# What makes you think you're one of my favourites?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844 "2005-05-07T19:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/1 "2005-05-07T19:35:45Z")
Ok this is a really mild pitting. But it’s a pitting nonetheless of websites that add themselves to your list of favourites (or \ ‘favorites’ \). Particularly Windows and Windows Media. Erm, excuse me. I think _I’ll_ be the judge of what my favourite websites are! The list is afterall designed to be a place where I can put my favourite websites. So please don’t put stuff in there without asking me if it’s actually a favourite of mine first. o-bloody-k? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Unkempt\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Unkempt\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unkempt_One)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/2 "2005-05-07T19:59:43Z")
Word! ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/3 "2005-05-07T20:27:19Z")
> [@The Unkempt One](#): > > Word! I don’t see how that’s going to help - Microsoft makes that too. I’d go with Opera or Firefox myself. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/4 "2005-05-07T21:18:19Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > I don’t see how that’s going to help - Microsoft makes that too. Word up yo! [http://www.decloah.com/weblog/images/entrypics/lbc-word.jpg](http://www.decloah.com/weblog/images/entrypics/lbc-word.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/5 "2005-05-07T22:20:28Z")
My co-worker once grumbled that they should rename “Favorites”, since the websites (internal and external) he put in there were necessary to his job, and thus by default not one of his “Favorite” websites. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/6 "2005-05-08T05:11:16Z")
You’re kidding - IE lets websites add themselves to your favorites? I’ve never really used it. These things come as a shock. ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/7 "2005-05-08T06:52:28Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > You’re kidding - IE lets websites add themselves to your favorites? > > I’ve never really used it. These things come as a shock. To clarify, IE lets certain _Microsoft_ products add themselves to your favorites list. ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/8 "2005-05-08T12:16:07Z")
**Lobsang** , this is puzzling. I don’t have anything in my Favorites file that I didn’t put there myself. Am I understanding you correctly, that somehow things are arbitrarily showing up in that file? Is there any criteria for what is showing up or is it just random? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/9 "2005-05-08T12:33:33Z")
> [@monkeyfist](#): > > To clarify, IE lets certain _Microsoft_ products add themselves to your favorites list. An example of this if you will? I’ve never found anything in my favorites that I didn’t allow. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/10 "2005-05-08T12:36:44Z")
Add me to the confused pile here. I’ve been using IE since 1997 and I have never had any website add itself to my Favorites. The only bookmarks in there are what I put in there. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/11 "2005-05-08T14:33:41Z")
I’ve never had much add itself to favorites. There are a few that come by default, but I have no trouble deleting them. The only thing I dislike is that the links folder inside the favorites folder always comes back. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/12 "2005-05-08T14:42:13Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > I’ve never had much add itself to favorites. There are a few that come by default, but I have no trouble deleting them. The only thing I dislike is that the links folder inside the favorites folder always comes back. There is a work around for that. Right-click on the folder and check the hidden box. It will still be there but you wont see it. ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/13 "2005-05-08T15:14:50Z")
Hey, thanks! I’ve been wondering about that. ---
**Author:** ![midget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@midget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midget)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/14 "2005-05-08T17:32:16Z")
Are you sure your box is fully patched and updated? Are you running a spyware detector/remover (MS Anti-Spyware works pretty well)? What version of Windows and IE are you using? The biggest cause of ‘illegal’ Favorites entries is Spyware. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/15 "2005-05-08T17:39:10Z")
> [@midget](#): > > The biggest cause of ‘illegal’ Favorites entries is Spyware. Or a sibling who surfs porn on your computer because his machine is outside in the living room. ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-think-youre-one-of-my-favourites/302844/16 "2005-05-08T22:21:43Z")
I was referring to the original install favorites that microsoft places in there. I could be mistaken, but I also seem to remember that when I’ve updated certain software, the favorites gets a new link or two. Again, I vaguely remember it being a mediaplayer thing, but that was a while ago.