diff --git a/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/CommentMarkdownExtensions.cs b/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/CommentMarkdownExtensions.cs
index 004c98b3251..9784b3257b6 100644
--- a/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/CommentMarkdownExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/CommentMarkdownExtensions.cs
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ public static IHtmlContent FormatAsMarkdown(this IHtmlHelper helper, string text
         {
             try
             {
-                return new HtmlString(MarkdownAsHtml(text));
+                string htmlContent = MarkdownAsHtml(text);
+                htmlContent = AddTargetBlankToLinks(htmlContent);
+                return new HtmlString(htmlContent);
             }
             catch
             {
@@ -31,5 +33,10 @@ public static string MarkdownAsHtml(string text) =>
 
         public static string MarkdownAsPlainText(string text) =>
             Markdown.ToPlainText(text ?? "", MarkdownPipeline);
+
+        private static string AddTargetBlankToLinks(string htmlContent)
+        {
+            return System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(htmlContent, "<a(?!.*?target=)(.*?)>", "<a$1 target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">");
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/Program.cs b/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/Program.cs
index 1e1ea36dac0..fa97ce46bbb 100644
--- a/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/Program.cs
+++ b/src/dotnet/APIView/APIViewWeb/Program.cs
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@ public static IWebHostBuilder CreateWebHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
             WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
                 .ConfigureAppConfiguration((hostingContext, config) =>
                 {
-                    config.AddEnvironmentVariables(prefix: "APIVIEW_");
-                    config.AddUserSecrets(typeof(Program).Assembly);
+                    config.AddEnvironmentVariables(prefix: "APIVIEW_");                    
                     IConfiguration settings = config.Build();
                     string connectionString = settings.GetValue<string>("APPCONFIG");
                     // Load configuration from Azure App Configuration
@@ -28,6 +27,7 @@ public static IWebHostBuilder CreateWebHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
                             kv.SetCredential(new DefaultAzureCredential());
                         });
                     });
+                    config.AddUserSecrets(typeof(Program).Assembly);
                 })
                 .UseStartup<Startup>();
     }