Frequently Asked Questions
General
Compatibility
Browser Toolbar
General
Hotbar is a new way to access free programs and tools to make life a little easier and lots more fun. Hotbar gives you the ultimate universal access to thousands of pieces of free online content such as videos and games. The Hotbar Browser toolbar presents buttons on your Internet Explorer browser that change dynamically while you surf to relate to the website you visit. These buttons also provide you instant access to Search, Videos, Games and much more! The Browser toolbar also offers you emoticons if you are using web based mail: Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail and Comcast. You may also insert emoticons to social networking websites. To start enjoying your web experiences simply go to www.hotbar.com, click on one of the games or videos available and follow the on-screen instructions.
Also available is a Hotbar Offer Engine which gives you the same access to great content at Hotbar.com without the toolbar.
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To install Hotbar, simply go to www.hotbar.com, click on one of the games or videos available and follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are not prompted to download Hotbar, this indicates a previous attempt to install Hotbar. If this is the case, you will need to reinstall Hotbar. Please do the following to reinstall Hotbar:
- Uninstall your current version of Hotbar by clicking the link: http://client.hotbar.com/downloads/Uninstaller/Uninstaller.exe click Run and follow on-screen instructions.
- Restart your computer
- Install your Hotbar by going to our site: www.hotbar.com, click on one of the games or videos available and follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are still experiencing problems with the installation process, please contact our Support Team by completing our Customer Support form.
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The Hotbar Search Assistant allows us to provide quality games and programs at no cost to you and is included with your Hotbar download. The Search Assistant is designed to locate products and services that are of interest to you. It does this by recognizing keywords from your Internet browser and displaying relevant advertisers' websites for matching products and services. That means the Search Assistant will only display advertisements that are specifically related to websites you visit or keywords you search for. More info about the Search Assistant.
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Hotbar-referred products and services are always identified in the window's title bar by the following: "This ad is from Hotbar (Pinball Corp), downloaded from Hotbar.com. Click here to learn more." Other ads that do not carry this label are not affiliated with Hotbar.
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Hotbar can be compared to free TV. For example, when you turn on your favorite sitcom on a regular TV network like ABC, NBC or CBS, you expect to see commercials during the show. Most TV shows are sponsored by paid advertisements which enable the networks to provide quality programs at no cost to you. Premium services like HBO, on the other hand, do not show any ads. Instead, they charge the viewer a subscription fee to access the premium content. Hotbar works essentially the same as regular TV: in exchange for giving you unlimited access to free games, programs and entertainment, the Hotbar Search Assistant may display several ads per day based upon how often you use your browser and your search activities while browsing (including keywords from the websites you visit). And just as free TV presents ads that are aimed at a show's specific audience group, the Hotbar Search Assistant ensures that you will only see advertisements that are directly related to the kinds of websites you visit.
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If you choose to remove the Hotbar Search Assistant, you will no longer be able to enjoy the free content that Hotbar sponsors.
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Hotbar does not collect or share any of your personal information … ever!
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It is our policy that Hotbar applications should only be installed with your consent. Clear consumer opt-in is a consistent hallmark of Hotbar offerings. If you do not know how Hotbar got installed, please let us know by completing our Customer Support form. Completing this form will help us to enforce our strict distribution policies and codes of conduct.
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Any Hotbar application can be easily and completely uninstalled by choosing "Add or Remove Programs" from your Control Panel.
Please do the following:
- Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs
- Find Hotbar on the list
- Click the Change/Remove button
- Check the component(s) you wish to remove, click Next and follow on-screen instructions
- Restart your computer
Alternatively, you can use our uninstaller:
- Click on the following link - http://client.hotbar.com/downloads/Uninstaller/Uninstaller.exe
- Click Run and follow on-screen instructions
- Restart your computer.
For Further assistance, please contact our Support Team.
