Thoughts on Ilok?

[kritikon]

It seems everyone agrees that the ilok is not fit for purpose unless you use the dongle, I wonder if it is being sold that way to the developers who use the protection services? Soundtoys and others made a big deal about 'no dongle' being required when they switched to this option.

Its interesting, I think the dongle *is* the main value-add for iLok. The Cloud option is no better than any other in the event of a machine "ghosting" where-in the license will be lost. That isnt any better than many other non-dongle DRMs. The dongle is the thing that keeps the licenses off the computer hardware, protecting the licenses from "ghosting" (computer dies and makes the licenses inaccessible).

If you can't deal with the dongle then iLok is not the way to go. If you are "forced" to use the dongle in order to use software you have, imho you are better off putting it on an iLok dongle to protect it.

Yes, getting an iLok dongle is effort and cost. But once you have it, that's it, done - and now you can enjoy having some of your licenses off the computer and not at risk in that regard.

The easist way, I think, to get over the anti-dongle sentiment is to get one and start using it. For me, getting the dongle was the way I ended up laying to rest my critisisms of it. Once I realized the dongle protected my licenses from ghosting, I was sold. I have had to deal with inaccessible non-dongle (non-iLok) license recovery from dev in the past and it was not fun.

I got over dongles quite easily decades ago. It never really bothered me using the Cubase one. Unfortunately I just can't get over PACE the company. Dongles will dongle but twats will always twat, or something like that...

[SLiC]

I used to have everything on the dongle but I have 2 active PC's in use in my studio + a MS Surface...as I understand it you can only have 1 hardware dongle (despite having 3 licences for most of the items) so it basically turns all your software in to '1 licence only' and a lot of dongle swapping.

You can have multiple dongles. I do. I have 2. For licenses that offer 2 or more activations, I put one on each dongle. Perhaps this is the answer to your question.

Thank you, I didn't know that- I thought it was dongle 'or' multiple ID based licences- I actually have 2 dongles (a V1 and a V2) in a draw somewhere so maybe I will find them (although the V1 is very old so I would probably worry about that!)

[plexuss]

I used to have everything on the dongle but I have 2 active PC's in use in my studio + a MS Surface...as I understand it you can only have 1 hardware dongle (despite having 3 licences for most of the items) so it basically turns all your software in to '1 licence only' and a lot of dongle swapping.

You can have multiple dongles. I do. I have 2. For licenses that offer 2 or more activations, I put one on each dongle. Perhaps this is the answer to your question.

Thank you, I didn't know that- I thought it was dongle 'or' multiple ID based licences- I actually have 2 dongles (a V1 and a V2) in a draw somewhere so maybe I will find them (although the V1 is very old so I would probably worry about that!)

I've seen a lot of products that require rev 2 or 3 iLok keys (dongles). rev 1 doesn't seem to be as widely supported.

[Stenis]

I have had zero problems with Ilok (SSl and Relab not on USBdongels) but I might be lucky if I compare to horror stories.
Macbook Air M1.

[fde101]

The Cloud option is no better than any other in the event of a machine "ghosting" where-in the license will be lost.

You are thinking of the license being tied directly to the machine. The cloud option is relatively new so older licenses may not have had the option to use it; with the cloud option, you don't need access to the computer that the cloud is logged into in order to move it to a different computer, so you don't lose any licenses to "ghost" machines if they are on the cloud. The trade-off is that you need internet access when using it.

The main benefit of the dongle (other than protection from losing a computer) is that it does not require internet access on the computer using the software, ever. You can have one computer with internet access and use it to add licenses to dongles, then connect the dongles to the computers which will run the software, and the computers which will run the software never need to be on the internet at all. This is important for some studios which have stricter security requirements than most, as sometimes happens particularly in the video/cinema world.

If you are "forced" to use the dongle in order to use software you have, imho you are better off putting it on an iLok dongle to protect it.

I agree, I currently have several dongles on my computer, and it would be much nicer if they were all on one iLok than having a bunch of different dongles for different software.

The ZDT service is a nice plus if you do have a dongle, as if you lose the other ones there is no getting the license back. It's just gone - same as when using iLok without the ZDT service.

