Diff btw Cache and History in Browsers

Cache is the segment of the physical hard-disk that stores the web resources that we browse.
For IE, the folder for cache is "Temporary Internet Files"

History is just a stack of URL's that the user has visited (For a number of days). The state of the page is not stored in History. If U open IE options dialog box, then U will see different settings for Temporary Internet Files and History.

So what happens when the user presses the back button?
The browser uses a stack (History) to remember visited pages. Each time a link is followed, or the user gives an URL to retrieve, the browser will push the current URL on its stack. If the user selects the back function of his browser, the browser will go to the document whose URL is saved on the top of the stack (if the stack is non empty) and will pop the URL from the stack.
If the URL resource can be obtained from the cache, then the browser does so, otherwise a fresh request is made.

Hence even if we disable cache thru response headers, the user can still click back and reload the page from the server. But the current state on the server may not be 'ready' for that request.

There are many strategies that can be used to disable back: Remove the top bar of the browser thru javascript, write a javascript function that will get executed on page load and reset the history stack etc.
On the server side, we can use the "Synchronizer Token pattern"

More on Cookies

Found a few new things about cookies :)

What is the difference between a third-party cookie and a first-party cookie?
If you connect to Web site A and it sets a cookie, that's a first-party cookie. If an ad, embedded within site A is coming from site B, and the ad sets a cookie, that would be a third-party cookie.

What is the difference between persistent and session cookies?
Persistent cookies are cookies that "persist" or reside on your system even after you have closed your browser. Such cookies contain information that can be used to personalize your experience for a particular web site the next time you visit it. Examples would be online community and discussion boards. Unfortunately, such information could also be gathered by hackers and malicious programs and disclose your personal information.

Session cookies are cookies that exist only for a particular "session" or logon. These cookies are deleted automatically the moment you close your browser or choose logout/exit from the web site. Examples would be online banking services. Such cookies are usually safe as they are automatically deleted from your system the moment you exit from the sites.
Persistent and session cookies differ as their life span and lifetime are different.