My space bar stopped working

How I discovered malware on my computer

I am currently studying C# programming language and required a download on my computer of Microsoft Visual C# Express so silly me downloaded the 2012 version instead of the 2010 and my notebook was running on Microsoft 2010 Suite of applications. What componded the issue downloading 2012 was the fact that my internet speed had slowed down because I had used most of my quota for the month. A phone call to staff of my internet provider fixed that problem and increased the download speed but I discovered after the download of 2012 was completed that my space bar and the enter keys on the keyboard just would not work.

I re-mapped the keyboard and used Ctrl and spacebar and Ctrl and enter keys together but of course this was not an acceptable long term solution, especially for a former typist secretary me, who was used to typing speeds of over 75 words per minute. Over several days I googled for an explanation and complete rectifying of the malfunctioning keys; each time I pressed the space bar and enter key I received a message that “C:\ProgramFiles\CommonFiles\…….exe” could not be found. I searched through programs and files on my notebook and found two malware files amongst the Start list of programs.

If I had simply not researched the meaning of the so called ”missing program files\common files” I may have dropped the two offending files from the start program list into the actual C drive folder. Wikipedia internet site listed the two files with the .exe extension as malware. I checked for the drivers that were in the properties of the keyboard hardware on my computer notebook and found there were two missing. I guess it was rather fortunate that I kept my previous laptop computer as I checked on this for the drivers in the properties of this keyboard and learned which ones were missing on my notebook. So there were two issues which had to be repaired; the removal of the malware and the re-installation of the two missing drivers for the keyboard.

After deleting the malware and re-installing the drivers for the keyboard I logged off and then logged back on again to discover to my relief that the space bar and the enter key were once again working as they should. I am sharing this story in the event any other readers experience a similiar problem; in my case the malware may have downloaded onto my computer during the long time it had taken for the 2012 version of Visual C# Express to be installed on my “precious” notebook.

Oh and C# programming language is rather challenging, I have completed three assignments with one more to go, on arrays, and then do the test. I guess I am finally learning to develop patience and tolerance through my computer studies.