Turn off ads

[RobertB2]

I wanted to add my 2 cents to the discussion. The ads infuriate me. The menu bar offer to install Kaspersky is merely annoying. I've spoken to different persons in support, sales, and marketing at Parallels about it for over a year now. None of them seem to care and no one has ever offered to do anything about it. As a software vendor, if anyone in my company attempted this they would be immediately fired.

I approve software purchases for my company's engineering organization. I recently vetoed a purchase order for a copy of Parallels for every developer in the company for exactly this reason. The only way to get Parallels to stop this is to show them they are losing money because of it.

It's sad really as I like the Parallels software. Their engineers should be commended. It must be awful for them to know that every time the software starts and an ad pops up it just increases the level of disdain for an otherwise good product.

 

[BernieS]

I agree. Treating customers with disdain

Most decent email marketers will let you opt out of spam. Why does Parallels not do the same for ITS PAYING CUSTOMERS. I would happily pay a little more for a product that does not shout at me, trying to sell me something I don't want, when I start your software. Having the "don't show this again" check box is pathetic, as it only refers to that specific advert. Honestly guys, you need to have a long hard look at yourselves. If you don't sort this I'm off to Fusion. Surprise us and show that you have started listening to you customers (at last).

 

[VahurS]

To get these ads, parallels obviously has to dial home each time it is started. Mine is making connections to registration.parallels.com and download.parallels.com:

registration.parallels.com:
GET /geoip/generic?ProductIdentifier=Parallels%20Desktop&ProductVersion=7.0.15094.749908&ProductLocale=en_US&ProductDistributor=0
GET /pdfm7/check_purchase_permission?product=os.win8cp
GET /pdfm7/check_purchase_permission?product=os.win

download.parallels.com
HEAD /desktop/v7/windows/catalog_win8cp_US.xml
GET /desktop/v7/windows/catalog_win8cp_US.xml.

IMHO it should not be doing that, this not necessary for program operation, I dont want to contact parallels each time I open the app. Why parallels cant just use mailing lists for advertising and let the main app do what users expect it to do - run virtual machines.

 

[AKostur]

Those downloads may not be ad related. Don't get me wrong, I'm also in the camp that is not happy with Parallels about blasting advertising in our faces on a purchased copy. However keep in mind that Parallels is also checking to see if there is a new version of parallels itself. You may want to go into the preferences and turn off the "Check for Updates" feature to see if those call-home calls go away. (Or some of them at least... I wonder if any of those might be checking your product key).

 

[AlexL]

I'd like a fix, please pm me. I'm on the verge of leaving Parallels after being paying business customer for years.

The threads about annoying ads get silently deleted here too.

 

[RandomMarius]

Another annoyed paying customer

I too do not like these practices. And will be moving away from Parallels.

The checkbox that is being ignored is not the worst.
The worst is that it brings up the ad in the first place!

Hardly inspires professionalism.
Coupled with the rapid paid upgrade cycle, the mostly superior competitor actually costs the same.

So long and thanks.

(And yes, I too gave up on creating a ticket... what a circuitous waste of time!)

 

[ValentinR]

I'd like a fix, please pm me. I'm on the verge of leaving Parallels after being paying business customer for years.

The threads about annoying ads get silently deleted here too.

I can confirm that my previous post in this very thread got deleted, likely because I dared to mention details on how exactly to turn the ads off.
This speaks volumes of the attitude of this company to its paying customers. Yes, they are on the forum, they are listening, and the ads and a non-functional "disable" checkbox are a conscious business decision.

7 is my last Parallels update before I switch to Fusion (which is, for the most part, a superior product anyway).
Also, good luck deleting posts about this fiasco from external websites.

 

[MortenZ]

Please let me know how to turn off the ads. They are irrelevant for my business and tasks and the product is already paid for.

 

[thumperj]

Came here for this.

How do I turn off these annoying ads??? I've already paid for the software. For Parallels to ASSUME that I paid for their software so that I could get lambasted with pop up ads every single time I use their software is complete crap. Who ever came up with that gem of an idea should be FIRED.

HOW DO WE STOP THE ADS? And just to be very clear, by "STOP" I don't mean "stop each ad, one by one, as it appears." I mean "STOP THEM FROM EVER APPEARING EVER AGAIN."

Again, HOW DO I TURN THESE ADS OFF?

 

[sleepystu]

Parallels deletes helpful threads

The deception runs very deep...

Cover-up #1:

I can also confirm that Parallels Support deleted my reply with the solution. My post simply had a link to a Parallels Knowledgebase article that contained the solution which was intended to help people troubleshoot start up issues in PD. This is now fairly easy to find by searching Google, so if it gets deleted again, at least resourceful customers will be able to find the information elsewhere - where Paralells can't delete the solution.

Cover-up #2:

Even worse: they then also removed the original Knowledgebase article. So... not only do they REALLY not want people to turn off the ads voluntarily, but they went to great enough lengths to compromise their support for issues related to the ads which could presumably cause Parallels to not start up properly.

Bravo... way to keep your paying customers happy.

 

[thumperj]

Nice, thanks Sleepystu!

I've just Facebooked the solution. At least it'll get some eyes there. I'll tweet later today. Hopefully some sunshine will cause this shady practice to end.

