Web marketing company 180solutions has acquired Hotbar.com, a company that distributes free tools and programs to users along with targeted advertising, the two companies said Wednesday.

180solutions also announced a name-change to Zango, the same as its software product.

Terms of the deal were not released. The companies said in a statement the merger will increase the audience for their advertising software.

Twenty of Hotbar's employees in its New York and Israel offices were laid off, and the remaining 83 will work for Zango, based in Bellevue, Wash.

Zango will continue to offer Hotbar's e-mail and browser toolbars, it said. Hotbar's program also allows for customizable skins for Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser and Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail programs, while serving up targeted pop-up ads based on user browsing habits.

The functions of the software offered by companies such as Zango and Hotbar have been under consistent scrutiny.

Hotbar and security vendor Symantec reached an out-of-court settlement in February after the two sparred over how the Hotbar should be classified. Symantec continues to classify Hotbar's program as low-risk adware and offers a tool to remove it.

Zango's software delivers what it calls time-shifted advertising based on user searches in exchange for free games, videos and other downloads, such as the pervasive smiley-face "emoticons."

If someone searches for a washing machine, an ad relating to appliances could appear in a new browser window two hours later. The software is referred to by security experts as adware or spyware, and can in certain configurations slow down a computer's performance.   

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

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