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Absolutely not! Spyware invades your privacy … Hotbar respects it! The purpose of spyware is to secretly gather information about your computer usage and the sites that you visit so it can be sold to advertisers and others. Usually, spyware is hidden inside another program and downloaded without the user's informed consent. Hotbar does not collect or share any information about you with anyone. Caution: Spyware has the ability to record your keystrokes, passwords and credit card numbers, scan your hard drive, eavesdrop while you chat, collect your cookies, change your toolbars and default settings, and continuously transmit your information back to its database.
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Our policy is to be totally upfront about how the Hotbar Search Assistant works to provide free games and programs. We will always ask for your permission before you install a Hotbar-sponsored program or product. We also require all our partners to notify users about their affiliation with Hotbar. All Hotbar products, downloads and advertisements are clearly identified.
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Problems watching the Hotbar videos may occur due to several issues:
Compatibility:
Hotbar is compatible with the following:
- Operating Systems: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista
- Internet Browsers: Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 and above. Please note that while you can install Hotbar using Firefox, the Hotbar toolbar will not appear on your Firefox. Once opening Internet Explorer you will be able to see and use Hotbar toolbar.
- Web based mail: Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Gmail and Comcast.
Hotbar generally works with social networking sites, however this service is not yet supported by Hotbar. Hotbar is currently incompatible with Mac OS X and Windows Mail.
Browser Settings:
Watching Hotbar videos might require changing some of your browser settings:
- Open a new Internet Explorer window and choose Tools
- From the Tools menu choose Internet Options
- Click on the 'Security' tab
- Under the 'Security level for this zone' please lower the bar to Medium-High by dragging it downwards.
- Click on the 'Custom Level' button:
- Under Security custom level - 'run activeX controls and plug-ins' must be set to enable or to prompt
- Security custom level - 'Script activeX controls marked safe for scripting' must be set to enable.
- Security custom level - 'File download' must be set to enable.
- Security custom level - 'Allow meta refresh' must be set to enable.
- Click Apply and OK to save changes.
- Refresh the Web page
Media Players:
- Hotbar videos on Hotbar.com are in Flash format. If you don't have Flash on your computer, please download it using the following link: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash
- If you are on a partner site, the videos may be in Windows Media Player format and/or Quick Time format.
- If you are experiencing problems you may try to update your current player or download a media player:
- To download QuickTime please follow this link: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/win.html
- To download Windows Media Player please follow this link: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?displang=en&qstechnology
For further assistance, please contact our Support Team.
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Compatibility
Hotbar is compatible with the following:
- Operating Systems: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista
- Internet Browsers: Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 and above. Please note that while you can install Hotbar using Firefox, the Hotbar toolbar will not appear on your Firefox. Once opening Internet Explorer you will be able to see and use Hotbar toolbar.
- Web based mail: Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Gmail and Comcast.
Hotbar generally works with social networking sites, however this service is not yet supported by Hotbar.
Hotbar is currently incompatible with Mac OS X, Outlook 2007 and Windows Mail.
Please know that our development team is constantly working to have every Hotbar feature compatible with all the leading email and social networking services.
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Yes! Hotbar offers great services for Microsoft® Windows Vista™ users. With Hotbar, you get to play free games, download valuable programs and enjoy some of the most interesting sites on the web. There are no fees, no subscriptions and no trial periods - with Hotbar everything is always completely free and safe!
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Hotbar is compatible with Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 and above. While you can install Hotbar using Firefox, the Hotbar toolbar will not appear on your Firefox. Once opening Internet Explorer you will be able to see and use Hotbar toolbar.
Hotbar is compatible with the following:
- Operating Systems: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista
- Internet Browsers: Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 and above. Please note that while you can install Hotbar using Firefox, the Hotbar toolbar will not appear on your Firefox. Once opening Internet Explorer you will be able to see and use Hotbar toolbar.
- Web based mail: Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Gmail and Comcast.
Hotbar generally works with social networking sites, however this service is not yet supported by Hotbar.
Hotbar is currently incompatible with Mac OS X, Outlook 2007 and Windows Mail.
