Touchpad Cursor Question

I'm not sure this is a windows problem or HP problelm. I've always used desktop pc's in the past. This is my first laptop. My question is this: when I'm surfing the net or in explorer, when the cursor hovers over something, it automatically opens it. I'd would like to know how to turn this off. If at all possible. Any help would be appreciated.

You are probably being too gentle when using the touch pad. When you hover over a link, it is very possible that you lift your finger slightly and it is detected as a click. Other option is that your hands are very dry. In these cases I sometimes get a lot of miss-clicks too.

Also, welcome to the forums. Happy to have you here.