The method GetJavaModifiers() in src/win32/native/sun/windows/awt_Component.cpp calls GetAsyncKeyState() to get the state of the Control, Shift, etc. keys and then packages this info up into events (e.g. a WmKeyDown event). GetAsyncKeyState() gets the state of the keyboard at the time of the call, rather than at the time of the event (compare to GetKeyState()). This isn't a problem for user-driven input (e.g. a user hitting CTRL-RightArrow), but is a problem for native programs that generate keystrokes automatically, such as macro generators or screen readers. In fact, this is specifically a problem for the JAWS screen reader, which in some circumstances programatically generates CTRL-arrow key combinations.