Which Windows feature caches executable metadata to speed up application launches?

Which Windows feature caches executable metadata to speed up application launches?

• A. Spear-phishing Sites
• B. Thumbs.db
• C. Black hat SEO
• D. Prefetch

Answer: (D)

Prefetch is the Windows feature that caches metadata about executables and their dependencies to speed up launches. When you run a program, Windows records the files it uses (the executable, DLLs, and related data) and the order in which they’re loaded. This information is stored in prefetch data so that on subsequent launches the system can pre-load those components into memory, reducing disk reads and speeding up startup. The prefetch cache helps Windows optimize the startup experience for frequently used apps. The other options aren’t related to launching programs: spear-phishing sites are about social engineering, thumbs.db stores thumbnail caches, and black hat SEO concerns search optimization techniques.

Prefetch is the Windows feature that caches metadata about executables and their dependencies to speed up launches. When you run a program, Windows records the files it uses (the executable, DLLs, and related data) and the order in which they’re loaded. This information is stored in prefetch data so that on subsequent launches the system can pre-load those components into memory, reducing disk reads and speeding up startup. The prefetch cache helps Windows optimize the startup experience for frequently used apps. The other options aren’t related to launching programs: spear-phishing sites are about social engineering, thumbs.db stores thumbnail caches, and black hat SEO concerns search optimization techniques.