The following comments were sent to us by our site visitors and subscribers in response to our Truth Rant . These comments are representative of the hundreds of responses we received. The comments sent by our readers remain on file. These comments are the personal opinions of those who sent them and do not necessarily represent our views or opinions.

5. [You will] Compensate Hotbar for the damages you have caused it in an amount which will be agreed by Hotbar. Hotbar will determine the amount of damages you should pay to it in accordance with the scope of your infringing activities and your compliance with this letter.

What LSD-laced world do you live in, maggot? Sorry princess, the real world doesn't work that way. If it did, I would send out a million of these letters to everyone that ever said something negative about me, and await the damages which I would determine myself. You're morally wrong. Live with it.

Want to talk conspiracy? I'm a news junkie and a news talk radio fiend, and you were the ONLY source that passed on the tip about Ad-Aware removing detection of Hotbar. I pass on quite a lot of computer-related advice, and I have passed this on to several sources including two Canada-wide talk radio shows. None of the "experts" on the shows had heard this. I've obviously since removed Lavasoft Ad-aware from my machine and will never re-install it.

This, apparently, has turned into a rant of my own...and one of my better ones. Thanks for reading.

Congrats for having some stones,
Christian
Saskatoon, SK, Canada
 

Hi,

It's a war out there isn't it?  I read all your rant about Hotbar and the
whole situation is terrifying from a web user and web business such as
yourself.

Please keep us informed of any further developments if any.  It seems to me
your letter to the Hotbar wonks should but the issue to bed.  They can't
possibly sue everyone you named and just putting one small company out of
business certainly, it seems, give me much satisfaction.  I think they are
just using intimidation as a weapon.

I was shocked to read that they changed the settings of our email program.
I am advising all of my friends (I'm their computer guru so to speak) to
never install that horrible piece of software.

I love your stationary and use it constantly I also love the premium
newsletter.  I don't always get time to read it but I file them all for
future reference.  I also bought your "Premium E Book" and refer to it
often.

Thanks for being there.

Regards,

Jack

I just wanted to add that my employer uses Web Blocker to restrict the websites that we can view. I'm not sure how the list of inappropriate websites is added to their blocked list, but I am unable to access most of the Hotbar.com website due to the fact that Web Blocker has deemed that the site should not be visited...if that says anything.

Thanks for the excellent service you provide.

Signed,

A hopeless, devoted fan
-Rob

Aloha,

I have been a member of cloudeight for many years and have had numerous people subscribe. You all provide outstanding service.

Regarding Hotbar, I cannot help but recall Oprah's lawsuit when she was going through a similar situation with the beef industry. We could never figure how to got so out of hand when in our opinion this IS AMERICA - so whatever happened to free speech?

A lawsuit such as the one above or what you stated in your newsletter can ruin any small company but my thoughts are for ALL the small companies who are having difficulty and for those that are not having problems yet with Hotbar but will to join forces (education/financially) to stop these unnecessary costly lawsuits.

In your next newsletter if there is anything the members can do please post in your newsletter.

With Much Aloha,

Janet

Oh, you two are so good! The truth will out. The good guys have to win sometime! I had Hotbar on my computer 3 or 4 years ago and I had to do a reformat to get rid of it all. It is like an octopus with lots of tentacles winding their way all through your computer. Ask your readers for their input on Hotbar and let them see John & Jane Public's slant on their spyware program!

KUDOS to you!

Carol

Plainly, Hotbar SUCKS! I had hotbar for a time when I got my first computer and I knew nothing about spyware or adware. I enjoyed making the hotbar 'stationary' , but all the ads! Whew! Not only did it slow down a brand new computer, but it was really annoying to be typing something in my address bar and suddenly look up to see I wasn't in the address bar anymore. All those little pics just weren't worth it. Thank God I discovered what hotbar really was before it crashed my computer. Plus, I enjoy surfing the internet so much more! Thank you Thundercloud!!!!!!!!

