When working with a laptop, you are likely to find that you are working with a touchpad – or trackpad as some people like to call them. While there is nothing to stop you from plugging in a USB mouse, or even using a wireless device, it is often easier to simply use the built in option as it means there is one less thing to remember when you hit the road. But while using the touchpad reduces the amount of equipment you need to carry with you, it is not without problems.

All too often you will find that your palm accidentally brushes against the pad while you are typing or navigating the screen. While this may seem like something that could be mildly irritating, it can have serious consequences. If you do not notice that you have activated the touchpad and continue to type you may find that you start to type in the wrong section of a document, or even start to type over other parts of your work.

Touchpad Blocker is a handy free tool that can be used to detect accidental touchpad taps and intercept them before Windows has a chance to act on them. The program works by block the touchpad for a user-defined period (measured in milliseconds) after any keys are pressed. This helps to eliminate accidental activation.

The program can be configured to start automatically with Windows and you have the option of hearing a beep every time an accidental touchpad press is blocked – this might get annoying after a while, but it’s a good way to check that the software is doing its job and you can still use a numerical counter if you decide to silence the sound. A keyboard shortcut can be used to toggle the program on and off as there may be occasions when you need the touchpad to operate as normal.

The latest version is a maintenance release:

• Windows 10 compatibility improved.
• Default time interval to block clicks changed to 1 second.
• Some other minor changes.