is just a blank page built into your browser settings based on an Internal URI scheme
. Internet Explorer's Internet Options (and other browsers) have several choices for setting your Home Page under the General Tab: "Use current
", "Use default
", "Use blank
". The "Use blank" page setting is exactly what it means...start Internet Explorer with a blank page.
This is beneficial for a variety of reasons to include opening the browser faster since there are no images, ads, etc which can impede the loading of a page. Various other web browsers use about:blank to display certain built-in functions or to display information about the browser.
Many years ago there was a CWS hijacker
with the same about:blank
name but that infection is no longer active...for more information, see The CoolWebSearch Chronicles
by Metallica. Some folks today who inadvertently encounter that setting and do a Google Search erroneously
believe they are infected. When conducting a Google search, it is not unusual to find numerous hits from untrustworthy and scam sites which mis-classify detections or provide misleading information
. This is deliberately done more as a scam
to entice folks into buying an advertised fix or removal tool. If you have recently been dealing with a malware infection, be aware that some security tools intentionally reset all installed browsers to default or the "about:blank" setting as part of their routine.
Have you tried to reset your browser
hompage settings via Internet Explorer's Tools menu > Internet Options > General tab > Home page > "Use Blank"?