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question about about:blank

Discussion in 'Security and Privacy' started by johnsdp, 2004/10/30.

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  1. 2004/10/30
    johnsdp

    johnsdp Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hey guys, A couple weeks ago Lonny graciously assisted me in solving the about:blank hijack. It seems to still be gone but.... I read some stuff about AVG-6 going away so I installed Avast! AV and other than finding all the adaware and panda definitions and quarantining command.com, winsock.dll and kernel.32, it looks like a well-supported free AV program. I also have been running the latest Search and Destroy along with AdaWare SE plus the new CWShredder.(the new CWShredder is better now)
    Here's the thing. When I wish to go directly to a Website via File, Open and type in the address i.e.: www.yahoo.com then hit OK. The little box on the lower left that says "done" when it's done says "finding site about:blank" for just a flash then blinks to 127.0.0.1 then finally to "finding site yahoo.com" and whatever I entered into the open box loads.
    Now I know you are thinking that about:blank is in a host file but it is not in the one http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/ you guys turned me on to. Has about:blank left some remnants that are trying to hijack me again or am I paranoid but I swear it shows in the progress window for a split second.
    Also, can I add www.about:blank.com to restricted sites? Will IE 6.XX take restricted sites with wildcards like *about:blank*?
    Thanks dudes,
    Dan
     
    johnsdp,
    #1
  2. 2004/11/12
    Master Green

    Master Green Inactive

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    Hi,
    I will and can only speak of my experience with "about:blank" and even though I have no quick fixes and know of none but will still pass on my experiences. You can go to "google" and search for info on it but nothing has removed it despite all the efforts by many. However, recently on a friends computer they kept (at my request) running Spybot and eventually it removed in and all is well for now. So best wishes and if you or anyone hears of anything that can or will, pass it along here as there are numerous people having issues with it...
     
    Master Green,
    #2


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  4. 2004/11/12
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    this fix from long ago at Axel's site:

    KILL IE ABOUT: URLS


    THE BUG:

    In Windows 98/2000/ME/XP [they all install MS IE 4/5/6 upon initial setup :(] and in Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4 with MS IE 4/5/6 installed, there is an annoying MS Internet Explorer vulnerability. Certain web sites force the opening of a hidden popup tracking minimized window upon your first visit, or when you leave their web site, or when you close your browser while one of their web pages is still displayed.

    This is an outrageous invasion of privacy, if you ask me!
    They do this by using the little known "about:" browser built-in command into their HTML/DHTML/XML code.

    There is not much you can do, except close it by right-clicking on it and selecting Close/Exit, or by highlighting it with a single mouse left-click and then pressing simultaneously Alt + F4. That is if you can detect its small taskbar icon, because it won't allow to be restored or maximized, unlike the other well behaved windows. :(

    THE FIX:

    You can kill ALL MS IE "about:" URLs permanently with this Registry hack.
    Create a REG file in Notepad (save it as NOABOUT.REG for example), with these lines:


    -----Begin cut & paste here-----
    REGEDIT4

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\ProtocolDefaults]
    "about "=dword:00000004
    "about: "=dword:00000004

    ------End cut & paste here------
    Then run NOABOUT.REG from Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = C:\WINDOWS\WINFILE.EXE) to merge (import) this info into your Registry.
    This will place all "about:" URLs into the MS IE Restricted Zone "hell ", which means they will not open anymore when using IE to surf the net. :)

    UPDATES:

    "There is a downside to this fix - namely it will disable the MS IE internet keyword for the www.about.com site, and also, it will kill the use of a blank page as the startup browser page. There's not a lot that can be done for the former, as it seems that IE cannot be made to differentiate between the keyword "about" and one of those annoying about: URLs. However, I've had good success with fixing the latter by adding "about:blank" both under: Control Panel -> Internet Options -> click Security tab -> highlight Trusted sites -> click the Sites... button -> uncheck the "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" box -> highlight "Add this Web site to the zone:" box -> type about:blank -> click the Add button -> click OK twice, and this DWORD Value:
    "about:blank "=dword:00000003
    under the same Registry key above. "
    [Thank you PC Mechanic (pcmechanic@mypcmechanic.com)!]

    "This also kills Yahoo Messenger scripting, not allowing users to see any outgoing or incoming typed text. "
    [Thank you CC (cctguru@hotmail.com)!]
     
    TonyT,
    #3
  5. 2004/11/12
    Lonny Jones

    Lonny Jones Inactive Alumni

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    Merijns Bugoff is a good idea to
    http://www.merijn.org/downloads.html
     
    Lonny Jones,
    #4
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