Do the graphics and photographs on some Web sites appear blurry to you? Are you seeing outdated information on the Web sites you visit? This is because the America Online network compresses Web page images before you see them, using a proprietary compression technology, and stores Web pages in its own network cache, making changes to Web pages invisible to AOL users until the AOL cache is cleared. AOL does this to save themselves bandwidth and to speed the downloading of Web pages, but the time saved is negligible, and the price AOL users pay is distorted graphics and outdated content. 

Both of these features are unnecessary and redundant--professional Web site designers already compress files for optimal download time, and Web browsers cache Web pages locally (on your hard drive) for speedier access. The speed of your computer and the quality of your monitor don't matter--even the fastest computer and the best monitor will display blurry, outdated Web pages with these AOL features turned on. And because AOL's browser sits on top of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, AOL-compressed graphics will appear on Web pages even if you later view them through Internet Explorer independent of AOL.  

Fortunately, you can turn AOL's redundant graphics compression and caching off. Here's how:

It takes only a few seconds to turn these features off and begin enjoying Web sites the way their publishers intend them to be seen. You do not have to be logged on to AOL to make these changes, although you may have to exit and restart the AOL software afterward, depending on the version you are using. Here's how to do it:

AOL 6.0

1. From the "Settings" menu, choose "Preferences."
2. Click on "Internet Properties (WWW)." 
3. Click the "Web Graphics" tab at the top of the "Internet Options" box, and select "Never compress graphics."
4. Select the "General" tab and in the middle of the box, under "Temporary Internet files," click the "Delete Files" button. Click OK when prompted. This will clear the Internet Explorer cache on your own computer system, clearing out all AOL-compressed images.
5. Click "OK" at the bottom of the Internet Options box, and begin enjoying Web pages the way their designers intended them to be seen!

AOL 5.0 

1. Click on the "My AOL" button on your toolbar.
2. Click on "Preferences."
3. Click on the "WWW" button in the preferences window.
4. Click on the "Web Graphics" tab in the AOL Internet Properties window.
5. Remove the check mark from the "Use Compressed Graphics" box.
6. Click the "General" tab. Under "Temporary Internet files," click the "Delete Files" button. This will clear the Internet Explorer cache on your own computer system, clearing out all AOL-compressed images.
7. Click "OK" and close the Preferences window.

These instructions are for Windows versions of AOL. Macintosh versions may differ.

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