Firefox displaying weird symbols?

by Kwong

Quick diagnosis (aka “How do I know I have this issue”)

1. Visit meme.yahoo.com or shoeblog.com
2. View this screenshot (of meme.yahoo.com) click here
3. If you’re experiencing something similar then this fix is for you.

Why am I getting this error:
I do not know the exact issue; or what exactly causes this. However, it is largely due to a corrupted Helvetica truetype/opentype font.

Now for the quick and dirty fix:
Assuming you’re a WINDOWS user, simply go to your WINDOWS\FONTS folder and delete any instance of Helvetica truetype or opentype fonts. There may also be third party helvetica font types installed by third party vendors. They are usually named “he[insert random numbers].ttf” or “helv.ttf”; do keep a lookout for such files.

When you’re done, simply restart firefox (if you had it opened) and visit the above mentioned sites again to confirm the fix. It is advised that you replace the deleted helvetica font files with a WORKING helvetica font.

Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for any damages caused. No consequential damages can be sought against the author. This information is provided out of goodwill to share knowledge that the author gained while fixing a similar issue. Only proceed when you have agreed to these terms.