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Controversy
Hotbar is an example of adware due to its banner advertising and use of popup windows, and also an example of spyware as it monitors the webpages the user visits. Hotbar does disclose these aspects of its behavior in its Terms of Use. The user's browsing habits are sent to the Hotbar servers (adopt.hotbar.com, tooltips.hotbar.com and dynamic.hotbar.com) with a unique user ID which allows a user's browsing habits to be tracked over an extended period of time.
Hotbar can be detected and removed by several anti-spyware and anti-virus programs, including Windows Defender, Spybot - Search & Destroy, and Norton AntiVirus. However, some utilities do not remove Hotbar completely and leave keys behind in the Windows Registry.
Hotbar (also known as HbTools) is a program which was produced by Hotbar.com, Inc, until 180Solutions merged with Hotbar. It is a plugin for Microsoft programs Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Outlook and Outlook Express, which adds a toolbar and the option of extra skins. It also allows the user to add emoticons to emails created in Outlook or Outlook Express or check the weather report. Once installed, Hotbar may also show an advertising banner in Microsoft MSN Messenger, offering free emoticons; this banner redirects to the Hotbar main page. In addition, a weather forecast application is installed.
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