How To Disable Pop-ups
This morning I got a huge pop-up from Bitdefender that took about a quarter of my monitor's size in the bottom right corner of the screen.
It said in huge size characters "ACTIVATE something" (I think it was identity theft protection, or something with "THEFT" in it.)
How can I disable these pop-ups?
Please be consistent: If these are about security risks, make them appear as events with orange color as the other security risks, not as pop-ups that soon disappear and are therefore totally useless and fail to notify the users. I can't even remember what it was about, I didn't have time to read the pop-up before it disappeared.
On the other hand, if these pop-ups are consecutive to my manually disabling a specific setting such as identity theft protection, make them appear as normal confirmation message boxes in normal characters at the time I disabled them, not as events. I don't want to be notified anymore after seeing such a confirmation message.
Comments
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Chimel - from what you remember, did it look like this?
http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?act...msg&id=8700
I've only seen this one a couple times.
Ragards,0 -
I too would like to know how to stop/prevent these pop-ups as well. I don't want to see bit defender or any other software advertisement kind of pop-up on my computers unless I actually have a problem.
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Weird, it says I don't have permission to use this feature when I click on your link, Gary.
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Weird, it says I don't have permission to use this feature when I click on your link, Gary.
Let's see if this works better:
Regards,0 -
Yep, I think it was slightly different, but the same type of intrusive pop-ups.
I must say I haven't seen any since back in August, and I appreciate the free service offer, but these should definitely come as events or preferably normal email notifications (with an option to unsubscribe), not as a pop-up on the user desktop. You created the game mode partly so that it does not disturb when watching videos or a slide show, but you (and I don't mean you as in Gary, but as in Bitdefender) fail at applying the same principle for these notifications.
Since these pop-ups are unsolicited, they classify as spam. They also remind me too much of the more malicious kinds of pop-ups used by other spamming companies, so it's definitely not an acceptable practice. Imagine if Microsoft would display such pop-ups regularly to offer you the free Microsoft Security Essentials, or 25GB on SkyDrive, or to switch to Live Office? There is not a single operating system or software that I use that display such pop-ups. Why does Bitdefender do it?0 -
More spam pop-ups from Bitdefender today.
This time a "limited time offer" to upgrade to BDIS 2012 6 months before my license renewal is due.
Please please please allow users to disable these pop-ups!!! This is SPAM!!!
And the pop-ups can appear on the desktop at the most awkward moments.
As a rule, I don't order anything from junk mail ads and catalogs, and my phone is on the Do Not Call list, so to be consistent, I should not renew my license if Bitdefender is spamming me.
And I suppose if I was to use the offer, it would debit my credit card now, not in 6 months when my license is due.
There is also a totally irrelevant comparative chart in this offer, about Bitdefender IS 2011, not 2012.
Everything in this spam looks like the worst examples of marketing malpractices, including the "2 days remaining" mention, like the offer won't be valid in 6 months for loyal customers, and if it's not, customers who have seen the spam will surely be angry if they have to pay normal retail at the time of renewal.
Guys, do NOT spam you own customers, this is totally not cool and goes against every principle in your Antispam features.
Make the offer available on the license renewal web page, when the user go voluntarily there, not as a spam pop-up half a year earlier.0 -
Hi Chimel
I will talk to the Customer Service Manager to see when those messages are sent to clients.
I will get back to you soon. Take care.0 -
Thanks, Christian, but my concern is not really the timeline relevancy of this one pop-up, it's about all the Bitdefender spam (i.e. unsolicited) pop-ups in general. Spam is a disgusting practice and one of the reasons customers buy your products is for its antispam features, so I hope Bitdefender will understand we don't want to see spam, and from Bitdefender most of all.
May I add that this pop-up repeated the next day, this time saying it was the last day to benefit from the limited offer. Double spam.
This is just as bad as any malicious computer-infecting adware.0 -
Hi Chimel
Please send me via PM the email address that you have used to create the Bitdefender Account(the one that you used to register on the forums doesn't have an associated account).
