Several users have reported an issue in which the cursor moves unexpectedly and without user input under Mac OS X 10.6.x (Snow Leopard). In these cases, the cursor may continue to move even when the mouse is physically disconnected. Users have also reported that the issue remains after switching mice (both wired and Bluetooth) and surfaces, making plausible that this is a software-related issue.
Apple Discussions poster musicwind95 writes: “My mouse cursor moves randomly around the screen, usually all the way across and almost always to one of the screen corners, in which I have hot corners enabled.”
Although this problem is generally innocuous, it can cause significant issues in some cases, including inadvertent scrolling of web pages or accidental file selection/deletion (if the cursor unexpectedly moves as a user is attempting to interact with a specific file).
Possible fixes
Although anecdotal evidence suggests that, in most cases, this is not a mouse-surface issue, some users have reported success with placing a white sheet of paper underneath the mouse.
Some users have also reported that turning off secondary displays mysteriously resolves this issue, albeit not a viable permanent workaround.
A few users have reported at least temporary success with resetting PRAM/NVRAM.
August 26, 2010 at 11:42 AM
Used the white paper under my mouse and that works for me, except it’s harder to move the mouse on the paper but at least my cursor doesn’t move across the screen all by itself.
November 13, 2010 at 10:44 PM
Stupid mac. It’s so frustrating, my mouse cursor keeps moving by itself and it keeps clicking or right clicking on stuff and it just wouldn’t follow where my hand leads it to. See, even while typing this, it keeps clicking onto random stuff. Frustrating and annoying
November 30, 2010 at 5:44 PM
I am researching this very problem. The 10.6.5 update did not change the behavior of the bluetooth Magic Mouse, and the problem continued without the mouse is use. Some things I hope to test:
• Deleting bluetooth and mouse preferences
• Installing a 3rd party mouse driver
• Change the mouse speed, then change it back.
We’ll see.
December 1, 2010 at 3:58 PM
We resolved the wayward mouse issue in two steps: 1) In Universal Access Preference, Mouse & Keyboard tab, activate “Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present,” and 2) When the laptop is used in the office, Bluetooth is turned on, and a wireless Magic Mouse is used. When it is taken home and the trackpad only is used, Bluetooth is turned off.
Not sure yet if the Bluetooth change is over-reacting, but tests suggested it resolved our mouse moving problem.
December 1, 2010 at 11:38 PM
Ha
This is the first time this has happened to me and apparently you guys just now, after more than 3 months, got it figured out 
. I’m gonna go try it and I’ll let you know how it goes 
December 1, 2010 at 11:57 PM
Nope that didn’t help me. Are any of you running Cocoatech’s Path Finder. That has to be what’s making my cursor run laps around the screen because it is only happening while I use the Path Finder to make changes(i.e. Enable Finder Icon’s Remove From Dock Option)
January 5, 2011 at 6:54 PM
I’m having same problem on Mac Mini. Tried using usb keyboard instead of Bluetooth, that didn’t work. Tried different mouse, no help. Driving me absolutely crazy. My mouse moves and randomly right clicks on stuff. I even tried a complete disk wipe and restore.
February 6, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Had the same problem, took the batteries out of trackpad, put them back in and seems to have sorted it
February 27, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Just has this problem and fixed it by doing this.
Go to Display Preferences and change the resolution to ANY other resolution except for the one that you are currently using. After that it should be fixed. You can then change it back to the resolution you prefer.
Quick and simple fix.
June 5, 2012 at 5:44 AM
Great solution! Worked for me.
June 15, 2012 at 3:15 AM
Worked for me, too. But there are multiple causes.
March 14, 2011 at 1:34 PM
None of these fixes are working, not even the screen resolution fix. The PRAM reset did absolutely nothing. It is like there is a ghost in the machine. The laptop is nearly unusable!
November 18, 2012 at 12:12 AM
Could you somehow fix your problem?
I´m having the same issues and it is driving me mad!
July 5, 2011 at 4:36 PM
problem solved. its your trackpad that is broken. turn it off by opening universal access, click all the option to ignore the trackpad if mouse is on, and then also turn on ur mouse.
