The posts above could be your problem, but it may not be a hardware problem. The problem could be a virus, malware, or a trojan horse.
Do you have an anti virus program? If so, scan your entire drive. I recommend that you search this site for advice about other anti- trogen/malware programs. Spybot is good. So is Hijack This.
I hope this helps. Even if the problem isn't malware, a virus, or a trojan, you'll know that you have a clean system, so your time won't be wasted.
