Yes, that is related to cat /dev/urandom. The random characters have random ANSI escape codes in them which changes your terminal configuration.
This is perfectly normal, and you just need to blindly type "reset" to fix it. ** Changed in: gnome-terminal (Ubuntu) Status: New => Invalid -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1419217 Title: gnome-terminal displays unreadble letters in main window and title Status in gnome-terminal package in Ubuntu: Invalid Bug description: unclear whether the letters belong to a charset or are just random junk bytes, see attached screenshot for details. This might be related to an invokation of `cat /dev/urandom`, but the issues can't be reproduced constantly, but multiple times. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.10 Package: gnome-terminal 3.6.2-0ubuntu1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.16.0-30.40-generic 3.16.7-ckt3 Uname: Linux 3.16.0-30-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.14.7-0ubuntu8.1 Architecture: amd64 CurrentDesktop: Unity Date: Sat Feb 7 04:00:45 2015 EcryptfsInUse: Yes InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-01-26 (11 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn" - Release amd64 (20141022.1) SourcePackage: gnome-terminal UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-terminal/+bug/1419217/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp