stop asterisks automatically appearing

bill young 0 Reputation points
2026-09-17T09:02:25.9233333+00:00

everytime i try to input anything into any input fields it fills itself up with asterisks automatically thus preventing me from pretty much doing anything, is it a hardware issue, driver issue, or a virus, your advice would be most welcome, thanks

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Accessibility
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-17T09:02:42.1566667+00:00

    Start by checking whether this is an accessibility setting or a keyboard problem.

    1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and make sure Filter keys is turned Off.
    2. Test with the On-Screen Keyboard or a different USB/Bluetooth keyboard.
      • If another keyboard works normally, the built-in keyboard is likely the problem.
    3. Check whether the issue also happens before Windows fully loads, such as at the sign-in screen.
      • If it does, that points more strongly to a hardware-related issue than a driver or app problem.
    4. If the behavior started after a repair or physical incident, internal keyboard hardware may have been affected.

    Based on the available guidance, persistent wrong or automatic input is more consistent with a hardware issue than a virus. Testing with another keyboard or the On-Screen Keyboard is the quickest way to confirm that.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. DaveM121 931.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-17T09:35:27.5533333+00:00

    1

    Open Command Prompt, then paste in this command and press Enter:

    msdt.exe -id KeyboardDiagnostic

    Run that Keyboard Troubleshooter to see if that can solve the problem.

    2

    If that does not resolve this for you

    Open Device Manager

    Expand the Keyboards section

    Right click your keyboard and choose 'Uninstall'

    Then restart your PC

    3

    If the problem is still not resolved:

    Connect another external keyboard to your system, is the same problem occurring on that keyboard?

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