What is watchdog in ParallelsDesktop.app and why does is mass-trigger LittleSnitch

S

sparker

Member
Couple questions:

1) What is /Applications/Parallels Desktop.app/Contents/MacOS/watchdog?
2) Why is it not signed by Parallels?
3) Why does it trigger hundreds of LittleSnitch warnings when a VM is running?

It's VERY annoying, and the raw breadth of what it's trying to connect to is staggering. I'm leery about giving it full access to anywhere it wants, but it want's so much that running a Mojave VM in Parallels 16 is almost unusable. I can't keep up with the number of alerts that get thrown to LittleSnitch by this process.
Steve
 
Here's an example of the LittleSnitch alert for one of them, just to add some clarity:
 

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I too am experiencing this more than in past with the combination of Big Sur, Parallels 16, Little Snitch 5, and latest Windows 10.

If Parallels had bothered to sign it, which they should have, I am not sure it'd matter. The fundamental alerts is about an Internet connection being made. Windows 10 is rather needy with respect to calling back home; for me, a typical restart from suspended state makes over two dozen calls just to Microsoft. For us using Little Snitch, this a massive pain due to the sheer number -- multiple thousands -- of IP addresses Microsoft has & uses so Windows users don't experience delays. Because there are so many IPs, new check-in with the mothership, while restarting & running, is highly likely to use a different IP from any you may have previously approved.

I have stared to edit my Little snitch rules to allow IP spans to accommodate Windows calling home.

BTW: Traditionally, a computer watchdog is meant to prevent a "time out" error when a slow hardware response would create a major issue.
 
It's really interesting to see all the places a Mojave VM tries to talk to. I'll start to issue a blanket rule for Parallels Watchdog if I can figure out a way to do it.
And based on your Windows comment above, I'm almost afraid to launch my W10 VM and have to go through all that again... :)

Appreciate the quick feedback.

Steve
 
I'm also using Big Sur to run Mojave so that I can luxuriate with old school 32bit programs.
If I have Li'l Snitch why do I need Watchdog? Can I just turn it off and be done with it? If so, where and how?

Lee
 
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