How to stop programs from opening a webpage in Windows 10

[Duckrabbit]

For instance, when you uninstall a program, and it then opens a tab in your browser asking why you uninstalled it - even if your browser wasn't even open. Is there a way to stop programs from opening webpages without a direct user prompt to do so?

Edit: Or, if I leave Edge as my default browser, is there a way to trick or delay the loading of webpages in Edge, so the webpage called for by the program is halted?

 

[Sean Kyle]

I think it can't be stopped. It will open the webpage on your default browser. Something in the installation/un-installation process triggers it!

 

[mikeymikec]

Change the default browser to one with mangled settings so that it can't access the Internet 🙂

E.g. browser-specific custom (and invalid) proxy setting, e.g. 127.0.0.1

 

[corkyg]

In some cases, that query does not put you on the website unless you respond to it. A brute force option is to not be connected to the Internet when uninstalling.

 

[Ketchup]

I use Firefox and actually stopped it on one computer by accident. I have two FF profiles and told FF to ask me which one every time I opened the browser. So now when something wants to open a Web page like this, I just close that prompt when it first shows up, not even going to a Web page.

 

[pcslookout]

Not possible.

I tried doing this a while ago.

 

[mikeymikec]

One thing to bear in mind however is that some programs will hard-code a website call to say IE, thereby nullifying any strategies that involve a particular default browser.

 

[Ketchup]

Not possible.

I tried doing this a while ago.

What happens?

Have you tried letting a program like Revo Uninstaller do the work to see if it will bypass?

 

[Mr Evil]

Not sure if it's still the same in Windows 10, but in Windows XP you used to be able to delete all the prefixes listed in the registry under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\URL], and that would stop anything from being able to open a URL.

 

[corkyg]

I'll rephrase - there is no need to be online for running a PC - and that includes installing and uninstalling programs. If you are not online, you can't be moved to a website. Things like updates can always be installed later.

 

[Duckrabbit]

As I've gone through another phase of tinkering with things on my PC, I've realized that, similar to what was recommended above, I can just leave Edge as my default browser, because anything hardcoded to a specific browser is most likely to call up the system default. So, is there any way to mangle Edge in such a way that it won't load the website once it's opened?

 

[sm625]

As I've gone through another phase of tinkering with things on my PC, I've realized that, similar to what was recommended above, I can just leave Edge as my default browser, because anything hardcoded to a specific browser is most likely to call up the system default. So, is there any way to mangle Edge in such a way that it won't load the website once it's opened?

There is probably a way, but if you are going to mangle something, it is far easier to simply mangle your network adapter into the "disabled" state. Then re-enable it after you are done. An even simpler way to mangle is to simply unplug your ethernet or place the machine into airplane mode.

If you require a method that can be scripted, you can do a

netsh interface show interface​

to get the name of the adapter that needs to be disabled. Then to disable it:

netsh interface set interface "name from above" disabled
​

To re enable:

netsh interface set interface "name from above" enabled​

 

[Duckrabbit]

A simple and effective option, but it requires anticipation. And that's one of the key problems, it happens infrequently enough that it's not something I'm on guard for.

 

[sm625]

A simple and effective option, but it requires anticipation. And that's one of the key problems, it happens infrequently enough that it's not something I'm on guard for.

Oh, so you're not talking about uninstalling a program. You have a program that just randomly opens web pages all by itself? Can you run this program from within sandboxie?

 

[Ogeer]

there is no decision(