# How to stop the "Look at me!" browser windows.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-the-look-at-me-browser-windows/130548>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 2, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-the-look-at-me-browser-windows/130548 "2002-10-02T16:14:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-the-look-at-me-browser-windows/130548/1 "2002-10-02T16:14:10Z")

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Let’s say I’m loading up the SDMB. While waiting for the hamsters to kick it into overdrive, I open a second browser window to [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com) to check last night’s baseball scores. Then while _that’s_ loading, I switch back to the board just in time to see it come up. I go to click on Great Debates, but as I do so, ESPN finishes loading and, like a flash, interpolates itself in front of the SDMB, causing me to click on, say, a really annoying ESPN promotional link that spawns untold pop-ups.

My question: it seems like more and more web pages cause their browser windows to display them front and center on the computer after they’ve finished loading. It used to be that I could be loading five different things in five different windows, and get to each in my own good time. Now I have to constantly be on the look-out while multitasking for the errant click caused by a newly loaded webpage popping up.

Is there anything I can do with my browser choice and/or preferences that will combat this?

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**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-the-look-at-me-browser-windows/130548/2 "2002-10-02T16:17:27Z")

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Turn off javascript.

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**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-the-look-at-me-browser-windows/130548/3 "2002-10-02T16:35:31Z")

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I believe this may be something within Windows rather than IE specifically. If you download tweak software (e.g. TweakUI or TweakAll) you can theoretically prevent this behaviour - for example, in TweakUI for Windows XP there is a “Focus” section under “General” that includes the option “Prevent applications from stealing focus” (flashing the taskbar button rather than bringing the window ‘front and centre’).