This just started. Windows 10, all applications, even before I log in. If I’m not actively using the mouse, the cursor sits there for about 2 seconds, then it starts wandering all over the screen, changing direction apparently randomly. As soon as I start moving the mouse myself, the cursor follows normal behavior, and as soon as I let go, it starts all over again.
I re-booted, no change. I checked my mouse driver, it’s up to date.
So I’m guessing the mouse driver file is corrupted somehow? Is this likely to be malware, or something else?
I don’t have a different mouse. The mouse is wireless, one I got from Amazon, probably Chinese, some time last year to replace my Logitech, it has the vertical hand placement that I like.
I just did a scan with Malwarebytes and it found nothing.
It’s funny, there are a lot of videos about how to fix this problem (none of those solutions worked for me) so there must be cases where the PC is the problem. But since none of those solutions worked for me, I guess I’ll have to buy a new mouse (this one does not seem to have a replaceable battery). edited to add: this one only lasted about 9 months, but it is the only one I could find, other than Logitech at 4 times the price, that fits my hand
I don’t know what your problem is, but I hope this is useful advice. If you get a new mouser, I suggest you forgo the rechargeable kind of battery. Most wireless mice I have used run on either 1 AA or 2 AAAs, and alkaline batts will last a long time. The one I am using right now, here, is a single AA, and so far has worked for 5 months. I NEVER turn the mouse off. At 20 cents per batt, I don’t mind the twice-a-year replacement.
Rechargeables have very limited times between charges; their max voltage is less than alkalines, and their overall life span is low. For some applications, they are not a good choice.
Back when I used to use mice, I would sometimes find one that was acting wonky, and it was generally the result of an almost invisible dog hair stuck in the sensor port.
The first part of this is not my experience, it is weeks between needing to plug it in (I do turn my computer off at night). The other two points may be true, I don’t know. I frankly hate batteries and replacing them. What would be ideal, I suppose, is a replaceable rechargeable battery, even if I had to change it every 9 months. Anyway it’s too late this time, I ordered another one of the same.
Confession time: I just discovered/was reminded that this mouse has a function called a Jiggler, which keeps the cursor active when one is not using the mouse, so the screen doesn’t go dark. I had completely forgotten it had this silly feature, which is controlled by a little button on the bottom of the mouse. Somehow it got clicked. Now I have un-clicked it and all is back to normal.
I can’t imagine anyone wanting that feature turned on, it is incredibly distracting and annoying.
Since a lot of people work from home now many companies are tracking how long their employees are actually sat at the computer doing something. One of the easiest ways was to track mouse usage. So, people got jigglers (you can get software that does this too) so it looks like the mouse is always moving and your employer thinks you are in front of the PC presumably working.
My workplace has gotten very aggressive at logging you out if there’s no user input. This is incredibly annoying since I often want to keep a remote window open just to monitor something. We also have a very annoying version of 2-factor authentication as well. There’s a program, Caffeine, that sends virtual keypresses in the background, but it doesn’t always work. A mouse jiggler would probably be more effective.
My employer actively hunts for mouse jigglers (they have security software to detect them), which people use to prevent the computer from locking after ten minutes of inactivity.