About:blank Page – What It is And How to Remove it on Web Browser -About Blank Page Address Bar
Web browser developers integrated the About:blank page in the web browser address bar when launched newly to help users with a fresh and empty white browser page to easily enter a web address they want to visit without any hassle. Almost all the web browsers have an about:blank page;
- Google Chrome – chrome about:blank page
- Mozilla Firefox – Mozilla Firefox about:blank page
- Apple Safari – Apple Safari About:blank Page
- Microsoft Edge – Microsoft Edgeabout:blank page
- Internet Explorer – Internet Explorerabout:blank page
- Vivaldi – Vivaldiabout:blank page
- Maxthon Browser – Maxthon Browserabout:blank page
- Falkon – Falkonabout:blank page
- Epic Privacy Browser
- RockMelt
- Brave
- Slim Browser
- Torch Browser
- Konqueror browser
- Nightly
What we did above is to show you that almost every browser opens in an empty white screen or page called about: blank page and it’s not a bug issue neither is an error, it’s an intentional web browser startup page to help you easily navigate to any web address of your choice without their interference.
However, this post will enlighten you more on what does it mean when a web page is blank, why you get about blank page and how to remove or get rid of it if you don’t want your browser started with the about blank page in the future.
What Is About Blank Page – Google Chrome – Mozilla Firefox and other Browser?
The about page in the most browsers is internal directory navigation that helps you locate or find the internal features and settings of the browser while in another browser it’s a first blank page display that tells you that you are up to enter the web address you did like to visit.
About:blank Page as a Navigation Tool
As earlier noted, you can use the about a blank keyword to locate a setting in a browser as well as directories you want to access. To, for instance, you want to locate the download directory in Google Chrome, you could just key in About:download and your chrome download directory will pop up, you could also use it for navigating to chrome settings by entering “About:settings” and you will be taken to chrome settings.
- List of Google Chrome About: Navigation – List of Chrome URLs
- About:extensions
- About:settings
- About: Downloads
- About:Bookmarks
A comprehensive list of Google Chrome about command or URL is down the post, scroll down, and get familiar with them.
Is About blank Useful?
Yes, an about blank page is useful in that, it saves you from the crazy suggestions of a static or changing home page web browsers often suggest or auto makes your home page. More so, you can easily reach any website you want to from the about page. So most browsers display the blank page if they don’t have a home page suggestion for you. Though browsers mostly suggest Google search engine as your home page or your last open tabs and other search engines like yahoo, Bing or Yandex.
How to Set About Blank Page as your Default Browser Home page – Set Browser Default Home page – How Do I get Rid of the about blank page?
If your browser doesn’t open in blank about the page you can set it yourself following the below instructions;
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More.
- Select Settings.
- Under “Appearance,” check the box Show Home button.
- Below the “Show Home button,” click Change to choose your homepage.
- Tick the New tab or to use a custom home page, tick the custom, and enter the web address of the site or page you want to use as your default home page.
Is about Blank page a Virus or Malware?
Technically, the about blank page is nowhere near a malware or virus, however, we experienced an occasion where key loggers and internet fraudsters used the about page or blank screen to prevent users from accessing any website or visiting any web URL on their browser. So if the about page seems to keep showing if when you have changed it from being your default home page, then it’s likely you are infected by virus or malware.
How to Clean up About Blank Page Virus or Malware – How to Fix It
When the about page keeps showing up even when you changed it from being your default home page or even when you type in a web address to visit and it returns you to the about blank page do this;
- Check if the device is still connected to the internet
- Make sure the URL or address you want to visit is correct and functional
- Clear your browser history, cache, and cookies
- Scan your system with an antivirus or antimalware program
- Close or restart your browser
- Restart your device
- Make sure your browser is updated running on the latest version.
- Uninstall and install back your browser
Recommendation: Use Malwarebytes to scan your computer, it has a free version that can perform manual scans and remove malware. The paid Premium version just adds automatic background scanning. Malwarebytes supports both Windows PCs and Macs.
Here is a similar report of someone who got infected by an organization similar to a blank page display.
