# Posessed computer - ideas anyone **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851 "2003-07-25T13:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/1 "2003-07-25T13:30:45Z")
I just received an email from the folks that are in Central America. It seems they are having an odd problem with their Dell laptop. I was wondering if anyone here could shed some light on it. Here is a quote from an email they sent us last night: > [@](#): > > Ever since our internet went down here – it is still off and on – we seem to have a problem of our computer adding words and letters unbidden. As I write, the hard drive is spinning, and continues to spin when I stop writing. In the meantime between my words the computer inserts words from somewhere. Bill notices this (to great annoyance of course) when he is working in Excel, and I do in Word also. This is in addition to the annoyance of not knowing if I have spaced, done typos, forgotten a word, etc. here in outlook until it finally appears on the screen. Do you think we have a virus? Norton doesn’t think so. We have used the scan several times.\ > > the to to the A. F. A. A. all over all-day I were a hammock the I am an and they they all they or may they may I may have they may am you call me and I may as they stand now they all day on CNN, ESPN they, and then understand so Omni/IA I am me oh no way I found out lower serious false you’re already halfway by all I can find a 92, and my way they do- all and Dan money and then-half a Montana law and signed under a file, and on and on their eyes a day and see how to all seen as many more they they version to, and, theAnd > > I left the computer to get some water and the above is what was inserted while I was gone. I’ve already told them to make sure their Norton is updated with the newest definitions incase it is a virus. Any other ideas? They are using a slow, dial up account in Belize, if that makes any difference. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/2 "2003-07-25T13:41:37Z")
Adding words? in more than one application? It _has_ to be a virus, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![P.Nym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@P.Nym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P.Nym)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/3 "2003-07-25T13:53:12Z")
Windows XP? Sounds like the built-in speech recognition is working overtime. [Cite](http://www.computeruser.com/news/02/03/12/news1.html) ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/4 "2003-07-25T14:16:10Z")
This frequently happens when two computers using wireless keyboards interfere. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/5 "2003-07-25T14:38:58Z")
Surely wireless keyboards wouldn’t capture intact but nonsensical strings of words, would they? The speech recognition thing sounds plausible. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/6 "2003-07-25T14:53:10Z")
That speech thing sounds interesting to me, too. I’ve forwarded that article to them. I really doubt it has anything to do with wireless keyboards where they are located. Thanks for the help. If anyone has any other ideas though, keep them coming. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/7 "2003-07-25T14:54:39Z")
I’m surprised nobody’s suggested the obvious here: they moved the headstones, but they _didn’t move the bodies_!!! ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/8 "2003-07-25T14:56:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Surely wireless keyboards wouldn’t capture intact but nonsensical strings of words, would they? The speech recognition thing sounds plausible. \*\* I agree that speech recognition sounds like a more likely culprit here. However, in my very limited experience with wireless keyboards, it doesn’t seem like they are an all-or-nothing device. They can have an error rate if there is interference, which means a keyboard taken too far from its base or set up incorrectly will enter either complete gibberish or correct input with occasional errors. The content of the inserted text quoted in the OP looks more like the output of bad speech recognition than an error-prone keyboard, but I was simply trying to provide alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/9 "2003-07-25T15:20:19Z")
I have had a very similar experience and I did isolate the problem to the WinXP speech recognition but I did not know how to turn the darn thing off because the language toolbar had vanished from my desktop. The speech recognition software picks up any speech (depending upon the sensitivity of the microphone) and types up nonsense on whatever application thats running; including typing stuff in the address bar of IE. Here’s how to check for it…right click on the bottom of the screen where all the applications minimize. Click “Toolbars” then “Language bar” You will see the language tool bar with a microphone. This icon would probably be brighter than the rest signifying that it has been turned on. Click it to turn it off. Go back and uncheck the “Language toolbar” to prevent the speech recognition being turned on. Whats amazing is that I had started a thread with the same problem with a not too dissimilar title [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=151243](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=151243) ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/10 "2003-07-25T15:55:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by micco \* > \*\*The content of the inserted text quoted in the OP looks more like the output of bad speech recognition than an error-prone keyboard, but I was simply trying to provide alternatives. \*\* Thanks for your input! Really! In our case though they are quite isolated and I doubt that it would be their problem. For someone with other PCs in the area though, it sounds logical enough to me. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/11 "2003-07-25T22:30:37Z")
Sounds more like a cyber-demon to me. I suggest you contact that techno-pagan from Buffy. (Unless she died - didn’t she?) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posessed-computer-ideas-anyone/190851/12 "2003-07-26T23:34:13Z")
Just to close this, it was indeed the Speech-Recognition gone bananas. It is now turned off and all is well. Thanks for the help!