Spyware Detail

Summary

Marketed as a program to add graphical skins to IE toolbars, it also adds its own toolbar. It monitors all URLs you visit to add link buttons to its toolbar dependent on the site you are visiting.

Alias

Adware/Hotbar[Panda]
Adware.Hotbar [Symantec]
W32/HotBar.FJ [NOD]
Adware:Win32/Hotbar [MS OneCare]

Vendor Description

"HOTBAR COLLECTS AND STORES INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEB PAGES YOU VIEW AND THE DATA YOU ENTER IN SEARCH ENGINE SEARCH FIELDS WHILE USING THE SOFTWARE. HOTBAR USES THIS INFORMATION TO DETERMINE WHICH ADS AND BUTTONS TO DISPLAY ON YOUR HOTBAR TOOLBARS AND WHICH ADS TO SHOW YOUR BROWSER." - Hotbar Terms of Use.

Category

Adware:  Software that displays pop-up/pop-under advertisements when the primary user interface is not visible, or which do not appear to be associated with the product.

Browser Helper Object:  (BHO). A component that Internet Explorer will load whenever it starts, shares IE's memory context, can perform any action on the available windows and modules. A BHO can detect events, create windows to display additional information on a viewed page, monitor messages and actions. Microsoft calls it "a spy we send to infiltrate the browser's land." BHOs are not stopped by personal firewalls, because they are seen by the firewall as your browser itself. Some exploits of this technology search all pages you view in IE and replace banner advertisements with other ads. Some monitor and report on your actions. Some change your home page.

Downloader:  A program that downloads and may execute or install software without user permission.

Search Hijacker:  Any software that resets your browser's settings to point to other sites when you perform a search. Hijacks may reroute your info and address requests through an unseen site, capturing that info. In such hijacks, your browser may behave normally, but be slower. Search results when such a hijacker is running will sometimes differ from non-hijacked results.

Toolbar:  A group of buttons which perform common tasks. A toolbar for Internet Explorer is nomally located below the menu bar at the top of the form. Toolbars may be created by Browser Helper Objects.



Reasons For Retention

Changes browser settings other than homepage, without user permission.

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