December 26, 2011 at 1:21 PM
Woot! Thanks so much. This seemed to fix this issue for me. I’ll take my laptop to the Techs at Apple to fix my laptop later. As I have a mouse, this fixed the issue for me! Thanks a lot!
June 12, 2012 at 11:17 AM
Yes, this worked. Thanks!
July 30, 2011 at 8:01 AM
I have the same problem , I even turn off the trackpad but the problem did not solve . it seems that the only way remain is to reinstall my mac os again! though i’m not sure eveb that help me!
August 13, 2011 at 2:35 PM
Talked to Apple 4 different times and they had me do everything and now they want me to take or send it to Apple. What they didn’t have me do is go into system preferences, then go to mouse and trackpad, then UNCLICK all the buttons, turn off bluetooth by going to the top and you will see something that looks like an antenna, put curser on it and it will ask TURN OFF BLUETOOTH. I learned both these things from everything I had read. I did those two things and it finally took care of my GHOST controlled computer. Not only was my mouse moving all over without me touching anything, it also opened anything the curser sat on for more than a second. I could sit and watch my computer work itself and it became impossible to use it at all.
NOW it is fixed by following these two simple things that was not told to be by Apple but like people similar to us that work on it ourselves.
Praying this works for you.
February 20, 2012 at 7:54 AM
thanks jonna, you sorted me out, legend:)
September 30, 2012 at 6:09 AM
Nice
May 19, 2013 at 8:21 PM
My mouse went especially crazy in MS word
Turning off the Bluetooth seems to have worked for now.
Changing the mouse speed works, but only temporarily.
Hope the bluetooth change causes a permanent change…
September 4, 2011 at 10:58 PM
hey Jonna,
THANK YOU!! ur advice saved me from throwing my mac out the window!! I was getting so frustrated and nothing was working until i read your advice! My mac was the same as yours – jumping all over the place and being completely useless – thank god that issue is resolved without paying someone an overpriced fee to fix something which took about a minute to resolve! <3
October 15, 2011 at 10:54 PM
Sweet – shut off bluetooth, it fixed it!
November 25, 2011 at 1:13 PM
None of these things worked for me… It’s all mad, my computer. Formate?
February 17, 2012 at 6:38 AM
I recommend to look in to the Control Panel/Mouse/Hardware tab and see whether there are correct drivers already installed or not.
It sometimes happens on Mac, that the driver for the pad has a kind of conflict with other drivers for the mouse especially wireless ones.
You can “Disable” the extra drivers and make your mouse driver a privilege to operate only.
This is a serious case in Windows OS on Mac notebooks due to Boot-camp interfering in drivers on the Windows OS.
June 3, 2012 at 1:17 PM
Fixed? Hell no, now our blutooth services are off and my $80 mouse is working extra as a kiddie distraction ..
August 18, 2012 at 3:50 PM
Universal access > seeing > zoom > options > uncheck “use scroll control…”
Mouse > uncheck “Move content in the…”
> Tracking > Maximum 8th stick
Bluetooth > uncheck “Discoverable”
August 18, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Security and Privacy > Privacy > Uncheck “enable locations Services”
With all this my wire mouse pointer still jumps once in a while but less. Yes, it’s not bluetooth.
October 5, 2012 at 3:44 PM
Did the changing screen resolution trick, it seems to have worked, but I bookmarked this page for the other solutions! We will see how it lasts!
December 14, 2012 at 12:03 AM
I also changed my screen resolution and it worked.
My computer isn’t a laptop so the trackpad stuff won’t work for me, I am not using anything bluetooth enabled devices either so that’s already turned off.
I noticed that this freaky mouse business only occurred for me when I had started iTunes, which was very annoying because I use iTunes all the time and I use photoshop a lot so I wasn’t able to do anything precise in photoshop without turning iTunes off. Anyone else noticed this with iTunes?
Anyways, it seems to be working now.
Thanks!
April 1, 2013 at 1:15 AM
Stupid programmer, I’m pretty sure it’s a bug. Totally pist off!
April 2, 2013 at 1:31 AM
Not sure if this applies to everyone but for me it was the wireless mouse of the person sitting next to me. I knew when I got a “Mouse is running out of batteries” message despite the fact my mouse was plugged in via USB.