Also, please check those promotional messages in your inbox. There should be a unsubscribe link in the footer. Click on it to cancel the newsletter.
I will see what we can do your your account.
Take care.0 -
Hi Christian, this thread is NOT about promotional emails or newsletters.
It is about pop-ups that appear every now and then on my computer's desktop near the Notification Area in the bottom right corner of the screen. See the screenshot Gary posted in his second post.
Admittedly they are not frequent but they are highly intrusive and pure spam.
I can still PM you my registration email if you wish but I don't see how this is relevant.
I tried to check my.bitdefender.com for any notification settings but the site is down today.
I don't remember authorizing Bitdefender to spam me in any way. At best I may have left enabled a setting for important security notifications, but certainly not this kind of marketing spam.
In any case, just like the usual "unsubscribe" link you mentioned, there should be a similar "do not spam me in the future" link or checkbox directly at the bottom of the pop-up, we should not have to dig into account settings.0 -
Hello
That was the solution for the emails.
I've talked to our developers about those pop-ups from the product too.
We are currently trying to find a solution or a workaround. I will get back to you with mode details.
Please be patience. Take care.0 -
Hello
That was the solution for the emails.
I've talked to our developers about those pop-ups from the product too.
We are currently trying to find a solution or a workaround. I will get back to you with more details.
Please be patience. Take care.
As always, a class act in your responses.
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Hello everyone
We have a temporary patch for this in internal testing. I will need a few day to test it out to see if everything is working properly.
I will get back to you soon. Take care.0 -
Hope the patch will be out soon: Another pop-up today right in the middle of watching a movie in full screen on the TV.
This time I could take a snapshot.
Which manager had the brilliant idea to spam their own customers in the most upsetting manner he could conceive???
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Hello
Sorry for the delayed reply.
We have compiled some patches for this, but they are now in testing.
When all the tests are over, I will get back to you with a solution.
Take care.0 -
Thanks, Christian.
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Thanks for the info. I was also having this same issue. I guess I will have to wait for the patch also.
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Hope the patch will be out soon: Another pop-up today right in the middle of watching a movie in full screen on the TV.
This time I could take a snapshot.
Which manager had the brilliant idea to spam their own customers in the most upsetting manner he could conceive???
Forgot to mention that the pop-up repeated twice more the next day and the next.
Hope they'll never have a 30-day special offer, or it will pop up every day of the month.
The solution should be as simple as adding one or two checkboxes such as:
□ Ignore this special offer
□ Do not display any more unsolicited pop-ups0 -
Hello
We have a lot of customers that like this type of promotions or special offers. Clicking an X button is not that bad.
One more thing, you received the same pop-up related to ID theft protection or the one with the renewal offer?
Thank you.0 -
We have a lot of customers that like this type of promotions or special offers. Clicking an X button is not that bad.
One more thing, you received the same pop-up related to ID theft protection or the one with the renewal offer?
Both. The first and the last one with the renewal offer that's not even close to my renewal date showed up every day till the offer ended.
I don't remember for sure for the middle one about the ID theft protection.
These pop-ups are unsolicited, i.e. SPAM. This is exactly what Bitdefender is fighting against in some of its antispam features, and antispam is one of the reasons why I purchased Bitdefender. As I mentioned before, there are tons of smarter ways to display this offer (everybody else uses email), a pop-up while the family is watching a movie is the worst type of INTRUSION and produces the opposite reaction with some of your customers. I'll switch to Microsoft free solution at renewal times if these pop-ups persist and can't be disabled. If "lots of your customers" like these pop-ups, by all means, let them be spammed, but respect those who don't want to be spammed.
Personally, I consider these offers as an insult to consumers: If I, as a loyal customer for years, don't see the same kind of discount automatically proposed to me at renewal time, I just won't renew. It is unfair to customers if the offer is proposed randomly only for 3 days at a time when renewal is not even close and many things may happen in the mean time. Get attractive pricing for new customers, and an even more attractive one to keep your existing base, because with the competition, it's that easy to flip in a whim and never regret it.
