The trackpad on my Macbook Pro just started acting oddly. It's randomly clicking (which might cause me to switch programs), right-clicking and even once my screen even showed the swiping animation as if I was trying to switch to a different desktop.
Part of me fears that this is some sort of joke hacking attempt (I know of a USB device you plug into someones computer and it randomly moves their mouse and types on their keyboard), but there is nothing plugged into my machine and I just turned off the Wi-Fi and watched as this web page tried to close, the mouse right clicked twice, highlighted a word and clicked "Paste and Match Style" in the Chrome right-click menu.
Also as I've been typing (with my Wi-Fi turned off) the mouse has randomly been clicking inside this question and changing where I am typing.
I just plugged in a USB mouse which seems to work fine but the trackpad is now nearly useless. I can't even move the mouse cursor more than a few centimeters with it.
Is this a common issue?
EDIT
I think it is dying actually. I can now click but not move at all with the trackpad, while a regular mouse works fine.
EDIT 2
And now it seems to be working again. I turned on the option for "Ignore Trackpad when Mouse is plugged in" under Universal Access. I cleaned the trackpad with rubbing alcohol, I whined and complained for a few minutes to my dog, turned off the "Ignore Trackpad" setting, unplugged the USB mouse, and the Trackpad appears to be working mostly normally.
If I run my finger across it at the top or bottom portion of the mouse, it works, but there is a line horizontally across it (almost exactly where a physical trackpad button would end on the old trackpads) that is "dead". The mouse stops moving, or moves sluggishly when hitting that spot and that "spot" goes across the whole trackpad.
Best Answer
Your trackpad is definitely dead. It needs a replacement. The dead line means that it is slowly dying. I have had these things. Probably your connector is getting old. But mine got burnt up because the hotel I was staying in did not have proper grounding in their mains supply. This meant that current was flowing from the metal parts and trackpad (it is electrified), through my body, and onto any grounded metal surface I touched. Trackpads are very sensitive to current changes as they have very thin wires running through them. The high ground current burns them off, either row by row or column by column.