Issue: each time I open Google Chrome or open a new tab, the page shows up completely blank and the search bar reads “about: blank” No matter what I do, adding a theme, turning off extensions, etc. I cannot get it to just show the google site/normal home screen. I cannot tell if this is associated with the malware I had to remove from my computer but please help.
It is extremely frustrating. This same blank page appears even when I open up a new incognito tab! Also, my settings tell me that my browser is being controlled by an organization? Is this related? This is not my school account so I know it should not be controlled by anyone.
The above malware cleanup we listed is what was recommended and as he performed the last one and installed a fresh version of the browser, the issues ceased.
How Can You Get Rid of It?
See, you can’t get rid of about blank page is part and parcel of your browser but you can remove it from being your default home page in your browser settings following the instructions we show you at the post top “How to Set About Blank Page as your Default Browser Home page – Set Browser Default Home page – How Do I Get Rid of the about blank page” refer to this sub-top above to get rid or fix the about blank page default appearance.
You can also use the same instruction in Removing about:blank home page from Chrome, and as use to fix Google chrome blank page. The same thing is applicable to Mozilla Firefox.
How to Remove In Mozilla Firefox
In Mozilla Firefox, click menu > Options > Home. Select your desired home page for new windows and new tabs. Ensure “about:blank” or “Blank Page” isn’t selected here. Stopping Firefox from opening with blank windows
How to Remove in Apple Safari
In Apple Safari on a Mac, click Safari > Preferences > General. Under Homepage, remove “about:blank” and enter your desired home page. Disabling about:blank in Safari on macOS Catalina
How to Remove about Blank page in Microsoft Edge Browser
In Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser, click menu > Settings >On startup. Select “Open a new tab” or remove about:blank from the list of pages Edge opens when you launch it. Removing about:blank from the new Microsoft Edge’s startup pages
How to Remove about Blank page In Internet Explorer
Click the gear-shaped menu button and select “Internet Options.” Remove “about:blank” from the home page box at the top of the General pane. Enter the address of your desired home page. Stopping Internet Explorer from opening with about:blank
List of Google Chrome URL – Google Chrome About: Navigation
- (chrome://bookmarks/)
- chrome://bluetooth-internals/#adapter
- chrome://blob-internals/
- chrome://about
- chrome://accessibility
- chrome://appcache-internals
- chrome://apps
- chrome://autofill-internals
- chrome://blob-internals
- chrome://bluetooth-internals
- chrome://bookmarks
- chrome://chrome-urls
- chrome://components
- chrome://conflicts
- chrome://conversion-internals
- chrome://crashes
- chrome://credits
- chrome://device-log
- chrome://devices
- chrome://dino
- chrome://discards
- chrome://download-internals
- chrome://downloads
- chrome://extensions
- chrome://flags
- chrome://gcm-internals
- chrome://gpu
- chrome://help
- chrome://histograms
- chrome://history
- chrome://indexeddb-internals
- chrome://inspect
- chrome://interstitials
- chrome://interventions-internals
- chrome://invalidations
- chrome://local-state
- chrome://management
- chrome://media-engagement
- chrome://media-internals
- chrome://nacl
- chrome://net-export
- chrome://net-internals
- chrome://network-error
- chrome://network-errors
- chrome://new-tab-page
- chrome://newtab
- chrome://ntp-tiles-internals
- chrome://omnibox
- chrome://password-manager-internals
- chrome://policy
- chrome://predictors
- chrome://prefs-internals
- chrome://print
- chrome://process-internals
- chrome://quota-internals
- chrome://safe-browsing
- chrome://sandbox
- chrome://serviceworker-internals
- chrome://settings
- chrome://signin-internals
- chrome://site-engagement
- chrome://suggestions
- chrome://supervised-user-internals
- chrome://sync-internals
- chrome://system
- chrome://terms
- chrome://thumbnails
- chrome://tracing
- chrome://translate-internals
- chrome://usb-internals
- chrome://user-actions
- chrome://version
- chrome://webrtc-internals
- chrome://webrtc-logs
These list of about blank page command also works in Mozilla Firefox.