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I installed a fresh Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard with GUI instance on a VMware VM. The first time I logged in as Administrator, I noticed an Internet Explorer window automatically opened to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=255141 and redirected to http://www.msn.com/?ocid=wispr. This seems to be the default Internet Explorer Start Page.

This has continued - every time I log in as Administrator or any other user, this page opens.

Later I installed Firefox, and now Firefox opens to this same page on login (which is the default Internet Explorer Start Page, not the Firefox homepage!).

I've checked the Programs Menu Startup folders for Administrator and all users, and used Sysinternals Autoruns to look for something, all to no avail. There doesn't seem to be anything that should be launching IE on logon.

This was a default install of Windows Server with GUI on a network with very limited (whitelisted) outbound Internet access. In fact, msn.com isn't on the whitelist so I never see the page, only the message from my firewall that it's blocked.

I cloned this VM to a couple of other VMs and they exhibit the same behaviour.

The only hits I can find for this sort of problem involve spyware on desktop machines or shortcuts in the Startup folder. It's a mystery to me.

I've even gone through the registry and removed all four references to LinkId=255141:

  • HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main: Start Page and Default_Page_URL (changed both to about:blank)
  • HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main: Start Page and Default_Page_URL (changed both to about:blank)
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  • It it joined to a domain, have you checked GP Mgmt Console or run GPResult on the local machine?
    – Ed Fries
    Jun 1, 2015 at 18:37
  • I would open 'msconfig' and check the 'startup' tab to see if it's being launched there.
    – user291850
    Jun 1, 2015 at 19:51
  • @EdFries It is not yet joined to a domain.
    – MZS
    Jun 1, 2015 at 23:47
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    I'm fairly certain this is the default behavior for all Windows Server OS with a fresh install. I've been seeing this happen since Windows Server 2003. If it's not in MSCONFIG, it might be in the Start Menu > All Programs > Startup or in the registry somewhere.
    – CIA
    Jun 2, 2015 at 17:09
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    @TessellatingHeckler I've seen it since the Windows XP days on desktop OSes and Windows Server 2003/2008/2012 on server OSes (includes STD, SBS, DC, etc); sometimes, it depends on the installation media source (if you bought it retail vs OEM vs MSDN) or if the media was slipstreamed or packaged in a particular way for post config. It's supposed to act as a "first run" kind of thing where it links you to a MS KB article or website congratulating you on installing Windows or informing you about Windows Updates.
    – CIA
    Jun 2, 2015 at 17:25

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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I had the same issue with a Windows 8 installation. The solution described in a microsoft.com forum is:

You can disable it via setting following registry entry from 1 to 0:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet\EnableActiveProbing

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    This fixed it for me, and I believe allowing access to msftncsi.com would also have solved it. It comes down to the Network Connection Status Indicator (NCSI); I'm guessing if it can't hit msftncsi.com it pops up a browser window in case you need to log into a hotspot. Thanks so much!
    – MZS
    Aug 19, 2015 at 19:37
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    I started seeing this behaviour after installing a Pi-Hole on my home network - I guess it was blocking msftncsi.com. This registry fix solved it for me +1
    – MattDavey
    Mar 8, 2016 at 11:58
  • Pi-hole gets everywhere :) this also fixed it for me on a new win 10 install.
    – Mike Redrobe
    May 7, 2016 at 12:04
  • This registry key doesn't exist on my computer, but I'm getting this issue. I have HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters, and that's as far as it go. Is there something else that might cause msn.com to open in my default browser whenever I sign in to Windows?
    – Michael Hoffmann
    Nov 3, 2017 at 22:43
  • For anyone else that can't find the registry key, run regedit as Administrator, and/or create the key manually and set its value to 0.
    – Michael Hoffmann
    Nov 15, 2017 at 0:20

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