You might be confused about the page on your browser which says – “about:blank.” Wondering what it is? Is it malware? Is it a useful page? Here is everything you need to know about it!
There are various URI schemes in a browser. One such scheme is the About URI scheme, which most of the browsers support.
about:blank is actually one of the commands included in the URI scheme. It is meant to display a blank page in a browser (with literally nothing – no external resources). You might encounter about:blank pages when you open a new tab or when a new window pops up. By default, you should not encounter the about:blank page unless you have modified the browser settings.
Is about:blank Page A Malware?
As mentioned above, it is a built-in URI scheme for almost all browsers. So, it is not a malware or virus. But, when you encounter about blank pages without explicitly entering it in the address bar of the browser, it might be a sign that a virus or malware has infected your system.
When Do We Know That A Malware Causes about:blank Pages To Appear?
If you have a system affected by malware, you would surely observe odd things happening. For instance, a browser window suddenly pops up with about:blank command while browsing the web. If you see that happening, you should run a scan for malware with the help of a trusted Anti-malware software like Malwarebytes which offers a free version.
In either case, if you observe about:blank page while opening a new tab (ensuring that you have not modified the browser settings in any way), then you need to run a scan for malware.
Will The about:blank Page Appear Even If The System Is Free From Malware?
Yes, it may appear. Even if you clean out the malware, the about:blank page would work because it is a browser command, it is not a virus itself. Of course, if your system is free from malware, you would not encounter about:blank pages appearing automatically.
Sometimes, about:blank pages appear just after you remove/quarantine a malware/virus. It is because when the virus/malware is taken care of, the browser still has the modified settings but does not have the source URL anymore. So, it fills it up with the about:blank page.
Is about:blank Page Useful?
Yes, it is a useful page. You can choose to set it as your start page when you launch the browser in case you are on an insufficient Internet plan (metered connection). The reason – about:blank page does not require any external resources to load i.e. it utilizes no Internet connection (no data transferred over the Internet). So, that saves you from unnecessary data usage before browsing the web.
Wrapping Up
So, about:blank page is just a part of the about URI scheme. It is not a virus or malware. There is nothing to be worried about when you launch a window with this page opened up.
Do you still have a query on about:blank page on your browser? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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