Commtouch, a global developer and provider of
proprietary anti-spam solutions, announced today its spam detection
engine is now embedded in Hotbar’s desktop applications and that
Hotbar will be offering an anti-spam capability for a fee to some 10
million existing users of its applications that convert static E-mail
clients (such as Microsoft Outlook) and Web browsers into powerfully
dynamic and personalized instruments of enhanced functionality and
visual appeal.

Hotbar, headquartered in New York City, makes emails unique with
hundreds of animations, backgrounds and more. Users of the application
can design and send free eCards, incorporate images and business cards
within their emails without disrupting their current email
infrastructure.

Gabriella Karni, co-founder and President of Hotbar, said, “As
Hotbar was looking for a winning anti-spam technology, accompanied by
an easy-to-integrate interface, we found Commtouch to be the ultimate
OEM partner. Unlike client-only alternatives, our integrated product
enjoys the most powerful spam-detection center-based technology
offered by Commtouch. The integration with Commtouch’s Anti-Spam
Engine proved to be most painless: within less than a week the
embedded Anti-Spam product was up-and-running.”

Added Karni: “Commtouch’s easy-to-implement and easy-to-use spam
fighting component fits perfectly with the human-friendly value that
Hotbar applications bring to Outlook email and Internet Explorer
browsing.”

“Commtouch’s spam detection engine to Hotbar applications marks
yet another successful integration of Commtouch’s anti-spam
technology, following on the heels of Sybari and Europe’s Waterford
Technologies recent validation of our approach for enterprise
applications,” said Gideon Mantel, Commtouch’s CEO. “Commtouch’s
proven RPD(TM) (Recurrent Pattern Detection) technology is identifying
spam in real-time, without email recipients having to alter their
behaviors, and blocking the unwanted emails with nearly zero false
positives.”

Mantel added that revenues from the OEM partnership with Hotbar
are expected to be realized in 2004.

About Commtouch Spam Detection Engine

The Commtouch Anti-Spam OEM program offers vendors of messaging
and security applications a simple way to augment their filtering
solutions with real-time spam blocking services, enjoying the
following benefits of Commtouch technology:

— Content-independent spam detection technology-immune to
spammer tricks

— Detecting spam in any language – best solution for
international companies

— Suitable for integration into hardware appliances, servers and
desktop-applications

— Well packaged for integration