Symantec sues Hotbar

Hotbar, which is made by a Microsoft partner, Hotbar.com, is a kids add-on that personalises email and browsers. It gives a range of smiley faces for users to play with and gives access to search, skins and yellow pages.

However, HotBar also tracks web site visits and also has an autoupdate feature. Some users find it tricky to remove.

Spyware researcher Ben Edelman, here, said that Hotbar installs itself via banner ads on kid websites. He said Hotbar combines pop-up ads with other forms of advertising, including ads within web browser toolbars, automatically-opening sidebars, ads in ordinary Windows Explorer screens and desktop icons.

A Symantec spokesperson said the company did not want any damages as part of the suit and just needed a declaratory judgment affirming Symantec's assertion that certain Hotbar program files are adware and can be treated as computer security risks.

We assume this will keep Symantec out of legal hot water if Hotbar decides to sue the security company for deleting its software. Last month, Anti-Spyware outfit Sunbelt Software received a cease and desist letter from Hotbar, which took issue with Sunbelt categorising its toolbar as "low risk adware". µ