The main purpose of the digital certificate is to ensure that the application belongs to the entity to which the certificate was issued. The HOTBAR.COM Inc. digital certificate does not guarantee that a signed application is safe to run, but rather informs the user that the software was digitally signed by HOTBAR.COM Inc. and verified by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA).

Zango, formerly ePIPO, 180solutions and Hotbar, was a software company that provided users access to its partners' videos, games, tools and utilities in exchange for viewing targeted advertising placed on their computers. Hotbar, Seekmo, and ZangoCash, formerly owned by Zango, as of April 2010 continue to operate as part of Pinball Corporation. Hotbar (also known as HbTools) is a plugin for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Outlook and Outlook Express produced by Zango; as of August 2010 Hotbar has closed distribution, but is still available to those who still have the installer. From version 10.2 on, it identifies itself as belonging to Pinball Corp. Hotbar adds a toolbar and the option of extra skins to these programs. It also allows the user to add emoticons to emails created in Outlook or Outlook Express and to check weather reports. Its major revenue comes from the use of pop-ups displayed according to a user's behavior and current URL. The application can show over 15 pop-ups a day, depending on how much Internet browsing has occurred. Hotbar is an example of adware due to its banner advertising and use of pop-up windows. www.hotbar.com