Hello Frank. First of all, take a look at this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser It will help you understand what the browser really is. Now, as for your issue, if I understand it correctly, the only way to prevent this from happening (that I know of) is to go into Tools > Options > Tabs and select "Open links that open in a new window in:" as "New Tab". Of course, you can always drag and drop tabs from window to window, no problem.