10-07-2009, 05:16 AM
What could be hiding in your Cache?
The Cache I am referring to here, is the DNS Resolver Cache.
As usual, written with Windows XP in mind, but will also maybe work for Windows Vista and Windows 7.
After you have gone offline and cleared the browser Cache of any temporary files, have you checked to see what is left behind, in the DNS Resolver Cache?
If you don't know what this is, then do the following:
Click on Start, select Run, then type, [not case sensitive] CMD and click OK, to open the Windows Command Prompt program.
At the command prompt, type:
ipconfig /?
and hit enter.
to bring up the ipconfig menu.
[NOTE: Leaving a space between ipconfig and /? is optional, but makes it a little clearer to read, with longer command strings].
Then type:
ipconfig /displaydns.
Hitting enter once again, to display the contents of the DNS Resolver Cache.
You may be surprised to see some entries here, of sites that you have never visited, or maybe never even heard of!
To save these details to a text file, for copying and pasting later on,
type the following:
For example:
ipconfig /displaydns > FileName1a.txt
This file will usually be saved to the 'User Name' folder, of the 'PC Name', in the Documents and Settings directory of the Windows boot drive.
I say boot drive and not root, because if you are multi-booting different OS's,
it will save it to the root of the drive that you are booting from.
[NOTE: If you want to specify a folder to save the file to,
it HAS to be a directory that already exists, for example:]
ipconfig /displaydns > c:\DNS\FileName1a.txt
It is also a good idea, to give these files logical names, as you could generate many of them every day. For example:
Filename1a.txt, FileName1b.txt and so on.
[NOTE: It is worth pointing out here, that some of these files, can have quite a few entries, and as long as you don't edit the file in any way, it should stay the same.
I have found that if you add so much as a single space, the next time that you open the file, the formatting will have been completely removed and the only way to get it back, is to respace the entries by hand. This can be a bit of a pain if there are many entries, so it's up to you.
The same can also occur, if you copy & paste the text into another text file as well].
To purge the DNS Resolver Cache, type the following, at the command prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns
this will leave 2 or maybe 3 entries of local addresses behind.
You can flush the DNS Resolver Cache, as often as you wish, after saving the details to a text file.
This can also sometimes speed up web browsing as well, so it's an added benefit.
I always hope that somebody may find this to be useful.
The Cache I am referring to here, is the DNS Resolver Cache.
As usual, written with Windows XP in mind, but will also maybe work for Windows Vista and Windows 7.
After you have gone offline and cleared the browser Cache of any temporary files, have you checked to see what is left behind, in the DNS Resolver Cache?
If you don't know what this is, then do the following:
Click on Start, select Run, then type, [not case sensitive] CMD and click OK, to open the Windows Command Prompt program.
At the command prompt, type:
ipconfig /?
and hit enter.
to bring up the ipconfig menu.
[NOTE: Leaving a space between ipconfig and /? is optional, but makes it a little clearer to read, with longer command strings].
Then type:
ipconfig /displaydns.
Hitting enter once again, to display the contents of the DNS Resolver Cache.
You may be surprised to see some entries here, of sites that you have never visited, or maybe never even heard of!
To save these details to a text file, for copying and pasting later on,
type the following:
For example:
ipconfig /displaydns > FileName1a.txt
This file will usually be saved to the 'User Name' folder, of the 'PC Name', in the Documents and Settings directory of the Windows boot drive.
I say boot drive and not root, because if you are multi-booting different OS's,
it will save it to the root of the drive that you are booting from.
[NOTE: If you want to specify a folder to save the file to,
it HAS to be a directory that already exists, for example:]
ipconfig /displaydns > c:\DNS\FileName1a.txt
It is also a good idea, to give these files logical names, as you could generate many of them every day. For example:
Filename1a.txt, FileName1b.txt and so on.
[NOTE: It is worth pointing out here, that some of these files, can have quite a few entries, and as long as you don't edit the file in any way, it should stay the same.
I have found that if you add so much as a single space, the next time that you open the file, the formatting will have been completely removed and the only way to get it back, is to respace the entries by hand. This can be a bit of a pain if there are many entries, so it's up to you.
The same can also occur, if you copy & paste the text into another text file as well].
To purge the DNS Resolver Cache, type the following, at the command prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns
this will leave 2 or maybe 3 entries of local addresses behind.
You can flush the DNS Resolver Cache, as often as you wish, after saving the details to a text file.
This can also sometimes speed up web browsing as well, so it's an added benefit.
I always hope that somebody may find this to be useful.
