An Unknown Program Would Like To Change My Homepage
Hi!
I am running Windows 8.1 with all the updates and Bitdefender Free.
Every time I start IE, this note appears at the bottom in a yellow bar:
An unknown program would like to change your homepage to about:blank.
That is translated from my system language of Slovenian, the original text is:
Neznan program želi spremeniti vašo domačo stran v about:blank.
The actual page shown is the one showing the 6 or 8 recently visited web pages. (i think it is the default setting, you can open it any time by entering the URL about:Tabs ).
Why is this happening?
Judging by this support article, I suspect it is related to BD Free: What to do when Home Page resets to about:blank in Internet Explorer
Also, some (i know for two) pages freeze when opened (by clicking them on the mentioned start page). This is almost always reproducible:
- close all IE windows
- start IE
- click the site icon
Then the site partially loads, then freezes. The entire IE window is frozen, does not react to anything, like: scrolling the page, trying to close the IE window, clicking anything on the page (left or right click). In most cases the "open new tab" icon works and the new tab works normally (with other web pages) while the first is still frozen.
Sometimes even the start menu and all desktop freezes (then ctrl-alt-del can be used to regain control).
What is interesting is: if first another web page is opened, then the problematic one, then it works fine.
Also those pages on another computer in IE work fine.
So to recap: the user frequently visits about 8 web pages. When he starts IE they are shown as tiles to click on (and the mentioned yellow bar about something trying to change the homepage). If he first clicks on one of two "problematic" pages, the partly load then freeze. If he first opens some other page, all pages work, including the "problematic" ones.
The problem pages are from two a news sites that some claim are politically biased (aren't they all?) so the user is upset that it is some conspiracy trying to prevent him seeing the "right" news...
The URL are: http://www.reporter.si and (if I remember correctly) http://www.pozareport.si
Maybe I should just install Chrome...
Comments
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PS: Here is a screenshot (found on google) of a similar IE message bar, in case it is unclear what I an talking about: http://i.imgur.com/BXnBooD.png
It is referring to an attempted change of the default search provider. Funny, I could not find a single image with the text about attempted change of home page...
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Hello Xerces8,
Upgrading to more modern browsers usually helps countering such situations.
You can also follow the steps in our article bellow in a attempt to resolve this situation.
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It looks like a malware infection of the operating system.
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Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention: I ran all possible checks, from memory: DrWeb CureIT, TrendMicro HouseCall, McAfee Stinger, ESET "online" Scan, MBAM, SUPERAntiSpyware, AdwCleaner, Junkware Removal Tool, Spybot, Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit
They found nothing.
Also, there are no add-ons in IE, just about 2-3 default ones from Microsoft and Flash (up to date).
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Hello,
Might not be a infection if Bitdefender is active on the system and says you're okay.
Check your Task Scheduler for anything tied to IE, if you see a task to change the homepage simply disable or remove it.
Alternatively you can reset your browser to ensure proper settings.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17441/windows-internet-explorer-change-reset-settings
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Might not be a infection if Bitdefender is active on the system and says you're okay.
I have several times seen on computers with BAFE that worked malware (it even was visible in Process Explorer), but BAFE never noticed.
This was rare, but it was. Nevertheless, I believe BAFE best among free antivirus software.
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