automatic double clicking

lately ive noticed that my mouse has been double clicking by itself.... ill try to open a menu and it will close right away. or ill single click on a folder and it will open. i went into the mouse options to see if the speed was set really low, and its not. but i cant even test the double click speed because i dont know when its me double clicking, or the mouse doing it by itself. im using that really common microsoft optical mouse that has the two buttons and a wheel. could a crappy connection in my mouse be sending choppy signals resulting in an apparent double click?

No. Your mouse is b0rked.
I had the same problem with a Razer Copperhead (50 bux). Then I bought a "new" no-name-mouse for 10 bux and it worked.