Member Avatar for YashBiesel 
 Hello! Since 3 days ago I have had this problem of ANY internet browser that is the default browser opening up on its own on my laptop. However, It opens so fast I can't use the computer anymore. As soon as I log in to my computer, there are already atleast 10 browser pages trying to load the same home screen, and an additional 1-5 browsers pop up every second! This happens to which ever browser I pick as a default one.

I have tried system restore with no luck. I have even tried a factory reset with no luck as well. The only solution I have to stopping the pages from opening is to shut down the explorer.exe process. It took me around 30 minutes to try to install another browser, and all that happens is it starts to just put more pages.

I updated my malwarebytes and Avast! antivirus and did full scans, with nothing reported. If anyone has any tips for me I would really appreciate it! Thank you!
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  • Latest Post Latest Post by np complete

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Short, focused diagnostic checklist that targets the most likely causes (input device, startup item/scheduled task, or a process that spawns the browser) and how to find the program actually launching the windows.

Try quick isolation first. Disconnect Ethernet/Wi‑Fi and unplug every USB/Bluetooth input (external keyboard, mouse, phone, dongles). Reboot with only the laptop keyboard attached. If the popups stop, test each peripheral one at a time — this tests 's keyboard idea without needless reimages.

Do a clean boot and inspect every autorun location rather than only Task Manager. Use Autoruns (run as Administrator) to examine Logon, Scheduled Tasks, Explorer Shell entries, AppInit_DLLs, and Browser Helper Objects; uncheck suspicious entries and reboot to test. Clean-boot via msconfig (hide Microsoft services, disable the rest) to narrow the culprit. (learn.microsoft.com)

Catch the spawner with Sysinternals when the problem happens. Run Process Monitor and filter for process-create / process-start events for the browser executable, or use Process Explorer to show parent/child relationships and the command line of the parent. That identifies the exact process calling ShellExecute/CreateProcess so you can disable or remove it. Useful commands to snapshot the process table (run elevated): 

wmic process get ProcessId,ParentProcessId,Name,CommandLine
netstat -bno

Process Monitor and Process Explorer are designed for this investigation. (learn.microsoft.com)

If you still suspect persistent malware, scan offline (bootable) so nothing in Windows can hide. Microsoft Defender Offline or a rescue disk (for example Kaspersky Rescue Disk) will run scans outside the OS; boot from USB and run full scans before restoring anything. Back up only personal files and scan those backups separately. (learn.microsoft.com)

If all diagnostics fail, a full reinstall from known-good media is reasonable; follow 's imaging advice so you can restore a tested golden image next time. Prioritize isolation, identify the spawning process, then use offline scanners before reimaging.

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Member Avatar for johhny-marshal

Install Google chrome on your system and set it as default browser. You can also disable IE on your computer as: Go to Control Panel-> Add/Remove Programs. In the left side you you need to click on Add/Remove Windows components and select internet explorer to disable.

Member Avatar for YashBiesel

Johhny I am not sure you even took a glance on my problem, I have stated that It doesn't matter what browser I use, they all have the same problem.

Member Avatar for JorgeM

So, there are other anti-malware products you can use. Me personnally, when I come accross these types of nasty malware, I just prefer wiping the PC and reinstalling the OS. You really dont know if all of the malware is removed. You have to trust what the anti-malware app is reporting and as you may have experienced, some apps find malware, while others dont.

What i would recommend is that you setup the computer with the basic apps that you need. Keep your data in a different partition. Then take an "image" of the system drive. A lot of products out there for imaging. In the event of a issue, restore from this "gold" image, which contains all of your typical apps. Data is on its seperate partition so you dont have to do anything there.

Member Avatar for np complete

Could this be a keyboard issue ?

By your question I suppose that only DEFAULT browser does this thing, so maybe, there is a problem with your keys which are making default browser open and open several same pages. If it were to be a virus/malware, I think it may redirect you to another page, but its redirecting to same home page, so may be this is a keyboard issue.

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