Who needs hotbar (which isn't so hot) when Thundercloud has much more beautiful stationary with and without music, plus the most beautiful screensavers!!!!!

I Love your newsletter and am grateful for what I learn from you. More power to you!! If I was a lawyer I'd represent you against them for free. The right to free speech deserves that much.

Thanks,

Rhonda

Hi guys......I totally agree with you in every aspect. I installed 'Hotbar" on my computer years ago before I even knew about Cloudeights existence and it wasn't too long before I removed it from my computer as it was interfering with it big time. Word of mouth can be a very useful way of advertising but it can also be very damaging.....I personally have told 100s of people to NOT go near it, I detest the program and recommend that if they want different stationary for their emails to use Cloudeight.

I would also like to thank you BIG time as for a long time now I have had friends asking me "where's the pic" when I send emails and after reading your letter to Hotbar I went into my Outlook settings and discovered exactly what you had said to them had happened....amazing....one little tick having so much impact....I have now ticked it again and have no problems what so ever.....Thanks guys and good luck with the fight.....Hotbar can't win because they are already losers!!

Thanks again for a great product,

Kerry :o)

Hello Team,

I have just finished reading your information and letters relating to HOTBAR. Some time ago I downloaded HOTBAR and over a short period of time took note that the E:Mails were being overtaken by their system, and it became almost impossible to send mail with your stationery included.

It was after a period of a couple of months that I decided to uninstall and delete the program, which believe me took some doing. It was after installing the Adaware program that HOTBAR was finally removed.I have had no further problems with this insidious program. For them to deny their program has adware and spyware properties is a joke. And how long has Tel Aviv been part of New York?

Go straight for the Jugular fellows and rid the Internet of programs such as this

Tom

Hello Eightball & Thundercloud,

I commend you for your courage to stand up and fight being gagged by Hotbar for being honest and up-front with your subscribers, readers and site visitors.

I have learned so much from reading your newsletters over the past couple years, and I recommend you to everyone I know with a computer. So my heart is with you in this battle and I am wishing strongly that there are a few good Internet Lawyers out there that will be able and willing to help you with this problem that Hotbar is causing you.

I am a strong believer in our right to free speech, and to think that a larger company can shut you up because they are more powerful and have more resources to turn to, turns my stomach and really riles me up! I hope I never see the day when TC and EB are forced to back off when they know they are being truthful about something.

Best of luck to you! Keep positive thoughts going! If you know you are right, then believe in yourself and believe you will prevail. I believe in you, and thousands of your readers believe in you. With all of us sending positive thoughts, you will have to win this battle.

Cordially,

Sandie

Well, Hotbar can say what they like about their product, but I call it "Troubleware". Many years back when I had Win 98, I used to have Hotbar. It was a novelty, it was fun.....for a short while !! My PC quickly became sick. At the time, I knew little about computers, and couldn't understand why it ran so slow, forever crashing and freezing.

My only solution was to format and reinstall windows.............many, many times over. Eventually I discovered that everything was sweet until installing hotbar, then trouble started, each and every time was the same story, until I decided not to instal anything that was "just for fun". So for about six months I had a very sweet running PC, albeit bland, Then added the odd game with no problems. After about a year I chanced Hotbar again with their new and improved version........and BANG, down went the PC's performance again. All my old problems reappeared. So another format was in order, and Hotbar? NEVER AGAIN thank you very much.

Since then I have discovered many sites slating Hotbar which confirmed my previous headaches.
One thing maybe I can thank Hotbar for is forcing me into a crash course in formatting my harddrive and reinstalling windows and all my other software and learning many other things on the way.
If you want to learn the hard way, install Hotbar !!

