Computer keeps inserting random words as I type?

EdwardTeach · 1 Oct 2012 at 22:30

My computer keeps inserting random words as I type. e.g. at the moment I am writing an email in outlook, and after I stop typing I can see the words "boots opticians" being randomly inserted!

I know that my wife searched for an opticians in Thursday last week, but I have no idea why the phrase should keep getting randomly inserted several days later.

Does this sound like a virus or is it likely to be something more innocent like a dodgy keyboard/ mouse. The battery light on my Microsoft sidewinder X8 keeps flashing so maybe it has gone mad.

zeegy · 2 Oct 2012 at 08:26

i would say its probably due to a dodgy kb / mouse personally, probably a hot key thats being struck (due to the device struggling to interpret signals due to the low battery) that is causing these keys to be entered

wack some new batteries in

tribz · 2 Oct 2012 at 12:00

Do you have speech recognition accidently switched on?

That caused some fun and games with a friend that was convinced their laptop was possessed.

LOAM · 2 Oct 2012 at 23:47

Does the keyboard or mouse have any macro recording function that might be playing back ?

BigBoy · 2 Oct 2012 at 23:57

sounds more like pre-emptive text from the Microsoft office writing package!

Bossk128 · 3 Oct 2012 at 17:49

Something like this happened to me yonks ago, I thought I had a virus and pulled out the ethernet cable.

Turns out Windows was using my new webcam to try and do dictation by voice recognition.

Simian · 4 Oct 2012 at 12:51

or someone has been playing with the 'AutoCorrect' settings in Office...

I had some *Insert Expletive Here* change 'The' to 'Love' in mine so when I wrote a letter to my Solicitor about my impending House Move, She thought I was expounding my undying Love for her!!