Thanks for your input... I have Windows XP as my OS and the toolbar was something my son downloaded... it was some sort of web search toolbar that materialized everytime I opened a browser, even though I unchecked it and deleted it from add/remove programs... plus the two favorites folders must have been a part of that. There was a gambling folder and a site for male *ahem* enlargement. lol Fortunately, as ascribed to my diligence, I have since resolved the issue. I ran Ad-aware and found that these sites had embedded themselves in my registry and files.