How to get rid of Hotbar?

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December 19th, 2003, 02:14 AM
riddellcomp

How to get rid of Hotbar?

Does anyone know how to get rid of a toolbar called Hotbar? It has placed a toolbar within Outlook, but I am not really sure how I got it in the first place. It is on my work computer which connects to head office through a terminal server (Using remote desktop connection). I havent downloaded anything at all on this machine and although I connect to Outlook through terminal server, I actually surf the net via IE on my local desktop not through TS anyway.
December 19th, 2003, 08:29 AM
Ya_know

http://www.pchell.com/support/hotbar.shtml
This site has a removal tool...

I would also suggest that you download and install adaware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ and clean the PC up a bit...
December 19th, 2003, 10:17 AM
delmer_1

Spybot will also remove hotbar. I actually prefer it to adaware.
December 19th, 2003, 10:29 AM
TripleRLtd

Hotbar is an actual program which can be removed from Add/Remove programs guys.
Although it is crapware, it is not technically malware/spyware.
The user chooses to install it, and can choose to uninstall it.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif
December 19th, 2003, 10:33 AM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally Posted by TripleRLtd

Hotbar is an actual program which can be removed from Add/Remove programs guys.
Although it is crapware, it is not technically malware/spyware.
The user chooses to install it, and can choose to uninstall it.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif

Not at all true...guy. Sure, sometimes it's there, but regardless of the add/remove item, you still need to clean things out to remove the program. And thus far, all of my experiences with this software showed it working both in Outlook and IE, and there was NO reference of it in add/remove, so these alternate tools were absolutely nessessary…guy. :p
December 19th, 2003, 11:00 AM
Drone2903

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ya_know

Not at all true...guy. Sure, sometimes it's there, but regardless of the add/remove item, you still need to clean things out to remove the program. And thus far, all of my experiences with this software showed it working both in Outlook and IE, and there was NO reference of it in add/remove, so these alternate tools were absolutely nessessary…guy. :p

What he said... PLUS spyboot.

this dammed bar is 1/3 fun 2/3 spyware.....

get rid of it. NOW! :redeyes:
December 19th, 2003, 04:48 PM
inferno_gn

Hi there,

If I get too many spyware on the computer, just backup all important data (music, images, documents, etc), format and reinstall. :)

Ju Leon...
December 19th, 2003, 05:31 PM
Diver01

Quote:

Originally Posted by inferno_gn

Hi there,

If I get too many spyware on the computer, just backup all important data (music, images, documents, etc), format and reinstall. :)

Ju Leon...

Dont you think thats a little extreme considering all the tools out there that can not only clean out spyware.. like AdAware and Spybot, but other tools that can prevent it from ever being installed on your PC in the first place... like SPywareBlaster?
December 19th, 2003, 06:02 PM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diver01

Dont you think thats a little extreme considering all the tools out there that can not only clean out spyware.. like AdAware and Spybot, but other tools that can prevent it from ever being installed on your PC in the first place... like SPywareBlaster?

Hi there!

NAL (Not at all)

*lol*

Hah! yeah, just a little bit!
December 19th, 2003, 07:24 PM
geoscomp

Yeah..even spybot can inoculate against further infections, as well as locking the hosts file to prevent hijacking..unless you like just formatting and reinstalling, although to my mind thats like buying a new computer if your cd drive goes bad :rolleyes:
December 19th, 2003, 10:14 PM
inferno_gn

Hi there,

It depends. :) Usually, I just do that when I got too much crap installed. Well, it's my suggestion, you don't have to take it. :p

Ju Leon...
December 19th, 2003, 10:45 PM
TripleRLtd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ya_know

Not at all true...guy. Sure, sometimes it's there, but regardless of the add/remove item, you still need to clean things out to remove the program. And thus far, all of my experiences with this software showed it working both in Outlook and IE, and there was NO reference of it in add/remove, so these alternate tools were absolutely nessessary…guy. :p

AlLLtrue DUDE.
Hotbar is a REAL program which can be uninstalled.
It is adware though, and, as such, after removal, you should run Adaware/Spybot to get rid of all the crap.
And yes, it is supposed to work with ALL internet enabled programs.
And, there certainly IS a reference to it in Add/Remove.
Perhaps you just didn't notice?https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif
December 20th, 2003, 02:42 AM
riddellcomp

Okay, well I could not find it anywhere in the add remove programs section. Also I never installed it in the first place. Heres another strange thing. This is my work computer I am talking about.
We use remote desktop connection to connect to our head offfice through a terminal server. I surf the net on my local desktop through an ISDN connection but I use Outlook to check my e-mail through the Terminal Server connection. The hotbar has been installed to Outlook but I cant see how unless it was done at head office which I doubt. If I had managed to get it whilst browsing (Which from what some of you have said wouldn't happen as you need to install it.) then wouldn't it only be on Outlook on the local computer, which it isn't.
Any ideas on this one.

