Vanity: Swastika on my Freerepublic URL window

Self | N/A | N/A

[conservativeharleyguy]

A tiny swastika appears on my "URL window" when I'm on Freerepublic.

[conservativeharleyguy]

OK, I don't get what's happening here. I use IE-8, and it always appends these insipid little cartoon-like icons both on my "Favorites" list and inside the URL window at the top of the IE-8 window. Usually they are sort of relative to the website/webpage I'm "visiting" at the time (i.e. a tiny ebay logo, or Google has a little "g" logo, or the maddening craigslist peace symbol). I don't really like it, but since I can't find a way to disable that "feature", I've learned to live with it.

But now, there's a little red swastika inside a yellow circle with what sort of look like crosshairs when I visit Freerepublic.

Can someone please explain this to me, and perhaps tell me how to disable the stupid cartoon icon function overall? It's driving me nuts.

Thanks!!!

[Valpal1]

Weird, I have a little red, white and blue star icon. I’m too computer illiterate to help you though.

[Let's Roll]

RWB star shows on mine.

What service provider are you using?

[OldDeckHand]

Clear your cache and restart explorer.

[Nam Vet]

Red, white and blue star on mine too. The star may not be centered, but it sure is a star.

Nam Vet

[El Sordo]

Screensot or it didn’t happen.

[The_Reader_David]

Sounds to me like you’ve got some sort of politically-motivated malware, created to substitute swastikas for the favicon (the name for the little graphic websites can create to appear beside the URL window) on conservative websites.

Unless, that is, you’ve visited a site with the swastika favicon, in which case it might simply be a glitch. For some reason I have FreeRepublic’s favicon attached to one (and only one) webpage on my university’s server I frequently use, while the rest show the university’s favicon.

[cranked]

Agreed.......

[RandallFlagg]

Agreed. Screenshot it and post the pic.
I get the star, but have been using Firefox.

[J Edgar]

It’s a DHS classification Icon?

[Cacique]

Bump for later review..

[Egon]

It's nothing you can change (not without hacking it, apparently), but for your edification:

In the header section of the source HTML there's a pointer to a "shortcut icon" that the webdeveloper points to a small picture that he wants displayed next to the tab, or in the address bar, or in the shortcuts.

One of the other posters pointed out that you should be able to clear your cache, and have it fix it. He's likely right... although Firefox has always seemed a little flaky as to when it refreshes that icon.

[mnehring]

I see their little white star icon. It sounds like you may have gone to a site that also put an icon in your computer that had the same name and over-rode the FR icon your browser uses.

[OldDeckHand]

"although Firefox has always seemed a little flaky as to when it refreshes that icon."

Yep, especially the version just before 3.6.6. This used to happen to me all the time - not with swastikas, but with the damned "Politco" favicon. That thing would show up on all kinds of other sites. The only way to fix it - sometimes - was to delete the "infected" cookie. It's only happened once since upgrading to 3.6.6., and clearing the cache works to fix it.

[hometoroost]

I have IE8 and I have shifting icons all the time with all of the sites I visit. Right now when I have FR up there’s a hockey logo. Every now and then the star comes back. I think it’s just another one of Bill Gates’ many product flaws.

[gunnyg]

living here on such a strange planet i don’t even question such minor happenings as that....

[Popman]

Pulled up FR on Firefox, IE and Google Chrome.

All RWB star icons.

[mylife]

I got the star as well

[feedback doctor]

Red, Cracker, and Blue on mine!

[GeronL]

I get the red, white and blue star logo.