If "clicking an X button is not that bad" is your way to say that the mentioned patch will not be released, I would have had a great time helping improve Bitdefender all these years. I can't condone a company that does not respect my privacy with such blatant spam invasion. It is something I take VERY seriously.0 -
Thanks, Christian, I installed the modified IpmServer registry key.
I am not sure what kind of feedback I can give you if I don't see or know of any pop-ups.
Should I expect something different to report?0 -
Hello
Welcome back.
Please reply to my email if you still receive pop-ups or special offers.
If needed, you can also include a screenshot.
Take care.0 -
Well that didn't do anything for me, I just got another pop-up for a 3 days-only $50 special offer. :[
The same kind as all previous spam pop-ups.
I couldn't take a screenshot at the time, but I suppose I'll see the spam again tomorrow and the next day, I can try then.
Anyway, it's the same kind as all the screenshots already attached in this thread, so I don't see how that would help.
It would be great if you could test these supposed fixes yourself on a connection that's not a protected intranet.
Customers are not testers, and this spam is systematic, so any normal connection would experience it.
Sorry I don't have the email any more, I cleaned my whole inbox so I am answering here instead.0 -
I received another pop-up offer from Bitdefender today. It came up on my desktop when I opened my laptop. Are you planning to stop spamming us or do I need to change security providers?
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Hello
Welcome back.
Do you remember what is about? A special offer or it's the one about ID Theft Protection?
Have a great weekend.0 -
Special offer - discount. Just happened again about a minute ago.
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ID Theft Protection popup a few minutes ago (Second day in a row). Activated it yesterday, but could not enter the info like the video shows. In other words, it won't take me to the place where I enter my info.
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I am also getting the same, very LARGE and annoying "identity-theft protection offer" pop-up ads... PLEASE STOP SPAMMING!! I used to recommend BitDefender to my customers because it performed well, it didn't nag you, and had none of the malware-type spam like in so many other anti-virus programs. But now, with this new, less-configurable interface (no scheduled scan, really...??) and the popup spam, I can never recommend it again. I will also remove it from all of my systems. The very reason we get malware protection is to prevent just such things from happening!
Someone in the company has made a very poor decision and you will likely go the way of Norton if you don't stop it immediately. Most techs will NEVER use Norton again, and this exact issue was one of the main reasons.
Also, your new renewal process and web interface results in one of the most difficult experiences I have ever had, trying to pay someone money - The best product in the world won't be around long... if you can't get it!!!
Finally, to tell someone that "all it takes is one click to close it", is just missing the point entirely.0 -
I have to agree, this pop-up is blatant in your face spamming from a product I've paid money for!
AV and Internet security needs to sit in the background doing its job in an unobtrusive manner and let me know if and when there is as issue I need to deal with. Not pop-up large banners asking me to renew a product I've bought in the last week.
If this persists, I will be looking at alternatives and requesting a FULL refund.
As a long time user of BitDefender, I find that each iteration becomes more obtrusive and less configurable.
Sort out this marketing rubbish, and keep it to subscribers who want to receive emails, not paying customers who want their security to be as invisible as possible!0 -
"We have a lot of customers that like this type of promotions or special offers." yes? Name one?
I am also getting unwanted spam from the bitdefender people.0 -
So what's happening on this issue, Christian?
It's been 3 weeks since you last replied.
As you can see, a lot of people don't like these pop-ups too, please move them to emails people can unsubscribe from instead of spam pop-ups on our desktops.0 -
no one in their right mind would like popups of any kind and do you see anyone here saying they like popups? Of course you don't
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There's more than spam popping up, there's other threads popping up on my radar too, like Rick Gates's.
Not only I will never upgrade to BDIS for the same price as BDAV precisely because of this spam, but I am not likely to renew my license at all or recommend any Bitdefender product when I experience such condemnable marketing practices.
