your browser uses this list to determine whether to each link in the document should be displayed in the normal link colour or the "visited link" colour.
  
• Server
  A computer that provides information for other computers to receive via the Internet.
  Your service provider would have several computers that are servers.

How is This Information Stored?
Each time you visit a webpage, it is recorded in 3 different places on your computer:

• The Browser's Cache:
  In order to speed your online viewing, your browser stores copies of the pages you visit in a cache on your harddrive. When you revisit a page, it may display the version from your hardrive instead of reloading the page. In Microsoft's Internet Explorer the cache is called "Temporary Internet Files".
   
  
• The Browser's History:
  Your browser keeps a record of the URLS of webpages you have recently visited. When webpages are displayed, your browser uses this list to determine whether to each link in the document should be displayed in the normal link colour or the "visited link" colour.
   
  
• The Browser's Typed Urls:
  A stored list of addresses that you have manually typed into the drop-down box on the location bar
  You can remove an item from this list by typing enough other urls to 'bump' it off the end. See below for details...

Your browser allows you to completely clear any of these lists temporarily- the lists grow again when you visit new webpages.
See: Netscape's instruction page: "Clearing the Netscape History File" and "Clearing the Location Menu"
However, clearing these lists can be quite inconvenient. Visited links will no longer be displayed in a different colour; you won't be able to use the drop down list to quickly access pages; and webpages that you have previously visited may load a little slower because their cached version has been removed.

It is possible to remove individual items, but this can be quite complex. This website doesn't attempt to give instructions for every browser, version and operating system. Instead you may wish to search the net for further information. See our list of suggested search terms.

Innocuous Website Addresses
The Typed Urls list in your browser's location bar only stores 10-20 items, depending on which browser you are using. This means that a beginner can safely remove an Url from the list by simply typing in enough other Urls to 'bump' it off the end of the list.

Simply visiting a webpage won't add it to the list of Typed Urls. You must physically type it in (or cut and paste), and press enter. Here is a list of 15 suitable addresses that you can cut and paste into the location bar.

It is often quicker to cut and paste, instead of typing an entire url by hand.
To paste these urls into the location bar:

1. Open up a new browser window.
   [Choose File then "New Window" or "New Web Browser" from your browser's menu bar.]
2. Select the text of the url.
3. Copy it: Choose Edit > Copy from your Browser's menu.
4. Swap back to the other browsers window you are using to browse the internet.
   [Windows users can switch between programs by holding down Alt key and then pressing Tab.]
5. Click in the location bar at the top of the browser window.
   [If it is not visible you may need to make it visible by selecting the appropriate item from your Browser's menu.]
6. Paste the Url you copied. Choose Edit > Paste from your Browser's menu.
7. Press Enter/Return.