An unknown tab pops up irregulary on my Start toolbar bar

[Guest]

Dear Friend,

After accepting automatic download of a few Windows XP Home Edition updates,
a blank tab with a white square in the left side (and no other identifying
info.) started appearing on my Start toolbar. It appears for a second or
less, and then disappears. It comes at irregular intervals, between 15 and
30 minutes apart.

I haven't been able to find any information about this subject searching
on-line.

Please advise.

Thank you,

Felipe

 

[Malke]

Dear Friend,

After accepting automatic download of a few Windows XP Home Edition
updates, a blank tab with a white square in the left side (and no
other identifying
info.) started appearing on my Start toolbar. It appears for a second
or
less, and then disappears. It comes at irregular intervals, between
15 and 30 minutes apart.

I haven't been able to find any information about this subject
searching on-line.

I haven't seen this behavior with any of the Windows Updates. That isn't
meant to invalidate your experience; it is just that other factors may
be causing this. Run Task Manager and see what processes and programs
are active. You can leave Task Manager open to observe.

Also, do the normal troubleshooting for viruses and malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

If the machine is clean, you might want to try clean-boot
troubleshooting to see what is set to start with Windows:
Clean Boot - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=310353
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Malke