Could another user at head office perhaps have installed it so it is now on everyones version of Outlook when they connect up?
December 20th, 2003, 06:22 AM
NooNoo

I doubt that... more likely it installed itself quietly when you clicked on a yes for an activex control box.
December 20th, 2003, 10:49 AM
riddellcomp

Quote:

Originally Posted by NooNoo

I doubt that... more likely it installed itself quietly when you clicked on a yes for an activex control box.

So even though I browse via the local computer and use Outlook on the server it has still managed to install to Outlook on the server? I would have thought it would only be installed onto the local machine and therefore only affect Outlook on the local machine. Which it hasn't.
December 20th, 2003, 08:28 PM
NEPATEC

ya_know raises some valid points (and not just regarding this particular topic)

One of the most frustrating aspects of poorly-written applications is that they leave behind a lot of "junk"; both in the system registry and also on your drive (as file system objects).

One of the best ways to get around this problem is to get in the habit of seeing exactly what an installation does to affect the environment of your operating system. A good way to do this is to download and install a program called InstallWatch. This app is available as a free download, and makes a useful addition to your arsenal of utilities. You can get it at:

http://www.epsilonsquared.com/

Upon installation, this program will take a snapshot of your hard drive, and then create a small database that uses a reverse delta history of changes made to your drive, thus eliminating the guesswork involved with trying to get rid of "lamerware" on your machine.

There is another app on this site called InstallRite that supplements InstallWatch by allowing you to build your own installer programs without having to spend a bunch of cash on the fancier packages (like Wise or InstallShield) -or- go barking mad trying to write installation packages using Microsoft's MSI technology. This comes in rather handy when trying to do things that are not normally possible, like installing IE6 or the .NET framework on a Windows 95 machine.

Granted, all of this information is moot after-the-fact, but if you get acclimated with these tools & become disciplined in using them before installing new software, you will eliminate most of the headaches involved with hunting for CLSIDs & GUIDs in the registry. This should make your time spend in front of your computer much less exasperating, and also serve to facilitate the allocation of more free time to dedicate to the consumption of alcohol & the carnal exploitation of consenting females.

Hope this information helps!

-mike
December 20th, 2003, 09:17 PM
TripleRLtd

Quote:

Originally Posted by NEPATEC

http://www.epsilonsquared.com/

Upon installation, this program will take a snapshot of your hard drive, and then create a small database that uses a reverse delta history of changes made to your drive, thus eliminating the guesswork involved with trying to get rid of "lamerware" on your machine.

Hope this information helps!

-mike

Looks really good NEPATEC.
Definitely going to check this out, especially InstallRite for serveral of my software developer customers.
Thankshttps://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif
December 21st, 2003, 09:42 AM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally Posted by riddellcomp

So even though I browse via the local computer and use Outlook on the server it has still managed to install to Outlook on the server? I would have thought it would only be installed onto the local machine and therefore only affect Outlook on the local machine. Which it hasn't.

HotBar could have been installed on the Terminal server by any user that logs in, then all users become effected. I saw this a few times with Bonzi Buddy on some NT4 TS's. Nothing you did, and probably nothing you can uninstall, if outlook is a published application running from the TS, and you have no desktop session available to you to work on the server...Contact your IT, if they don't use the server regularly, they may not be aware that someone has done this, but they can remove it.
December 22nd, 2003, 09:04 AM
riddellcomp

I phoned IT today and they confirmed that someone at head office had installed hotbar which effected everybodys Outlook session. They have since removed it.
December 22nd, 2003, 09:34 AM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally Posted by riddellcomp

I phoned IT today and they confirmed that someone at head office had installed hotbar which effected everybodys Outlook session. They have since removed it.

Heehee...funny thing is, you told us that you had a remote connection for your outlook to a TS in the first post. I actually completely overlooked your mention of that until later in the thread, Sorry. I will pay closer attention next time, I promise!!! :thumbs:
December 22nd, 2003, 04:49 PM
JeffO93

Hotbar has many pieces and many behaviors programmed into it.

I've found it in our company last year, found out where all the pieces were, wrote an INF file to kill it and clean it from the registry, and then delete the rest of it on the next reboot.

Then I found out about Ad-Aware and Spybot. Spybot is now my favorite (by far!) but both are good.

Hotbar installs into Outlook and is seperte than what installs into IE.
Also, there's a Hotbar spy engine that won't uninstall. It's not accidental, either. If you have an Add/Remove item, it's a placebo that will remove most of the visual stuff. The spy engine is designed not to ever be removed. That's another attribute of "spyware".

Another characteristic I've witnessed is that Hotbar would detect when you're sending an email to multiple recipients (more than two, but not sure where the trigger was) and attach a Hotbar installer link into emails. This is the exact same behavior as viruses. The link said "Click here for info". Clicking would install without any info!

It's a nasty bugger. You should NEVER trust spyware to remove by using Add/Remove. MS Windows doesn't create the uninstaller. The installed application creates it (or fails to create it) and is written by the same coders that wrote the app. Always use Ad-Aware or Spybot to clean an "infected" machine and keep it clean.