internet browser slowing down computer

[marbles]

so i figured out why my computer is sooooooooooooooooooo slow

heres how i get it act normal;

i clear the following setting;
internet browser - settings - privacy and security - Cookies and Site Data - once it reaches 1gig, my pc freezes up or slows down where its unusable (i have 8gig of memory on the computer)

i'm poor and don't have that much data, meaning i watch ZERO movies, play ZERO video games so just surfing the web fills up the cookies/site data

so obviously you know the question;

obvoiusly i'm not looking to do manual labor here - just looking for a setting that says "when you reach 500mb, stop and clear out the cookies/site data"

i don't want it to get to 1gig because the computer acts so slow that i won't be able to get to this setting

and i don't want to check the setting frequently (manual labor, no thank you, software should be automated and programmable)

i bet this setting doesn't exist and i have to live with the daily torture of using linux

who said theres no manual labor anymore

 

[mrcrossroads]

Which browser do you use?

 

[Terminal Velocity]

In Firefox I only clear cookies once per year, not cached web content, as it has to re-download it all and I also have limited data per month

 

[Alexzee]

What distro are you using?

Is this a laptop or desktop that's freezing?

 

[KGIII]

This reads like an XY Problem.

Unless you have really low specs, that shouldn't happen. Additionally, the size of the cache (and cookies) shouldn't really matter. Cookies are tiny things. Cache can grow large if you're opening 'heavy' sites - which you're not really doing.

So, I'd start by asking what browser you're using. What are the stats of your computer? And, of course, what distro you're using?

 

[KGIII]

Oh, and have you disabled "Hardware Acceleration" in your browser's settings?

 

[Condobloke]

m, I am assuming you are using Firefox.

If you are using something else, let us know.

Have a read of the below.

Clear Browsing Data â Get this Extension for ð¦ Firefox (en-US)

Download Clear Browsing Data for Firefox. Delete browsing data directly from the browser toolbar. Clear cookies, history and cache with a single click.

addons.mozilla.org

 

[The Duck]

If using Firefox.

 

[Nao57]

They have a ... its either a program or a plug in that lets you look at browsers with text only and no graphics. This could help you right?

It seems like its worth a try. I actually haven't used one of these yet, but I'd been thinking about it a lot because I tend to have a lot of windows open normally. I like to have many windows open as it kind of helps me remember all the things I'm trying to finish. And because of this concept its possible many other people have a similar issue because of them having too many windows out also. If you have enough windows open, other peoples' machines will resemble your problem. So probably many people might have input to help you with this problem.

Anyway, I'm interested in this idea, that some things probably could be set up so that you load text only on a website. You wouldn't believe how much garbage there is on websites, that's just graphic stuff eating up your workhorse's power.

There's also no doubt in my mind that a lot of the slowness and bogging down is from the advertising garbage that's popping up on pages. I'm very interested in how a text only webpage reader might cut down on that.

...

The other thing I might point out to help you is that 'LIVE' videos, live broadcasts, etc use up tons more power and ability to work than they normally should. On paper it looks like its the same. It looks like things are equal between a live video and a normal video, but its not. I tested this a few times to be sure. It has something to do with the fact that the machine has to work so much harder because it can't 'queue' up the rest of the file while its going, which means its literally having to 'sew' that line of code or whatever right then as it comes through. This slows down your machine more than other traditional computer activities.

So you could avoid live broadcasts, live videos, etc. Or be more wary about playing them, when you have the chance to just go back for a recorded version. This can help save your workhorse's strength by managing it better.

I'm also glad I could contribute to the community here with input, even though I'm not a programmer and don't understand the code stuff well. And the community here in Linux is so amazing. I've never seen so many people willing to help each other. Its like wow...

 

[Nao57]

Also I forgot to mention that I'd found in bottlenecks often it was the graphics card impeding me more than the ram for many activities on the laptop. (Is that an option for you to get a cheap graphics card?) Maybe you are using an OEM card?

 

[MikeWalsh]

I gotta confess, this is one of those things that niggles me.

Chromium, or any of its siblings - including Chrome - have never let you set any kind of cut-off limits. Any clearing of the cache, or history, or logins, or anything like that has ALWAYS had to be performed manually.

We added a few extra lines to the end of the wrapper-script for these in Puppy that will pop-up a wee GUI that asks if you want to clear the cache manually, or not. This runs every time as part of the shutdown process.

It's also possible to install extensions that will do this for you automatically.......but it's all or nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

Firefox used to let you tailor the size of the cache to exactly what you wanted it to be. Mozilla dropped this behaviour several releases back, and have adopted the Chromium model of having to do all this manually (as though it's some kind of brilliant idea!)

Pale Moon was forked from Firefox a long time ago.......and, although they use parts of the modern Firefox code-base - to suit themselves, natch! - they still maintain the older Settings dialogue.....along with the ability to manually tailor the cache size.

Mozilla are doing their very best to try and make Firefox indistinguishable from Chrome. Go figure.


Mike.

