Point, click, tap, tap – using your favourite PC programs can become a near automatic process. But have you ever wondered how much work is really involved, how far your mouse is moving, how many left or right-clicks you’re making? That’s what the free system monitor Mousotron can help you find out.

After an adware-free installation the program displays a very lengthy status bar, with various statistics on your keyboard and mouse use. There’s the distance your mouse has travelled (miles/ yards/ inches, or the metric equivalent); the total numbers of left, right, middle and double-clicks; the average mouse speed, X/ Y coordinates, active and idle time, and more.

The program captures the total number of keystrokes, too, but not the keys themselves. It’s not a keylogger, and doesn’t pose any security risk.

At its simplest, this could just be a fun experiment, a quirky way to find out whether you’re busier than a friend or colleague.

A tiny status bar updates your stats in real time (it can be hidden, if you prefer)

Mousotron can have more serious applications, though, in particular related to RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). It could reveal whether one program requires more keystrokes or mouse moves than another, for instance, or provide feedback to help reduce the mouse/ keyboard actions you’re taking.

Maybe there are other possibilities. Mousotron generates a lot of statistics, and it seems likely that these could act as a fingerprint for an individual user (one person might use right-clicks all the time, for example, while someone else prefers hotkeys). If you had Mousotron data for a few individuals, could you compare that with the figures on another computer, and find out if any of them have been using it?

Whatever your interest, the program is very configurable. You’re able to choose exactly what’s recorded and how, and even upload the data online if you’d like to compete with others.

It’s not the most essential of programs, then, but Mousotron isn’t quite as trivial as you might think, either. Worth a look.