Paul

Hotbar suckered me into downloading their so called free software on my first computer. At that time I was so ignorant I thought the internet was safe and honest. I learned the hard way to never trust anything that lists itself as "FREE' until you go do a bunch of research. Hotbar crashed my machine 3 times because I didn't know it could overload my hard drive with junk. I only got the thing out because of a reformat and reinstall of Windows 98 on that computer. Right now I beg my friends to stay away from the thing. Hotbar gets to most people by their statement that they are part of Microsoft, Inc. a very reliable company that intorduced Outlook Express. It is hard to convince people that Hotbar is not part of Microsoft. Good luck TC & EB

Pearl

In truth, the letter from Hotbar in Israel sounds a bit hysterical. Reading through the material you provided online, dear Cloudeight, convinces me that the Hotbar people are unwilling to change their way of doing business and are watching the number of subscribers drift downward.

A personal experience: A couple of years ago, I downloaded Spyware Begone and ran it on my computer system. At the time, I had Hotbar because it was enchanting -- neat graphics, it was free, etc. There were over 400 tiny pieces of spying software in my computer which Spyware Begone disposed of for me. Most of them were from the Hotbar people. When the little pieces were all gone, a window appeard, announcing that Hotbar could no longer function on my computer. Did I want to download the software again? I don't think so. I also ran a search for anything with "Hotbar" in its name and deleted the remaining bits of software Hotbar had dumped into this computer.

Afterwards, I promptly subscribed to the Spyware company and have been happy since.

Patricia

Yessiree !

As a computer technician who makes a living repairing computers infected with spyware, viruses, etc. It is not really in my interest to agree with you. BUT, as a person who loves computers and their abilities, I have to give you a great big "atta boy" for your response to the Hotbar threatening letter. I can say with absolutly 100 % certainty that Hotbar is responsable for INFECTING a great many of the computers I work on. There is no doubt about it. They have built this program to corrupt and make changes to default settings in the windows system. The average PC user is not and should not be expected to realize what hotbar does to their computers. In this sense, the makers of the Hotbar program are maliciously and knowingly causing havoc with the general public who are tricked into downloading and installing Hotbar. As I stated at the beginning, I should not be complaining about this, but my conscience is stronger than my need to fill my wallet with the money from unsuspecting clients. I applaud your response and thank you for trying to set the record straight with your subscribers.

Steve B
Montreal, Canada

Thank you very much for sharing the letter and your letter back in return. It is a known fact I would think with most all computer users that Hotbar is a spyware/adware.

I at one time did have Hotbar on my computer but soon removed it for good. My computer was so full of spyware it wasn't funny. I also had other family members that also had it, BUT ONLY for a short time until they ran a system scan and found how full of spyware their computers were. And full of what??... Hotbar!! So off it came immediately.

However, since using your stationary. NOT ONE TIME have I ever had a ONE PROBLEM!!

Keep up the good work and KEEP UP THE FIGHT!!!

Murdock

I heartily support you. Having been one of the individuals that had Hotbar on their computer and found it to be a most undesirable event, I can confirm that this program is nothing but an invasive nuisance. Once downloaded, it took over my computer and allowed me no choice in using OE to send my emails and using the stationery that I wanted and plauged me with popups.

Several of my friends also had Hotbar and had similar experiences. We all decided that it was not for us and, using their removal program, uninstalled it from our computers. We then ran our antispyware and found traces of their program. We then deleted what was leftover after their uninstall. Well, we thought that we had uninstalled it. The nasty thing was still there!

Your newsletter giving instructions on how to totally and forever remove it, was a blessing. I forwarded the instructions to my friends. They too were finally able to clean Hotbar from their systems. Every one of us sent letters to all our family and friends telling them to avoid Hotbar. If they already had it, we sent them your instructions so that they could rid themselves of it. It's interesting to note, that not even one person chose to keep it on their computer!

My vote: KEEP YOUR SITE AS IT IS VALUABLE AND GIVE HOTBAR A HOT SEAT

Mary C.

