Any IT savvy peeps here?

[curlywig]

We've been having a problem with our computer, and it's driving me nuts. Wondering if anyone can help out.

When online (CC for example) and I'm typing in the "reply" box, my cursor will automatically go to the menu bar on the top of the page. I continue typing, oblivious to what happend b/c it happens so fast, then whatever letter I type selects something from the drop down menu box. Make any sense?

It's driving me nuts. We've updated our virus protection, and it's found some spyware that for whatever reason can't be deleted. Could this be the prob? Any suggestions for making it stop? It's really only been a problem for about a week or so.

TIA!

[lml41981]

Are you using a laptop with an active touchpad? If so, go into your mouse/touchpad properties in the control panel. Then, go to the "function" tab and deselect Web Assistant and under the drop-down menu for "left corner assign" select "none."

[curlywig]

Nope, using a desktop...

[KarenS]

Do you have an optical mouse and it is on a highly reflective or bright white surface? Optical mice are prone to "creep" (and sometimes sprint! :) ) due to reflections off of the surface that fools the mouse into thinking it's being moved. I have a white desktop and a wall mounted desk and sometimes just hte motion of typing would give enough vibration to the desktop that it would cause the mouse to "leap" around the screen.

Karen

[lml41981]

Could you accidentally be touching the Alt key with your wrist, palm or pinky? For example, if you hit Alt+E, it drops down the edit menu.

[curlywig]

Do you have an optical mouse and it is on a highly reflective or bright white surface? Optical mice are prone to "creep" (and sometimes sprint! :) ) due to reflections off of the surface that fools the mouse into thinking it's being moved. I have a white desktop and a wall mounted desk and sometimes just hte motion of typing would give enough vibration to the desktop that it would cause the mouse to "leap" around the screen.

Karen

No, we have an old school mouse. Thanks though.

Could you accidentally be touching the Alt key with your wrist, palm or pinky? For example, if you hit Alt+E, it drops down the edit menu.


Nope, I've been paying attention just in case, and I haven't been making any funky key strokes.

Thanks for your input....if you have any other ideas, I'm all ears!

[DiscoDiva]

Have you installed any mouseware programs? If so, you will see their little icon on your system tray. (Look at the system tray by your clock on the bottom right corner of your screen. You will see a speaker for volume, etc.) The most common mouseware program is logitech. If you have a visible icon, turn it off. That should eliminate the cursor jumping to spots on your screen.

If that doesn't work, replace your mouse.

DH fixes computers and this is what he suggests.

[curlywig]

Thanks Disco! Not sure about the mouseware (I don't even know what it is), but you bet I'll be looking into it. Just happened 3 times with this short post. Arghhh.....

[DiscoDiva]

Just look at the system tray (toolbar) at the bottom of your screen. You might see an icon for your pop-up blocker, one for the volume, one for an anti-virus protection, etc. Hold the mouse over each icon so you can figure out what each one is for. If each one is for something other than the mouse, then you don't have a mouseware program. So, just go buy a new mouse and viola! problem should be solved. Also, if you have an old mouse laying around, try to use that one first and see if your problem stops.

[curlywig]

argh. I'm so annoyed with this. Happening. Constantly.

Yep, we do have mouseware (Intellipoint) but this problem doesn't seem to be addressed with its options.

Literally so frustrating. If we can't figure this out, maybe I'll call IT from work and see if they can help (I'm on maternity leave, so I'm pushing my luck here!).

[DiscoDiva]

argh. I'm so annoyed with this. Happening. Constantly.

Yep, we do have mouseware (Intellipoint) but this problem doesn't seem to be addressed with its options.

Literally so frustrating. If we can't figure this out, maybe I'll call IT from work and see if they can help (I'm on maternity leave, so I'm pushing my luck here!).
See if you can just turn off the mouseware. Sometimes you can do that and the mouse will still work - it just gets rid of all the options that may be causing the problems.

[curlywig]

Damn....was so hopeful. Just turned it off, but it's still happening. Might reboot and see if that helps.

Kinda crazy, no?

[DiscoDiva]

It's time to buy a new mouse. Heck, they're cheap anyway!

[curlywig]

Hmmmm....so you think the problem is the mouse? For some reason, I figured it was virus related or something of the sort. Just now when I started typing, the "Help" menu popped up, despite the fact I didn't type an "H". Will buy a new mouse today and hopefully that'll help.

Thanks a ton for your advice! :)

[Angie]

It could also be a problem with your keyboard. Maybe there is a short that makes it seem like you're pressing the Alt key when you're not.

[DiscoDiva]

Hmmmm....so you think the problem is the mouse? For some reason, I figured it was virus related or something of the sort. Just now when I started typing, the "Help" menu popped up, despite the fact I didn't type an "H". Will buy a new mouse today and hopefully that'll help.

Thanks a ton for your advice! :)

If the cursor is showing up in weird places, it's the mouse. Now if the help menu is popping up and the cursor hasn't moved, then that's a separate issue.

[curlywig]

See, I'm thinking it's something else. The cursor can be in the reply box and appear ready to go (i.e. appears like I can start typing). When I start typing, I get a dinging noise as if the cursor isn't there. Oy.

For people who have DSL, a firewall, up to date virus protection, and don't visit high risk sites, this seems a bit much.

:confused:

[mrs_pell]

Are you using Internet Explorer? I asked Mark, who's a computer dork, and he said it sounds like a browser hijack of some sort. If you're using IE, try downloading Mozilla Firefox and see if that helps.

[DiscoDiva]

A browser hijack means that when you click on a link, that it sends you to another link. The cursor has nothing do with the browser, and typing in the reply box shouldn't be affected even if you do have a browser hijack.

The cheapest and quickest way to solving the problem is getting a new mouse, and/or keyboard. That shouldn't cost you more than $30 total.

[KarenS]

I agree with DD ... it sounds like the mouse is the problem. It's possible for your mouse to fail. Either the cord is damaged or the wheel controllers are bad (you said you had a wheeled mouse, not an optical one), or the chip inside the mouse is going. It's happened to me before and replacing it with a new mouse fixes the problems.

I doubt very seriously that it's any kind of trojan horse, hijack, or anything like that. It doesn't *do* anything except redirect the mouse pointer.

Karen

[lil_geek]

Did you figure it out?

Likely... the comment box is one of the first things on the page to load, but then there are graphics or something that load later and have a default to have the focus on them.

When you are on any page with a form, one of the items is likely the default to have the focus...it is usually something higher up on the page.

I doubt it is a virus or any issue with your software.... just that it is loading an you are reacting faster then your computer is. Likely if you have dial up or a slower computer.