You can probably disable the touchpad in the Device Manager (under "Mice and
other pointing devices") if you're sure you're never going to use it.
Otherwise you should just be able to disable the tapping feature. There
should be a separate tab in the mouse properties for the touchpad.
Depending on the manufacturer it may say "Synaptics", "Alps", or just
"Touchpad". My Fujitsu just says "Stick" (it doesn't have a touchpad, just
a little joystick thing in the middle of the keyboard). In there somewhere
should be an option that says "use tap" or something like that.
Alternatively there may well be a Taskbar icon for the touchpad, in which
case you may be able to find an option on the right-click menu to turn it
off.