Disabling Keys in Windows XP?

[DXL]

Starting a few weeks back, my PC's keys went buggy for no reason. It was as though the tab key was automatically depressed while I was browsing sites, and someone was holding their finger on it.

Rebooting didn't help, neither did switching keyboards altogether. Sometimes if I leave a browser open, the problem will go away after an hour or so, only to start again next time I reboot (even in safe mode). Sometimes other errors occur, holding a letter's key down will type the letters out much slower than usual, the same applies to the speed of backspacing or deleting. Ran an Antivirus program in Safe Mode with no results.

Although it's a quick fix, is there a way for me to simply disable the tab key (or any keyboard key for that matter) in Windows until I can find out what the problem is?

[kaled]

Just to be clear - is this is only when browsing or only when a browser is open (i.e. it affects other apps)?

If it only affects one program, e.g. Internet Explorer, try an alternative, e.g. Firefox.

Whilst it is possible to disable the Tab key (I think) system-wide, it is sufficiently crucial that I cannot recommend it.

As to the cause, this sounds like a faulty keyboard hook (that's software not hardware). I would not expect such a fault to exist in legit software so that strongly suggests spyware such as a keylogger. HOWEVER, security software continues to become more invasive and these days it is equally likely to be a faulty firewall, etc.

Also, I would not entirely rule out a registry corruption but I have no suggestions as to how you might check for that but a System Restore might work.

Kaled.