Expert: James Filmer - 7/22/2010

Question
Hello James,
Someone on the computer inadvertently installed something called hotbar, I believe it said pinball corp.  we can't seem to delete this.  Do you have any suggestions, or perhaps steer us in the right direction. thank you.

Answer
Since I don't know what system you're using, the following is for XP (works for Vista too). If you're on a different system and have a problem, please let me know.

Click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs
Find HotBar and click Remove
Uninstall and reboot.

To remove all leftover registry entries click Start > Run and type "regedit" (without quotes) Click OK, navigate to and delete the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Hotbar

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Hotbar

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\B195B3B3-8A05-11D3-97A4-0004ACA6948E

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform\Hotbar 3.0

'HotBar 3.0' string in the Internet Explorer user agent:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Internet Settings\User Agent

The following applications on http://enrgy21.com/support (free and paid versions) are also known to detect and remove Hotbar.
Windows Defender
Malwarebytes
Superantispyware
Emsisoft Anti-Malware
majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4438 (Hotbar removal tool)
but you should first uninstall it via Add/Remove, and check for Windows registry keys and files that may be left behind after running one of the above apps.

For detailed info about Hotbar see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zango_(company)