Fonts on certain websites appear boldfaced when they shouldn't, is there a fix?
Since about mid-November I've noticed some websites' fonts are boldfaced where they weren't before. I have tried other computers and found the same websites' fonts normal. I've been able to create a list of websites where this has taken effect:
-Yahoo
-Wikipedia
-YouTube
-TVTropes
-Wikia
-Possibly others, although I haven't found them yet.
I didn't notice it before the fonts were changed on my computer, but I suspect all those sites use the same default font. Although it would be possible to restore them by forcing my custom font settings, I'd prefer to keep that as a last resort.
A similar problem was apparently reported here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/942466#answer-385848. Since it was reported at about the same time as I noticed the same thing, this could be the same problem, although I use a different version of Firefox (14.0.1).
This has been going on for almost two months, and I'd appreciate any advice to fix the problem. Thanks in advance.
Modified by hkzeppelin
All Replies (8)
First, you need to update to Firefox 17.0.1 Update Firefox to the latest release
Then try the steps listed at Websites look wrong or appear differently than they should
Modified by user633449
Hey! I had exactly the same issue as you! Do you have an addon called WebSecurityKeeper installed into your Firefox, without your permission? Check your Addons list pls. I had this addon and when I uninstalled it, my fonts in Firefox returned to normal.
Its possibly a malicious addon. But I am not sure. I have no idea how it got installed my computer.
Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.
- Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
Try to set the gfx.content.azure.enabled pref to false or if this didn't help disable Direct2D by setting the gfx.direct2d.disabled pref to true on the about:config page and leave hardware acceleration otherwise enabled.
Well, I tried everything listed above, and nothing worked. The addon listed by SilentResident didn't show up in my list, and disabling hardware acceleration didn't work either. I updated to the latest version of Firefox... again, nothing was changed.
HOWEVER, I tried opening Firefox in Safe Mode, and the fonts on the websites I mentioned went back to normal. I noticed that, under the "appearance" tab, the default theme was disabled. After exiting Safe Mode, I disabled all addons except the theme, and the fonts were still boldfaced. As a result, I believe the problem may be with the theme itself. Is there any way to disable it by itself?
This is most lilely Hardware Acceleration. try to update your Graphics driver. Search for and install new graphics drivers
If that doesn't work, Disable Hardware acceleration. Turning off hardware acceleration
Funny enough, I had once again this problem at past. The only solution for me was to create a new Firefox Profile and switch to it. This fixed all the text font issues. Strange, but it did.
You can use this extension to see which fonts are used for text that is selected (right-click context menu: Show fonts in selection).
You can do a font test to see if you can identify corrupted font(s).
You can try different default fonts and temporarily disable website fonts to test the selected default font.
- Tools > Options > Content : Fonts & Colors > Advanced
- [ ] "Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above"
Okay, I've been able to identify that the websites in question are using Arial Bold. I can't tell, though, if this was the case before, can someone run a quick check to see if the sites are using the Bold font?