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Thread: lost

  1. #1

    Question lost

    recently a friend's computer (running windowns 98) had some of the keys on the keyboard reconfigured and now she is unable to type in passwords, instant message, or type papers with any sense of clarity. i haven't been able to get to the computer myself as i am away at school, but i was looking for some ideas to help her. is there a known virus that does this? is it possibly something the user did? how do i get to the keys to reset them back to the default settings? any help would be greatly appreciated. just ask if more information is necessary. thank you.

  2. #2
    Where they keys physically rearranged or where the keys remapped?

  3. #3
    The Iceman Cometh
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
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    1,209
    If they were physically rearranged, she has two options:
    1) physically rearrange them back
    2) screw it, learn to type on a normal keyboard and leave the keys how they are (defiantely always fun when others try to type)

    If they were remapped via some sort of software program, you should be able to find a bunch of freeware and shareware ke mappers at download.com.

    AJ

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
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    i've heard of viruses that will remap keyboards to print whole phrases when you press a single key.

    also a few years back i had a keyboard that had the "special feature" of remapping or programming your own macros....so i could have it type out "jabberwocky is cool" everytime i pressed the F1 key for instance.

    but every once and a while it would spontaniously switch keys for no reason or my dad would accidently remap it. ask her if she has any "set macros" or "suspend macros" keys on her keyboard. she could have done it without realizing it.
    U suk at teh intuhnet1!!1!1one

  5. #5
    Member
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    I know some trojans allow the attacker to change keys at will. She may want to look for something along the lines of a trojan on her computer.
    The radiance of ignorace in a world of nothingness and all of this time your pestilence has created nothing but uselessness

  6. #6
    Old Fart
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
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    along those lines...go to www.download.com and do a search for trojanhunter....there is a 30 day free trial, make sure you get all the updates after you install.
    Al
    It isn't paranoia when you KNOW they're out to get you...

  7. #7

    UMM

    also, i could be way of here but its just a thought. say she/he ahd there keybored setup for uk english then some how accidentally reconfigured it for us english (probably not that exact example but along those lines)

    worth a check, u never know. u might be supprised
    [gloworange]The Enemy Is Ignorance[/gloworange]

    http://www.antionline.com/sig.php?id=194

  8. #8

    update

    thanks for your help. the keys haven't been physically moved. it's just when the "i" key is pressed for example she might get the letter "a". is there a way to change the keys in windows or is a 3rd party software program the way to go? i checked the configuration it has been on US English. thanks again.
    brandon

  9. #9
    Senior Member SodaMoca5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
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    236
    Windows has some special layouts that change key mappings.

    In the control panel > Keyboard

    Input Locals Tab > Properties Under input language you will find some specialized mappings. It should be USA, if it is not you should change it to USA for a standard 101 keyboard mapping using the QWERTY system.

    Aside from this I don't know of any native program for remapping the keys. Many programs have their own macro creators and key maps can be made within them. I.E. you can map keys in Word but not directly. It protects the keys such as I and E from being mapped directly to each other so that is probably not the responsible party. However, many programs do not put that level of protection in. I know the common Telnet program I used at a previous company allowed full keyboard mapping using the ASCII hex equivalency of the character. This mapping, however, was only in use within the program and did not affect windows at all.

    Finally, this happened to me once and what had occurred is that I spilled soda (Coke) on my keyboard. When I typed "J" it typed K, for I it typed K also. There were a few more cross connected keys. This is easy to test for just slap a new keyboard on and if it corrects it then the problem is in the circuitry of the keyboard and is not a software issue at all.

    Hope this helps.
    SodaMoca5
    \"We are pressing through the sphincter of assholiness\"

  10. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    35
    I had this problem ti turned out the keyboard was so dirty that it was****ing it up and the connector had a load of dust in it.
    Ill THink of one when i get time.

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