What is this web site trying to do?

[Tim]

Frank Cox:
>> Many web browsers (including Firefox) automatically look for and download a
[favicon]


Mike McCarty:
> I use Mozilla, and I see nothing like what you describe.

It used to be a configuration option, though probably via the
about:config conglomeration, rather than in the user-friendly control
panels.

>> favicon.ico file if one exists in the root directory of your website.  That's
>> the little doodad graphic that appears in your location bar beside the site
>> name.  For example, if you go to my website:  http://www.melvilletheatre.com
>> you will see a little film reel in your location bar.

> Hmm. That's certainly something I would disable if I could, and if I
> couldn't I'd change browsers. Sounds like a great opportunity for a
> security breach.

How so?  If you're browsing example.com, they already know it.  Getting
another file (favicon.ico) doesn't reveal anything more about what
you're doing.  And, after all these years, browsers ought to be good at
handling a non-spec icon file, displaying if it can, or ignoring if it
can't.  There'd be far more exploit posibilities in the HTML rendering.

Yours is the first post I've seen in years of someone wanting to avoid
the favicons.  I've seen more conversations about trying to get them to
show up, when they sometimes won't.

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