Yes, getting an iLok dongle is effort and cost. But once you have it, that's it, done - and now you can enjoy having some of your licenses off the computer and not at risk in that regard.

Assuming it doesn't get lost or stolen. To protect against that you either need to use the cloud option, or subscribe to ZDT.

Also assuming the dongle doesn't die or break. Thankfully it is relatively inexpensive to replace one, and if you send them the broken dongle they will move the licenses to a new one for you (you need to buy the new one), but unless you have the ZDT subscription, you need to wait for it to get there so they can verify the dongle, etc.

The easist way, I think, to get over the anti-dongle sentiment is to get one and start using it. For me, getting the dongle was the way I ended up laying to rest my critisisms of it.

The dongle is fine in a relatively secure environment with desktop computers. It starts losing its appeal very quickly if you are in a more public space where the dongle could be easily stolen, or if you are working on the go using a laptop. Laptop use also suggests the possibility of sometimes working without internet access, which also makes the cloud option less viable for such users, and the issue of losing licenses to "ghost" machines becomes a bigger concern.

There are legitimate criticisms of the current iLok system for some use cases; it all depends on how you are situated. Pros and cons.

[Henkeij]

I appreciate the updates on this topic

[enduser282]

PACE should alter the 25usd transfer fee (for a few clicks), a lot of plugins lately cost 29-39usd so by transferring the license all the money goes to PACE and that's ridiculous. The fee should be up to 25usd.

[SLiC]

Just in case anyone's following my story, I have all my licences back now, took just over 2 weeks for the stragglers but a lot came back after a few days. A bit of faf but no harm done.

[Teksonik]

The main benefit of the dongle (other than protection from losing a computer) is that it does not require internet access on the computer using the software, ever.

Does a hardware dongle require you install any additional software for it to function (other than the plugins that require iLok)?

If a hardware dongle doesn't require the installation of any Pace/iLok malware like "tpkd.sys" it might be worth the extra expense....might.

[starflakeprj]

The main benefit of the dongle (other than protection from losing a computer) is that it does not require internet access on the computer using the software, ever.

Does a hardware dongle require you install any additional software for it to function (other than the plugins that require iLok)?

If a hardware dongle doesn't require the installation of any Pace/iLok malware like "tpkd.sys" it might be worth the extra expense....might.

You'll need the PACE software/drivers for the hardware dongle as well.

[chk071]

Yes, you need the iLok software. No, you don't need malware.

[SLiC]

The software runs as a background service and always needs to be running…

[Teksonik]

The main benefit of the dongle (other than protection from losing a computer) is that it does not require internet access on the computer using the software, ever.

Does a hardware dongle require you install any additional software for it to function (other than the plugins that require iLok)?
If a hardware dongle doesn't require the installation of any Pace/iLok malware like "tpkd.sys" it might be worth the extra expense....might.

You'll need the PACE software/drivers for the hardware dongle as well.

Then what's the point if you still need to install the tpkd.sys malware?

I was thinking of trying to hold on to my ilok infected plugins when I change out the hard drive in my studio system and thought using a dongle might be an option but obviously not.

Oh well moving on.....

https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... k+tpkd.sys

[starflakeprj]

The point is that you store the licenses on your iLok key, so that you can use it on multiple computers. Some developers allow only one activation, for instance.

Also, if you use your system (hard drive) as the storage for your licenses, and it crashes, you will get some trouble. Not unsolvable trouble, but in case you have (like me) around 20 different developers using iLok, you would need to contact them all individually to have them reset the activations.

Sure, the iLok key can break too, but it's not as usual I assume. And for the iLok key you can subscribe for ZDT (Zero Down Time). If you loose the key, or if it breaks, you will get temporary licenses (to store on your hard drive) while waiting for iLok to send you a new key. It's like an assurance.

Anyone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you'll get a replacement key free of charge in case it breaks when having a valid ZDT subscription.

[LukkazX]

Its good to protect you and your licenses. But if you'r going to reformat your PC or changing, id recommend you to deactivate your licenses first