Your PC Is Infected with a Virus If You See These Strange Accents in Your Texts

Some computer viruses evade the surveillance of security software. However, there are clues and strange behaviors that can reveal their presence, such as unusual accents in your texts.

Malware often tries to remain invisible to users, but sometimes, even the developers of these programs make mistakes that lead to bugs, revealing an infection. Common signs that should alert you include changes to your web browser's default search engine, the unexpected appearance of PowerShell windows, or excessive use of PC resources for no apparent reason.

Another strange behavior, which could easily be mistaken for a simple bug, is almost certainly a sign of a malicious program on your computer. This issue, reported for several years by members of the How It Works Security Forum, seems to be becoming more frequent.

The problem to watch for is the appearance of double circumflex accents or umlauts. If, when writing text in any application, you attempt to type characters like ê or ï, and your PC instead displays ^^ or ¨¨ without allowing you to enter the accented letter, it could indicate a malware infection.

When faced with this strange malfunction, you might think there is a problem with your keyboard or Windows. However, there is a good chance that neither is the cause, and that malware is responsible. In such cases, there is no need to buy a new keyboard or completely reset your PC.

The double accents bug is likely caused by an infection that "is characterized by a scheduled task pointing to a DLL with an unusual name or an executable with a legitimate name," as explained by bazfile, a moderator on the CCM Security Forum. This behavior allows the malware to slip under the radar of many antivirus programs. To try to resolve the issue and remove the infection, start by running a scan with security software like Malwarebytes (free). If the problem of double circumflex accents or umlauts persists, visit our Forum for help. Members may provide you with automatic repair scripts to fix your PC. In any case, it is crucial not to let the infection linger on your computer, as it could result in sensitive data being stolen! 

That's crucial to take timely actions when you see that something's not right with your PC.