Could Erratic Mouse be Trojan related?

Hello,

My mouse has been acting erratically. The cursor will move around on its own and its also very difficult to control. This happens sporadically, not all the time. I know there are very few Trojans on the Mac but could I have possibly downloaded some kind of "Drunk Mouse" app? I have downloaded some BitTorrents recently.

Also the "right click" action of the mouse no longer seems to be working. I am using the mouse pad beneath the keyboard, not an external mouse.

Thanks in advance for any help or assistance!!

What kind of mouse are you using?

Hi, as I said, it's the standard, flat mouse pad that's beneath the keyboard.

No trojan. Your trackpad is probably acting up or possibly dirty beneath the flat area. Depends a lot on how oily your skin is. I know of people who have completely worn down key tops and destroyed their trackpads because of oil on their skin (fingers). The newer glass trackpads are less likely to fail because of this.

Just fyi: That's called a "trackpad", it's not a mouse at all. The thing that moves around on the screen is called the cursor.

No, it's not a trojan.

and chscag beat me to it - I'm watching Criminal Minds reruns.

The symptoms of the trojan virus do not include what you are experiencing.
The only one it may have been was keystroke logging... but that sure cannot be it from your description. Like the above posters said, just your usual trackpad fidgeting. If its bothering you, I would suggest purchasing a cheap USB mouse and mouse pad to prevent fidgety movements. Although magic mouses are more top end and more mac friendly.
Hope this helps!
nicecrew

Chscag is likely correct. Use a VERY mild soap and warm water only, first. Don't soak it of course, just make the cloth damp. Just sounds like it needs a thorough cleaning. Just make sure it dries properly when done.

Doug

The cursor will move around on its own

Click to expand...

just your usual trackpad fidgeting

Click to expand...

Er, No!

When exactly does this tend to happen? Using which applications? What have you installed recently? Have a look in the Trackpad section of System Preferences to make sure the settings are as you want them to be.

Thanks for all the feedback. Here's what I've done so far.

I cleaned the trackpad w/ mild soap and water but that didn't help.
I changed my trackpad settings in preferences to no effect.
It's now so bad that I can't even single click on things to trigger events.

I am now using an external mouse and that seems to be working fine but the trackpad mystery continues.

I ran "lsof" and sent my log files to someone that is taking a gander to see if anything's amiss.

Cheers again for the help.

After doing all that and it's still acting up, I would say your trackpad is failing. You can change it out if you wish, but it's not an easy task. Have your model year on hand and go to iFixit: The free repair manual. Look up the instructions for changing it. They also sell the parts.

Just wondering, why did you wash your trackpad with soap and water?
Hope it gets fixed soon!
nicecrew

Lots of folks have reported an identical sounding problem, and it can be traced to accidently dragging one of your fingers over the trackpad.

Apple has added software to their latest laptops to help filter this out.

See here for suggestions on how to remedy the problem:
Portables and Magic Trackpad: Jumpy or Erratic Trackpad Operation

Try this:
Open System Preferences (under the Apple menu) and select the Trackpad pane and then check "Ignore accidental trackpad input" and you should be OK.

This third-party utility claims to do the same thing (as well as provide other nice additional features):

SideTrack ($15)
Thank you for downloading Sidetrack from Download.com

___________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting
___________________________________________

erratic mouse

I had this issue, cleaning the trackpad worked perfectly. That was indeed a good suggestion