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Internet Explorer 7.0, which is the default Microsoft® Windows Vista™ browser, has a new feature which allows users to reset their browser settings. Using this feature might temporarily disable your Hotbar toolbar.
To Enable Hotbar Toolbar:
- Open an Internet Explorer browser
- Select Tools > Manage Add-ons
- Under the Disabled list, you will find the following Hotbar related items:
- Hotbar Toolbar (toolbar)
- Hotbar (Browser Helper Object)
- Hotbar Search Assistant Helper (Browser Helper Object)
- Click each of these items and choose Enable in the Settings section below, then click OK
- Close and reopen your browser and Hotbar toolbar should be enabled.
For more information, please contact our Support Team.
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Hotbar is a safe and secure program which will not harm your computer and is only installed upon user's consent. We are certainly aware of the ever-growing number of harmful applications that have surfaced on the Web. Please be assured that Hotbar, unlike such applications, will always make your privacy our top priority. Unfortunately Windows Defender does not have Hotbar on the "permitted files" list. In order to solve this problem, please do the following:
- If Windows Defender pops a warning window during the Hotbar installation, Choose Ignore to allow Hotbar.
- Windows defender will continue to alert you that you have Hotbar installed. You can make sure Hotbar is always allowed on your computer by changing the setting in Windows Defender:
- From the Start menu select Programs > Windows Defender.
- Choose Scan option, which will start a scan of your computer.
- Once the scan is finished, click Review items detected by scanning in order to see which items were detected.
- If the scan results show Hotbar and/or 180solutions.Hotbar.SearchAssistant choose Always Allow under the action tab next to the items and click Apply Actions at the bottom of the screen.
Hotbar will now be allowed on your computer and you will see no further warnings. For more information, please contact our Support Team.
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Hotbar is not currently compatible with Windows Mail.
Hotbar is compatible with the following:
- Operating Systems: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista
- Internet Browsers: Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 and above. Please note that while you can install Hotbar using Firefox, the Hotbar toolbar will not appear on your Firefox. Once opening Internet Explorer you will be able to see and use Hotbar toolbar.
- Web based mail: Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Gmail and Comcast.
- Email programs: Microsoft Outlook 2002 and 2003, and/or Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 and above.
Hotbar generally works with social networking sites, however this service is not yet supported by Hotbar.
Hotbar is currently incompatible with Mac OS X, Outlook 2007 and Windows Mail.
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Hotbar is not currently compatible with Mac OS X.
Hotbar is compatible with the following:
- Operating Systems: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista
- Internet Browsers: Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 and above. Please note that while you can install Hotbar using Firefox, the Hotbar toolbar will not appear on your Firefox. Once opening Internet Explorer you will be able to see and use Hotbar toolbar.
- Web based mail: Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Gmail and Comcast.
- Email programs: Microsoft Outlook 2002 and 2003, and/or Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 and above.
Hotbar generally works with social networking sites, however this service is not yet supported by Hotbar.
Hotbar is currently incompatible with Mac OS X, Outlook 2007 and Windows Mail.
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Browser Toolbar
Hotbar Toolbar lets you search the web right from your browser's toolbar – no matter what website you're on. Just type your keywords into Hotbar Toolbar and you'll instantly get the top results from the leading search engines.
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You can toggle the Hotbar Toolbar on and off by selecting the options "View > Toolbars" on your browser's menu line. Check or uncheck the option "Hotbar Toolbar" to make the Toolbar display or disappear.
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If you cannot see the separator bar to the left of your toolbars, your toolbars are in the locked position. To click and drag the Hotbar Toolbar to a new position, first unlock your toolbars by right-clicking an open area of the toolbars and un-checking "Lock the Toolbars." You can move and resize your toolbars after you make this change. You may find it convenient to lock your toolbars after you move them. You can lock them by right-clicking an open area of the toolbars and selecting "Lock the Toolbars."
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The Hotbar Toolbar automatically returns the top results from the web's leading search engines.
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