If you had a new tab open in your browser with a URL address about: blank and the tab’s page title you might concerned about some kind of strange virus or something wrong with your browser.
In this article, you will find what is About Blank page is, the main use of the about:blank, how to set about:blank as your homepage and finally how to remove about:blank and set your favourite web page whenever you open your web browser.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is about:blank?
- 2 Why do browsers use about:blank?
- 3 Why do I keep getting about blank page?
- 4 Is about:blank Virus or Malware?
- 5 How to set about:blank as your homepage in Firefox and Chrome?
- 6 How to Remove about:blank as Your Start Page?
- 7 Your Questions Answered on about:blank page
- 8 If you have any comments or questions on about:blank page please them down below.
What is about:blank?
Do not worry, the about: blank is nothing more than just a build in empty page which comes with most browsers ( Chrome, Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Brave). However, in rare cases malware or virus can cause about:blank page to appear.
so let’s find out What is about:blank page exactly? and Why does it shows up in your browser address bar?
Why do browsers use about:blank?
Use of about:blank is simple, it gives you an empty page and helps to load the browser super-fast, since this page not loading from the internet.
For example, if you use Chrome web browser you can type chrome://extensions or about:extensions, about:settings, about:chrome-urls to view the respective view as listed in the following images.
Why do I keep getting about blank page?
As mentioned above peoples use prefer to use about:blank for many reasons:
- To set the home page blank or in other words when peoples wants to launch web browser without loading an actual web page as the start page.
- Avoid opening various tabs from the previous session.
- Increase privacy when opening a web browser.
- To minimus the bandwidth or use of excessive computer resources by opening the about:blank tab, since it is not from external source (non-internet).
- The browser can’t understand what to display so displays the about:blank page.
Is about:blank Virus or Malware?
No, about:blank is not anything malicious. However, in some rare cases, Virus or Malware can cause about:blank page to display in your web browser.
However, many people believe about:blank is a computer virus, but it isn’t, when a browser needs to show an empty page, it uses the about:blank page.
Because the page is not delivered from an external source, it is safe for your computer. But spyware CAN make a browser open blank pages.
Nevertheless, if you think your computer is infected by a Virus or Malware you can use well know antivirus or antimalware programs to perform virus scans.
In the future, you may want to avoid tracking, intrusive advertisements, malicious websites, and risky downloads best VPN service to protect your identity.
How to set about:blank as your homepage in Firefox and Chrome?
With the following steps, you will be able to set about:blank as your homepage in IE, Firefox, or Chrome web browsers.
Set a Blank Home Page in Firefox
Step 1: Type chrome://settings in the URL field and press Enter or open “settings”.
Step 2: Types “new windows and tabs” into the “Find in Setting box” as view the following image.
Step 3: Then you can choose what you see when you open your homepage, new windows, and new tabs. Select “Blank Page” from the “Homepage and new windows” drop-down menu as in the following image.
Step 4: Select “Blank Page” from the “New tabs” drop-down menu.
Set a Blank Home Page in Chrome
The Chrome web browser by default loads a blank tab page rather than loading a web page from the external source (web page), however, if your Chrome web browser loads a web page from the internet using the following steps you can change it back to about:blank as Your Start Page.
Step 1: Type chrome:settings in the URL field and press Enter.
Step 1: Then, type “Open the new tab” on the search box as in the following image.
How to Remove about:blank as Your Start Page?
The following steps help you to easily get rid of about:blank on IE, Firefox, or Chrome web browsers. However, there are two main things you need to consider when removing about:blank as your start page.
- if you already set your browser settings to open about:blank as your start page, repeat the process for your web browsers to undo the changes, then you will able to remove about:blank as your start page.
- keep in mind if you repeatedly getting about:blank as your web browser start page, your computer might infected with a malware or viruses. So, you have to use well know antivirus or antimalware programs to perform virus scans and you can migitigate this kind of attakes by using best VPN service.
Nevertheless, you will not able to permanatly remove about:blank from your browser, since it is built-in with the browser. Yes, you can disable to or redirect to your favourite web page.
Your Questions Answered on about:blank page
Is about blank a virus?
No, it is not harmful malware or virus that is installed into your computer via the internet. The ‘about:blank’ is just a blank page load from an internal source (non-internet). Simply, when a browser needs to show an empty page, it uses the about:blank page.
Why do I get this about blank blocked?
You can easily block about:blank page from your web browser and load your favourite website instead, simply follow these steps to remove about blank page.
how to get rid of about blank page
Why do I keep getting about blank page?
You might keep getting about blank page due to these reasons.
How do I fix a blank web page?
How to remove about blank page