Q: My mouse/trackpad has spasms (it moves by itself, does not respond when wanted and it also clicks on links)

See -> http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1449.

Good luck,

Clinton

There are several possible causes for this issue. Take each of the following steps until it's resolved.

1. Follow the instructions in this support article, and also this one, if applicable.

2. Open the Bluetooth preference pane in System Preferences and check for unknown or forgotten input devices. Disconnect any USB input devices that you aren't using.

3. Boot in safe mode and test, preferably without launching any third-party applications. If you don't have the problem in safe mode, but it comes back when you reboot as usual, stop here and post your results. If you can't boot in safe mode, do the same. If you booted in safe mode and there was no change, go on to the next step.

4. Reset the System Management Controller.

5. If you're using a Bluetooth trackpad, investigate potential sources of interference, including USB 3 devices.

6. A swollen battery in a MacBook Pro or Air can impinge on the trackpad from below and cause erratic behavior. If you have trouble clicking the trackpad, this is likely the reason. The battery must be replaced without delay.

7. There's a report that a (possibly defective) Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter can cause the built-in trackpad of a MacBook to  behave erratically. If you're using such an adapter, disconnect it and test.

8. There's also a report of erratic cursor movements caused by an external display that was connected but not turned on.

9. If none of the above applies, or if you have another reason to think that your computer is being remotely controlled, remove it from the network by turning off Wi-Fi (or your Wi-Fi access point), disconnecting from a Bluetooth network link, and unplugging the Ethernet cable or USB modem, whichever is applicable. If the cursor movements stop at once, you should suspect an intrusion.

10. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine and/or external trackpad tested.

Yeah, I've checked the article on the 2nd post. I do NOT have that issue. However this Phantom Cursor keeps popping up, even after multiple disk deletions and OS re-installs. I've visited the Mac store and all they can recommend is an OS re-install.

It's even more ridiculous that I've tried safe mode, and everything recommended under the sun here from all 10 steps, and there are still issues.

Seriously, is there some sort of software issue related to the Mac OSX trackpad configuration coding/programming?

I do not have any battery issues from what I've seen. I don't use the stupid ethernet adapter (who does?), did for sure steps 1-5 thoroughly already.

Thinking maybe Windows won't have this phantom cursor issue and if it is something similar, at least I can use a good virus scanner and pick out the bugs whereas with this mac, I can't seem to find any sort of bug and or issue.

And I'm sure my track pad isn't damaged. Checked it, and had it behaved normally when I just did a fresh reinstall and during OS Reinstall mode screen.

Point is, I thought this machine was supposed to be better than Windows. Did I go into buying something that I thought was closer to perfect but isn't? There's been too many OS reinstalls and disk deletions throughout the many months that I've owned this mac since this year's valentine's day. What is the deal?

Why is this happening?

I do not have any battery issues from what I've seen.

If this is a battery-related issue, you wouldn't necessarily have seen anything unless you opened up the machine. Defective batteries can swell and put pressure on the underside of the trackpad, causing exactly these kinds of issues, as Linc already pointed out. You should really get the machine checked out by Apple. If you have an Apple Store near you, make an appointment at the Genius bar and take the machine in for them to look at. Since you bought it in February, it's still under the original warranty.

There's been too many OS reinstalls and disk deletions throughout the many months that I've owned this mac since this year's valentine's day. What is the deal?

There's no way we can answer that without being in possession of any of the facts. There are many possible reasons that you may have had to reinstall the OS... including simple error, where you thought a reinstall was called for and it wasn't. Similarly, I'm not sure what a "disk deletion" is.

In any case, though, your issues are not related to a virus, or any other kind of malware, if that's what you're thinking.

My MacBook Pro has had this problem off and on and I accidentally discovered a way to "cure" it. When the cursor starts getting erratic, I quickly close the cover of my MacBook and wait a little. When I open it again, the cursor has usually calmed down, at least for a minute. Sometimes I have to do this over and over for several days, and then it finally stops. This last time it happened, it stopped in much less time than it had before. It takes patience, but it works, and you don't need to call a technician.

jazzrascal:

This is excessively bad advice! What you are recommending really just amounts to ignoring the symptoms and hoping that the problem goes away. If this is being caused by a swollen battery, ignoring it could result in permanent damage to the computer. If it is actually being caused by someone accessing the computer remotely, ignoring it gives them more opportunities to do something malicious.

Please stop posting this advice everywhere!

Thanks That worked for me! 

Good! This method ALWAYS works for me, and as far as I can see, not many of the other suggestions work. This is a widespread problem, and is driving people crazy. No one really is sure what causes it, but this simple solution works.

I had the same issue this weekend, so I contacted the Apple Support through Chat. I performed some troubleshooting procedures the guy requested me to do but the problem continued. It was really frustrating. He recommended me to take it to a Genius Bar. I decided to disable temporarily the trackpad and connect an external mouse to be able to work. In any case I continued googling for more info about the issue and found that pressing the four corners of the trackpad worked in some cases so I did it and enabled the trackpad back. It totally solved it. At least it seems so. It worths a try.

I seem to be having this issues and it doesn't do it when i boot into safe mode, but it does it when i reboot as normal. what would you suggest? i've tried a PRAM reset and thought that i tried a SMC reset (not excatly sure how to tell if i've done it correctly or not). It's a Magic Trackpad. thanks!

it doesn't do it when i boot into safe mode, but it does it when i reboot as normal.

That indicates that some piece of third-party software that you're using is causing the problem. If you have any kind of input device drivers (such as mouse, game controller or other such device dreivers), those would be the first to blame. Try removing them, using the uninstaller provided by the developer of that software.

If that doesn't help, you'll need to keep trying to remove third-party software until you find the one causing the issue.

it does it when i boot i to my Boot Camp partition though also. and it just started doing it randomly today, i haven't installed anything in way of drivers today.

here is a video, all i was doing was moving the mouse around some. no clicking on my own. when i am on the stack in the dock, i wasnt touching the trackpad at all https://db.tt/JuRPBREo