How do I go about cleaning out all of the cookies and garbage picked up by my computer when I visit web sites? I was told that my computer would run faster if I cleaned it out.

Try this: CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) works a treat.

If you are on a PC running MS Windows, you can use the disk cleanup utility that is part of the OS. For XP, you can click "Start", then click "Run" and type in "cleanmgr.exe". You can also open the "All Programs" list and go to "Accessories \ System Tools \ "Disk Cleanup". When the utility window opens, click on your primary drive (probably "C:") then click "OK". Depending on how big your drive is, and how much clutter is found, this may take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Once the utility is done, you will see a window with several lines consisting of a checkbox and a description. You should go through this list from top to bottom and check the ones you want the utility to process. Only items that are checked will be processed, unchecked items are ignored. For the sake of speed and efficiency you should uncheck all but the "recycle bin", "temp files", and most importantly "temporary internet files" until you understand this utility better. You should make certain that "compress old files" is NOT checked as this can take a very long time to complete and may actually cause your PC to slow down in some circumstances.

You should then also open up your browser and open your options settings. You should find the tools there to limit how much internet crud your PC will accept.

Or use CCleaner as I suggested earlier ;)
A lot more straightforward and all encompassing.
Best of all FREE !

Also, don't forget to scan your PC for any virus'. Slow running PC is a classic symptom of an infected PC.

One final thought, De-Frag your PC. A badly fragmented harddisk will wreak havoc on access times therefore slowing down the PC.

I have used CCleaner but like the two listed below better

http://www.atribune.org/public-beta/ATF-Cleaner.exe

www.stevengould.org - Why You Should Use CleanUp! (http://www.stevengould.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=69)

Please try them -- Rate my answer

Tired it curly, that was so easy and worked great.