Clear all browser cache/cookies/history on exit?

[This Side Up]

Apologies if this is the wrong section (there are about three that could also apply to my below question)...

In simple(ish) terms, when it comes to browser history/cache(temporary files etc)/cookies etc, what are the advantages and disadvantages to:

• Keep all cache/history/cookies etc
• Removing cache/history/cookies

I understand the obvious stuff around having to re-enter in login information every time if you constantly clear the browser stuff versus the security issue of having logins "saved" (via cookies) on a shared/public computer.

I would also be interested to know what your habits are regarding this - do you remove all browser data every time you close the session, periodically or not at all? Do you only remove some browser data (e.g. cache) but leave other data (e.g. cookies) alone?

 

[This Side Up]

Excellent. Thanks for the replies, guys.

Here's another question:

If I religiously clear out my cache/internet temp files/whatever its called, surely that'll put extra load on my internet connection having to download all the info again (i.e. images etc), or doesn't that matter nowadays in the age of broadband connections and the like?

Also, how precisely does the cache/temp files/etc work with regards to speeding up browsing? If it downloads, say, an image from a web page, does it just load straight from the cache instead of re-downloading the image from the website? What if that image appeared on the same web page 50 times? Would I have to download the same image 50 times, or does it download once and just re-display from cache for the other 49 times??