Ask a new question

F1 Key and Help Function spawning multiple ad windows in Chrome

This odd behavior occurs across all Office 2013 applications I have tried - Word, Excel, Visio, and Powerpoint.  

Hitting F1 or invoking the help function from any in-program help shortcut when having Chrome set as the default web browser invokes an avalanche of separate browser tabs, each bearing one iteration of whatever ads are being served on the main MS help site.  These tabs keep multiplying as long as any help window is is open, until Chrome is overwhelmed by the sheer number of open tabs, and crashes.  

While I know MS would prefer that I use IE, my work location mandates use of Chrome.  Switching isn't an option.

Are others experiencing this? Any advice on mitigations?    

Thanks in advance for any/all help or advice.  -kbs

Answer
Answer

I don't see that behavior at all. Hitting F1 in an Office program opens a window like this:

Clicking any of those links returns results in the same kind of window. Some of those results will link to web sites, which will open in your default browser, but I've never seen one open more than one tab -- and none of them contain advertising of any kind.

I suspect you've picked up some malware. Try downloading and running the MalwareBytes scanner, looking especially for Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) that can be quarantined and removed.

_____________________________
https://jay-freedman.info

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated September 30, 2021 Views 263 Applies to: