The "find on this page" function under edit stays open and takes command of any text I try to enter

Thanks but I have already tried various adware/malware/virus programs tp no avail; I think its something in the registry but no program has picked it up yet...any other ideas?

I would suspect a hardware problem if it was doing it on all text boxes. If it's doing it on only one text box that performs the same function in three different browsers and no other text boxes on other programs are doing it, you're dealing with something very wierd. Type 'Facebook' in the search box at the top right of this page and see if it does it on that search.

It sounds like something is triggering an event in the text box like the Change or Keydown event. The only thing I can think of would be if all three browsers use the same page search code provided by Windows and the code is corrupted. I can't think of anything in the registry that would continuously trigger a search that is supposed to be initiated by the Enter key or a Command Button.

If you have another keyboard and mouse available, I'd swap them just for drill.

I'll watch this to see how you make out.

See if autocomplete has anything to do with it:

To turn AutoComplete on or off

Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Content tab, and then, under AutoComplete, click Settings.
Select the check box beside each AutoComplete option you want to turn on, and then click OK twice.

If 'Forms' is checked that might be a clue.