McAfee a LONG time ago used to be a very good and reputable company. Then, one day, it changed. It became driven by profits through way of surreptitious means (pop up ads, forced upgrades, subscriptions you couldn't cancel, can't uninstall, etc.) Long time users were pushed away by such profit-driven behavior.

To whom ever reads these forums at Parallels: Remember this, the customers are who put you where you are today. The day you stop serving your customers is the day you start building your company's coffin. These ads do not serve your customer. They serve your income statement and, likely, someone's bonus structure. Be wary of misplaced priorities.

 

[sleepystu]

It is my pleasure to throw mud back in their face, at Parallels.

I promise that this is the last Parallels product I will buy. Not because of the ads themselves (they actually didn't bother me that much), but because they deleted my helpful post to other people having the same problem (re; ads that you cannot turn off, with a fake "opt-out" button); this is at best a bug, or at worst intentional. They then removed the solution from their site; which is outright despicable. Last straw, meet camel's back.

I purchased PD 4, 5 & 6; which was not cheap. I bought (and upgraded) PD b/c in my opinion, it was the best product for my needs at the time. If I could get my money back, I would, and switch to inferior alternatives.

Parallels employees be warned: There is no chance of my buying PD or recommending it again. Better update your LinkedIn profile, you might be looking for work elsewhere if more customers jump ship.

 

[dekard]

I also would like to permanently disable the ads in my full paid product. I opened a support ticket as well.

 

[YanaYana]

We use in-product notifications to share several types of information with our customers. First, and most importantly, we share information about product updates which are generally related to compatibility with OS X, new features and product enhancements. Second, we occasionally share special offers from Parallels or other third party companies who provide special deals for our customers. Many of our customers rely on the information about product updates and appreciate the special deals for products that are of interest to them.

Individual notifications can be turned off by clicking the dont show this again button. However, because customers need to receive important product information, there is not a mechanism for customers to completely disable notifications.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. At times, Parallels staff may remove or edit posts that contain product code information which changes the general nature of the product, as it may affect the overall performance of the software.

 

[thumperj]

Second, we occasionally share special offers from Parallels or other third party companies who provide special deals for our customers.

You are forcing your PAID CUSTOMERS to endure endless ADVERTISING. It's a shameful business practice. And don't try to hide this under the umbrella of "product updates." We aren't children nor is this the late 90s. We know the difference.

Many of our customers rely on the information about product updates and appreciate the special deals for products that are of interest to them.

Your policy of forcing users to see "special deals" is akin to forcing people to endure telemarketers when they are trying to eat. It's exactly the same. Except with your product, we have no way to unplug the phone or sign up for the Do Not Call list. To continue the metaphor, it would be like govn't making it illegal to unplug our phones because "you citizens *must* have access to 911."

Individual notifications can be turned off by clicking the dont show this again button.

This is not an acceptable answer. You're saying that all we have to do is tell each advert to go away and not come back. But there will always be more coming! We, YOUR CUSTOMERS, want them to stop coming. Stop using our usage of the software we paid for as a channel for your advertising.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. At times, Parallels staff may remove or edit posts that contain product code information which changes the general nature of the product, as it may affect the overall performance of the software.

Welcome to the new world of where companies don't get to control the voices of their customers any more.

 

[yohannon]

Stop the Ads!!

Another vote from a LONG time customer. At one point Parallels was the ONLY Mac based solution (beating out VMWare by quite a margin), and I've fought against switching to fusion based on that point alone. I've paid for my personal version, and insisted on it for my work system.

To be INSULTED by the suggestion that the promos can't be turned off (yes, they can!) and then further patronized by the idea that it would somehow hurt performance to turn them off... well, yes, if you stretch the truth, if there was a performance improvement to be had in an update, then yes, performance would be less than it should be. But that doesn't require a promotional screen, just a simple "An update is available. You have X, the latest is Y." dialog.

To make this clear, I've turned the ads off. Anyone here, at least as far as Mac OS X, can. If not for this, I would switch to fusion or virtual box TODAY.

 

[destroyboredom]

This is unacceptable.

Absolute BS. I'll purchase Fusion when I'm ready to upgrade (currently Para-ADS 6). Issue a patch and get rid of this crap.

Please, dear customers, one more time, if you have any trouble with adds not turning off - this is some kind of misconfiguration issue in your local environment, please contact tech support or customer service team at www.parallels.com/support in order to troubleshoot the issue and request support

 

[kmmx]

Chiming In

FWIW, this "feature" has cost parallels myself as a customer. I don't care that I can turn it off. I care greatly that parallels is so misguided as to think any sane person would like or want this "feature."

Sincerely,
A Former Customer

 

[eusonic]

I came across this thread while researching which product to buy, Parallels or VMWare Fusion. It has made my decision a very easy one.

I even found myself hesitant to register for this forum. At this point, I'm not even sure I trust this company with my email address. The post above from Parallels' YanaYana is the most loathsome pile of doublespeak I've read in quite some time. Truly.

 

[postist]

Ditto, Parallels isn't going to get another dime from me until they can demonstrate that they respect their paying customers. In the meantime, I will steer all of my relatives and coworkers to Fusion.