A favicon (for "favorite icon") is a customized image that Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 (and
above) uses, if it is available, as an icon to go with a user-specified bookmarked site on the
Links bar at the top of a Web browser
window. In Windows 98, a user can add visible links to favorite Web sites simply by dragging with
the mouse the Uniform
Resource Locator (address) of the Web site to the optional Links bar near the top of the
window. Beginning with Internet Explorer 5.0, if a Web site has made available a small image of a
specified size, the browser will download it and put it next to the text for the favorite link on
the Links bar. The favorite icon image must use the standard name of
A favicon.ico can also show up in at least three other places in Windows:
1) In the Favorites list selectable on the Start menu
2) In the location bar of the browser when you are visiting the Web site
3) On your desktop if you first bookmark the site, click Start, Favorites, hold down control,and click on the bookmark to drag it to the desktop (it copies the icon as a shortcut)