Internet Explorer kept opening new windows. What happened?

[yk7]

I was browsing with Firefox when all of a sudden Internet Explorer kept opening new windows at a rate of about 3 per second. It was going so fast that all I could do was shut down my computer and it hasn't happened since. I don't really recall what pages I was on but it kept happening after I closed Firefox. Is this a virus? How can I check if it is or isn't?

 

[whs]

I have seen that a couple of times too. Restart is the cure. No idea what the cause is.

 

[yk7]

I didn't really have a good view of what was being opened in IE since the new windows kept covering the previous ones, but I got a small glimpse of "myemail@" in the address bar just before I pressed shut down.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Can you reproduce the issue? If so, what website were you visiting in Firefox.

 

[A Guy]

Is Internet Explorer your default browser? Or Firefox?

A Guy

 

[yk7]

Can you reproduce the issue? If so, what website were you visiting in Firefox.

I'm unable to reproduce it.

Is Internet Explorer your default browser? Or Firefox?

A Guy

Firefox. I never use Internet Explorer.

 

[yk7]

Completed full scans with:
SUPERAntiSpyware (Free) - OK
Malwarebytes Pro (Paid) - OK
Avast IS (Paid) - OK
MSE (Free) - OK
HitmanPro (Paid) - Deleted Softonic PUP in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\ & Quarantined ..\AppData\Local\Temp\10d2...\CliSecureRT64.dll

Still looking to know if anything normal could have caused this or if it's a virus.

 

[A Guy]

Chances are with those scanners, you are clean. You can try AdwCleaner. I have added it to my weekly scans for months now.

Choose Download@BleepingComputer

AdwCleaner Download

How To Use AdwCleaner [Manual] | malwareremovalguides

If you want another opinion, try a AV rescue disc to scan outside of windows

Comprehensive List of 26 Bootable Antivirus Rescue CDs for Offline Scanning ? Raymond.CC

A Guy

 

[yk7]

Ran AdwCleaner.
Deleted these registry keys
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\apnstub_RASAPI32
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\apnstub_RASMANCS
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\au__rasapi32
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\au__rasmancs
HKCU\Software\APN PIP
HKLM\Software\PIP
and my Firefox and Chrome preference files, yet I all my settings I made in the browsers are still the same?

 

[yk7]

I also ran JRT, it deleted my Firefox prefs once again and "C:\Windows\syswow64\ai_recyclebin".

 

[A Guy]

I think you're clean. Sounds like a mail to link on a webpage tried to open IE to send a mail with your default email program perhaps. If you don't have one set especially. The OS will use IE for things like windows update, even if you don't use IE to browse. A Guy

 

[UsernameIssues]

I think you're clean. Sounds like a mail to link on a webpage tried to open IE to send a mail with your default email program perhaps. If you don't have one set especially. The OS will use IE for things like windows update, even if you don't use IE to browse. A Guy

I was wondering if this might have been the issue - but I hoped to test it first with the link the OP used. I wonder what the OS would do if IE was removed via "Turn Windows features on or off".