 

[Condobloke]

For Chrome Users........ Click and Clean

Click&Clean

Deletes typed URLs, Cache, Cookies, your Download and Browsing History...instantly, with just 1-click on Click&Clean button!

chrome.google.com

 

[KGIII]

We added a few extra lines to the end of the wrapper-script for these in Puppy that will pop-up a wee GUI that asks if you want to clear the cache manually, or not. This runs every time as part of the shutdown process.

See:

Specifically about the clearing of cookies and site data.

Is that what you were after? I'm not 100% sure, but I seem to recall that it also clears your history, though I think they expect people to use incognito mode for that more than anything else.

 

[Deleted member 108694]

I use BleachBit - it is usually in the repositories - at least it is in Debian's

 

[xlbooyahlx]

I use BleachBit - it is usually in the repositories - at least it is in Debian's

It's in most distro's repos. I clean firefox upon exit with it even though I browse in private browsing mode with "delete all Cookies and Site Data upon exit", and yet it still finds cach to delete.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@KGIII :-

Oh yes, I've known all about that particular setting for years. You're looking at somebody who has used Chrome/Chromium ever since it was still in the cradle.....summer of 2008, to be exact, when the beta testing builds were just beginning to be made public.

The extra lines I added to the tail-end of the launch wrapper were a modification of something another Puppian had been using for a while with Ungoogled Chromium. This is the only 'clone' that won't perform the standard 'party-trick', because that function has been removed from the code. He posted about what he'd been doing, more & more people started doing the same, then it got so that some folks were specifically asking for this modification to be a built-in part of the process.

So, I added the lines to the end of the wrapper in the portable build of Ungoogled Chromium. Our version doesn't clear history, JUST the cache; most people who posted on the Puppy forum regarding this made it clear they would prefer manual control of the function on a per-session basis.

And that's what was done.


Mike.

 

[The Duck]

See:

View attachment 16455

Specifically about the clearing of cookies and site data.

Is that what you were after? I'm not 100% sure, but I seem to recall that it also clears your history, though I think they expect people to use incognito mode for that more than anything else.

That setting doesn't totally clear browsing history and cache in Chromium can't say about chrome don't use it but I'll bet it's the same.

 

[KGIII]

The extra lines I added to the tail-end of the launch wrapper were a modification of something another Puppian had been using for a while with Ungoogled Chromium.

That's actually a browser I've never played with. That's a rare bird indeed.

But, you mentioned Chrome/Chromium, which was what I was responding to. Those do have some ability to clean up after themselves. I do wish browsers offered something more refined.

Though another comment makes me think this has changed.

It doesn't totally clear browsing history and cache in Chromium can't say about chrome don't use it but I'll bet it's the same.

Hmm... I'll have to take your word for it, as I'm way too lazy to check. If it doesn't currently do so, it used to do so in the past. I used to use that setting back when I was moderately concerned with being tracked online and interested in a bit of privacy. I'm like 99% certain that it removed cookies, cleared the history, and deleted the cache.

These days, I just don't care. Yes, I know my shame...

If they wanna know what sites I visit, feel free. I'm easily 'doxxed', for example. If they're going to track me, they might as well provide content tailored to my preferences. Heck, if they want to track me in the real world, that's mostly fine too. Just stop off at the store before you show up so that you can bring a bottle of wine.

 

[The Duck]

Hmm... I'll have to take your word for it, as I'm way too lazy to check. If it doesn't currently do so, it used to do so in the past. I used to use that setting back when I was moderately concerned with being tracked online and interested in a bit of privacy. I'm like 99% certain that it removed cookies, cleared the history, and deleted the cache.

It deletes most of it but not 100% and mainly leaves a lot of thumbnail cache.
I use Bleachbit never had a problem.
I've read all of the horrible stories about how it wrecks OSs.
Got to learn how to use Bleachbit it requires learning what it cleans and removes kind of like some terminal commands.

These days, I just don't care. Yes, I know my shame...

If they wanna know what sites I visit, feel free. I'm easily 'doxxed', for example. If they're going to track me, they might as well provide content tailored to my preferences. Heck, if they want to track me in the real world, that's mostly fine too. Just stop off at the store before you show up so that you can bring a bottle of wine.

I don't care who knows what about me as I ain't no secret agent.
I ain't got anything but a lot of medical bills.
Anyone who wants them can have them.
I'll just stick with domestic beer.

 

[Condobloke]

@marbles said:

so i figured out why my computer is sooooooooooooooooooo slow

heres how i get it act normal;

i clear the following setting;
internet browser - settings - privacy and security - Cookies and Site Data - once it reaches 1gig, my pc freezes up or slows down where its unusable (i have 8gig of memory on the computer)

i'm poor and don't have that much data, meaning i watch ZERO movies, play ZERO video games so just surfing the web fills up the cookies/site data

so obviously you know the question;

obvoiusly i'm not looking to do manual labor here - just looking for a setting that says "when you reach 500mb, stop and clear out the cookies/site data"

i don't want it to get to 1gig because the computer acts so slow that i won't be able to get to this setting

and i don't want to check the setting frequently (manual labor, no thank you, software should be automated and programmable)

i bet this setting doesn't exist and i have to live with the daily torture of using linux

who said theres no manual labor anymore