diff --git a/src/app/window.coffee b/src/app/window.coffee
index 272f91029..d2d70894c 100644
--- a/src/app/window.coffee
+++ b/src/app/window.coffee
@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ window.setUpEnvironment = ->
   $(document).on 'keydown', keymap.handleKeyEvent
   keymap.bindDefaultKeys()
 
+  ignoreEvents = (e) ->
+    e.preventDefault()
+    e.stopPropagation()
+  $(document).on 'dragover', ignoreEvents
+  $(document).on 'drop', ignoreEvents
+
   requireStylesheet 'reset'
   requireStylesheet 'atom'
   requireStylesheet 'overlay'
diff --git a/src/packages/tabs/lib/tab-bar-view.coffee b/src/packages/tabs/lib/tab-bar-view.coffee
index 926e5c3ae..ea8abd24b 100644
--- a/src/packages/tabs/lib/tab-bar-view.coffee
+++ b/src/packages/tabs/lib/tab-bar-view.coffee
@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ class TabBarView extends View
       event.preventDefault()
       return
 
+    event.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData 'atom-event', 'true'
+
     el = $(event.target).closest('.sortable')
     el.addClass 'is-dragging'
     event.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData 'sortable-index', el.index()
@@ -93,6 +95,11 @@ class TabBarView extends View
     @find(".is-dragging").removeClass 'is-dragging'
 
   onDragOver: (event) =>
+    unless event.originalEvent.dataTransfer.getData('atom-event') is 'true'
+      event.preventDefault()
+      event.stopPropagation()
+      return
+
     event.preventDefault()
     currentDropTargetIndex = @find(".is-drop-target").index()
     newDropTargetIndex = @getDropTargetIndex(event)
@@ -107,6 +114,11 @@ class TabBarView extends View
 
 
   onDrop: (event) =>
+    unless event.originalEvent.dataTransfer.getData('atom-event') is 'true'
+      event.preventDefault()
+      event.stopPropagation()
+      return
+
     event.stopPropagation()
     @children('.is-drop-target').removeClass 'is-drop-target'
     @children('.drop-target-is-after').removeClass 'drop-target-is-after'
diff --git a/src/packages/tabs/spec/tabs-spec.coffee b/src/packages/tabs/spec/tabs-spec.coffee
index 7eb59d232..b5b733c17 100644
--- a/src/packages/tabs/spec/tabs-spec.coffee
+++ b/src/packages/tabs/spec/tabs-spec.coffee
@@ -278,3 +278,19 @@ describe "TabBarView", ->
         expect(pane2.getItems()).toEqual [item2b, item1]
         expect(pane2.activeItem).toBe item1
         expect(pane2.focus).toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    describe 'when a non-tab is dragged to pane', ->
+      it 'has no effect', ->
+        expect(tabBar.getTabs().map (tab) -> tab.text()).toEqual ["Item 1", "sample.js", "Item 2"]
+        expect(pane.getItems()).toEqual [item1, editSession1, item2]
+        expect(pane.activeItem).toBe item2
+        spyOn(pane, 'focus')
+
+        [dragStartEvent, dropEvent] = buildDragEvents(tabBar.tabAtIndex(0), tabBar.tabAtIndex(0))
+        tabBar.onDrop(dropEvent)
+
+        expect(tabBar.getTabs().map (tab) -> tab.text()).toEqual ["Item 1", "sample.js", "Item 2"]
+        expect(pane.getItems()).toEqual [item1, editSession1, item2]
+        expect(pane.activeItem).toBe item2
+        expect(pane.focus).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+