The Bitdefender community is still expecting a solution to this problem.That is not a spam message ...
It not a spam message
The key word in the definition of spam is unsolicited.0 -
other complaints on this forum http://forums.techarena.in/networking-security/1412078.htm
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Hello everyone
Sorry for the delayed reply.
We needed to make some changes to the servers in order to implements some new things.
This is what I need from you(I will accept requests only from users that posted in this topic): please send me via PM the email address that you used to activate the product, the license key entered in the product, the localization(the language from Bitdefender) and your country(where the PC is located).
DO NOT POST THESE ON THE FORUMS!
It is the only way to do it and the changes will be made manually from our servers resulting no pop-ups for you.
Thank you for your patience and for the cooperation with BitDefender team.
Have a great weekend!0 -
Hi Christian, I categorically refuse to perform this ridicule step.
The spam should be opt-in for all, not opt out for a few elected individuals through an exception list that makes the product even more fragile, and it should not happen via pop-ups on your customers' desktops at the most awkward or even embarrassing times.
I will instead spend the rest of my license duration trying out other products because I can't condone an anti-virus anti-spam software that voluntarily forces spam down the throat of their paying customers.0 -
I'm having this problem BIG TIME!! This is the reason I signed up for these forums and I'm glad I found this post strand. Why can't I get these pop-ups to stop each morning?? I'm trying to bare with it because I like the program.
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who agrees with chimel? I for one does support him
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Yeah, good luck with that, G, I hardly manage to agree with myself most of the time. ^-^
please send me via PM ... your country(where the PC is located).
And FYI Christian I am moving home across continents, countries are so second millennium...0 -
That's it, I am out, after nearly 4 years on Bitdefender, faithfully reporting bugs, suggesting improvements to the product, helping on the forum at times: Another big spam pop-up just now (attached), again at the most inappropriate time, that was the last straw.
The top line of the pop-up is not even readable (overlapped), and this time it does not propose to upgrade me to BDIS for $50, just to renew my BDAV license for $50, like I am not a good customer anymore.
If the Bitdefender management team cannot understand how offensive, interfering and unique to Bitdefender these spam pop-ups are, here's a live example of how it cost them a customer who was shy recommending the product.
I uninstalled BDAV and switched to the free Microsoft Security Essentials for now, even if it scores lower than BDAV in the anti-virus reviews. I don't really care if it scores 92% instead of 98% in the malware detection benchmarks, it's good enough for me as my web browsing and computer practice is safe. No scripting or ads allowed on Firefox, no Facebook or other mass media sites that are easy malware targets, no Bittorrent at all, no clicking on any unexpected link such as these Bitdefender spam pop-ups, etc.
I was really giving away my money to Bitdefender for nothing, but since they don't want to make an effort, off I go.
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gee i had to block the constant spam i was getting from bitdefender (has a "nice" autoresponder on my email when i activate it)
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Hi
Thank you for your feedback.
We apologize for any negative experience you have encountered with our products or our support. Your feedback is appreciated, and will be directed to the appropriate team for review, to enable us to improve our support and services.
For now, that's the only solution for pop-ups, they need to be deactivated manually from our servers.
Let me know if you have other questions/requests.
Have a great weekend!0 -
Yes, I agree that there shouldn't be any ads, it is getting really annoying, it's almost like malware, I'm giving it 3 days if they aren't removed yet I'm switching to another AV.
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Looks like my renewal came up at the right time. Sadly, I've cancelled BitDefender over this Popup issue. Good luck with your 2013 renewal!
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Looks like my renewal came up at the right time. Sadly, I've cancelled BitDefender over this Popup issue. Good luck with your 2013 renewal!
There are countless other bugs that never been fixed not just this one and almost 2013. Maybe the next 10 years to fix all the bugs problems. Bd never listen to customer they just want to do their own way so perty soon it will lost more and more customer for real, i know i am0 -
Hello
Thank you for your feedback!
Some changes will be made in Bitdefender 2013 regarding the pop-ups.
Have a great day.0
