Hanging blank pages in IE6 SP2

[Guest]

I'm having a problem with blank pages in IE6 SP2 being created and often
hanging, only able to be closed through the Task Manager. When closed
through Task Manager, all IE pages will close at once. My home page has not
been hijacked. However, often times when I click on a link, the desired page
will not appear. Instead, a blank page will appear and immediately hang.
Sometimes the page will partially paint and then hang. Also, I have noticed
that when I close an IE window, a blank page will immediately be created with
the notorious "about:blank" line in the upper left corner. These pages will
usually close shortly thereafter. But, sometimes they will hang, as well. I
began to notice these blank pages being created a couple of weeks ago. I
have used several different spyware programs, as well as Hijackthis. Nothing
helped. Has anyone seen this? Can anyone help? I use this computer for my
tax business, and this problem is quite annoying. Thanks.

 

[Rob ^_^]

Hi Bigvee,
Do you have McAffee Site Advisor installed or Bowster?
What other Addon toolbars and Browser Helpers have you installed?
Regards.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

I'm having a problem with blank pages in IE6 SP2 being created and often
hanging, only able to be closed through the Task Manager. When closed
through Task Manager, all IE pages will close at once. My home page has
not
been hijacked. However, often times when I click on a link, the desired
page
will not appear. Instead, a blank page will appear and immediately hang.
Sometimes the page will partially paint and then hang. Also, I have
noticed
that when I close an IE window, a blank page will immediately be created
with
the notorious "about:blank" line in the upper left corner. These pages
will
usually close shortly thereafter. But, sometimes they will hang, as well.
I
began to notice these blank pages being created a couple of weeks ago. I
have used several different spyware programs, as well as Hijackthis.
Nothing
helped. Has anyone seen this? Can anyone help? I use this computer for
my
tax business, and this problem is quite annoying. Thanks.

Do a _thorough_ malware check. Help with malware:
All MS-MVP Sites.
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/darnit.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
For quite a few people it's by installing Messenger Plus, whose ads for
malware don't identify the malware as such and try to convince you that you
owe it to the author. See also:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971
Don't ever do a "default" install of anything. Always choose Custom and see
what else is being carried along. Don't install any extras you're not sure
of.

 

[Guest]

I do not have McAfee Site Advisor or Bowster. I did get an IE error
yesterday which seemed to point to my Verizon toolbar. Is it sufficient to
turn the toolbar off, or do I need to uninstall it? On the issue of malware,
I ran a variety of spyware programs, as well as Highjackthis. Unfortunately,
I have been unable to get help analyzing the highjackthis log file.