I'm so sorry to hear about the problems with Hotbar. They are a terrible thing to have on your computer...they get into everything and only your good advice to download Spy Sweeper and run it to clean up my computer helped me. They found all traces and successfully removed them. My computer runs so much better now. It would be a terrible injustice to all computer users if you would be stopped from telling us about the spyware/adware that you have researched and know is causing a problem. I certainly hope that there are lawyers out there that can help with this.

Keep up the good work. I love your Information Premium Newsletter and learn something new each week.

Thanks again for your constant help,

Darlene

Selected Entity Name: HOTBAR.COM, INC.

Current Entity Name: HOTBAR.COM, INC.
Initial DOS Filing Date: DECEMBER 22, 2000
County: NEW YORK
Jurisdiction: DELAWARE
Entity Type: FOREIGN BUSINESS CORPORATION
Current Entity Status: ACTIVE

DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)
C/O C T CORPORATION SYSTEM
111 EIGHTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10011

Registered Agent
C T CORPORAION SYSTEM
111 EIGHTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10011

NOTE: New York State does not issue organizational identification numbers.

Jan

Hi

I sincerely hope that you can get help against Hotbar----I had my computer crash 2 years ago because of that hotbar garbage that I had on it--cost me over $200.00 to have computer fixed--I am a senior and can't afford to have it crash again-----I trust you people explicitly --and I thank you for all the good advice you give in your Cloudeight letters---love the stationary and love all the tips you give---they are truly appreciated--Good Luck to you and I do hope a Lawyer is reading this who can help you beat those Hotbar losers--

Sincerely ,

G.J.

My name is TK. I am not a professional when it comes to anything computer related but I have worked on about 40 computers for various family members and friends. I can tell you from personal experience that hotbar is very malicious. Every time someone called me complaining about a computer freezing up and loads of adware and pop- ups I immediately asked them to check their computer to see if they had installed hotbar. In every instance the answer was yes even though most of them had no idea that they had ever downloaded it. Even their uninstall feature doesn't uninstall a thing. One friend loved hotbar stationary but continually had problems. I warned her repeatedly not to download it again and after fixing (reformatting the harddrive) her computer for the 5th time in about 2 months she finally got the picture. Since then she hasn't downloaded it anymore and miraculously no more problems. Hotbar can go to hell. And I hope you find an attorney to point them in the right direction.

TK

Hi Cloudeight

I for one will not download Hotbar ever again after it crashed my computer! The day that I put it onto my system I had nothing but trouble and I have been telling all my friends to get rid of it!!!!!

After reading you letter today I know that I was right. I had so much trouble with unsolicited E-mails from porn sites and Canadian online pharmacy which did not ask for and even now am still getting unwanted mail from them even though I have unsubscribe from these sited numerous times.

Hotbar is the worst program that I have encountered I wish it would just go away and leave companies like your selves alone.

Here in Australia the government has legislated laws but it is only for this country.

Cloudeight you give them all you have and just keep fighting.

Laine

A few years ago, I downloaded Hotbar because I liked the idea of pretty skins. It almost killed my computer. When I tried to uninstall it, parts of it were left behind - apparently the parts that caused my computer to malfunction. I had to email them to get further instructions and a "de-installer" to remove the remnants.

Last year, one of my brothers inadvertently clicked on an icon that downloaded Hotbar in the background of his computer, no skins or any overt sign. When he began to have problems with his computer, I tried to find the problem and noticed Hotbar mentioned in file listings. I could not uninstall all of it it. He had to have his entire hard drive wiped out and WindowsXP reinstalled.

If this is not malware, it'll do until the real thing comes along.

I hope you won't have to back down because of their threats.

Patti

A word from us -

The comments on this page represent only a fraction of all the comments we have received regarding Hotbar and their threats against us. All original emails sent to us remain on file. All of the above were sent to us in response to our Truth Rant.

See page two of our reader's comments

Thanks for taking the time to read these comments and for visiting our site.

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