Right? Is it so hard to change the default homepage / new tab page to do nothing?

The default settings for IE are for the masses - they want to see a search bar / news site as soon as they open the web browser. If the browser did nothing, a lot of non-technical people would think their internet / device isn't working.

Technical users probably don't want to see msn.com, and are OK with opening a blank window. So just change the settings! It's on the first tab!