+3  A: 

In your onclick event, this.blur()

or, specifically set focus somewhere else.

BoltBait
See http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/javascript/article.php/3471171 also
Jay
Damn, you guys are fast! Thanks BoltBait and Geoff.
Doug Kaye
This was the first good answer, but I switched to davebug's CSS solution.
Doug Kaye
Just be careful (as Kent mentions below) you may decrease usability with people that use the Tab key to navigate your web site.
BoltBait
Yup (I made that point myself earlier), I think davebug's answer should be edited to reflect this.
Bobby Jack
I also like this solution better than the CSS because of the keyboard navigation comments.
dfrankow
A: 

You can start by looking at the :focus and :active pseudo classes, although you probably shouldn't be completely removing any formatting from these cases, since they are an invaluable usability aid.

Bobby Jack
+10  A: 

You'll want to add the following line to your css:

a:active, a:focus { outline-style: none; -moz-outline-style:none; }

(Assuming your tabs are done using the a element, of course.)

[edit] On request from everyone else, for future viewers of this it should be noted that the outline is essential for keyboard-navigators as it designates where your selection is and, so, gives a hint to where your next 'tab' might go. Thus, it's inadvisable to remove this dotted-line selection. But it is still useful to know how you would do it, if you deem it necessary.

And as mentioned in a comment, if you are only dealing with FF > v1.5, feel free to leave out the -moz-outline-style:none;

davebug
From http://developer.mozilla.org/en/CSS/-moz-outline-style: "Starting with Mozilla 1.8 / Firefox 1.5, the standard CSS 2.1 outline-style property is supported as well. Use of outline-style is preferred to -moz-outline-style."
Bobby Jack
Note: this doesn't appear to work for select boxes.
Xeoncross
+1  A: 

For starters, try this

*,*:hover,*:focus,*:active { outline: 0px none; }

This will however decrease usability.

You'll want to selectively apply alternative effects where relevant to give people such as those whom navigate primarily with the TAB key have an idea of what currently has focus.

div.foo:active, 
div.foo:focus, 
div.foo:hover
{  
  /* Alternative Style */
}
Kent Fredric