Thoughts on Ilok?

[dblock]

I just use what I got to use for the plugins I like. Ilok or no, I don't care at all...

Couldn't have said it better. I never let the Ilok bashing scare me into settling for less than what I really wanted. Just checked and I have over 800 licenses on that thing. I pay for the 0 downtime once a year just for peace of mind. No biggie.

[starflakeprj]

It would be much easier if ALL plugins used iLok (key), especially if you have a lot of plugins and want to install them to a new computer.

[sQeetz]

It would be much easier if ALL plugins used iLok (key), especially if you have a lot of plugins and want to install them to a new computer.

I wouldn't mind either

[starflakeprj]

Well, other plugin manufacturers have a limited amount of machines you can have activated.

Yes and more often than not, you just log in with your creds from a new machine and deactivate the license from the old machine. No dongles needed.

I know I'm answering a quite old post, but far from all developers let you reset your licenses in your account, FAR from all. How many licenses do you have? 10? From 3 developers? I have plugins from over 100 different developers, it's NOT fun to reset licenses on 100+ sites, where 20-30% also doesn't allow this in your account, so you need to contact them. And in some cases they also need to be convinced you are not just trying to install the license on more computers than you are allowed.

10 times of 10 I would prefer to handle ALL my licenses from one place, and in my case the best option would be iLok, preferably the HW key, and with ZDT as an extra "insurance".

[sandandpaint]

Well, other plugin manufacturers have a limited amount of machines you can have activated.

Yes and more often than not, you just log in with your creds from a new machine and deactivate the license from the old machine. No dongles needed.

I know I'm answering a quite old post, but far from all developers let you reset your licenses in your account, FAR from all. How many licenses do you have? 10? From 3 developers? I have plugins from over 100 different developers, it's NOT fun to reset licenses on 100+ sites, where 20-30% also doesn't allow this in your account, so you need to contact them. And in some cases they also need to be convinced you are not just trying to install the license on more computers than you are allowed.

10 times of 10 I would prefer to handle ALL my licenses from one place, and in my case the best option would be iLok, preferably the HW key, and with ZDT as an extra "insurance".

which devs don't allow deactivation then reactivating?

[oobesan]

I don't really care one way or the other about iLok. But the $25 per license transfer fee is straight up bullshit.

[starflakeprj]

Well, other plugin manufacturers have a limited amount of machines you can have activated.

Yes and more often than not, you just log in with your creds from a new machine and deactivate the license from the old machine. No dongles needed.

I know I'm answering a quite old post, but far from all developers let you reset your licenses in your account, FAR from all. How many licenses do you have? 10? From 3 developers? I have plugins from over 100 different developers, it's NOT fun to reset licenses on 100+ sites, where 20-30% also doesn't allow this in your account, so you need to contact them. And in some cases they also need to be convinced you are not just trying to install the license on more computers than you are allowed.

10 times of 10 I would prefer to handle ALL my licenses from one place, and in my case the best option would be iLok, preferably the HW key, and with ZDT as an extra "insurance".

which devs don't allow deactivation then reactivating?

Which? MANY...!
And I was talking about those you cannot deactive in your account, do you expect me to mention every single developer who doesn't have this choice in your account? Of course most of them you can email and ask them to reset your activations, but that wasn't the point.

Some allow 2-3 activations, some up to 9, so it will take a while to reach.

Still, even if you would be able deactivate through the plugin itself (not very handy if your computer breaks down, or if you need to do this before a re-installation), or in your account on the developers' website, you would need to do this for 100+ different developers (in my case). That is VERY time consuming.

[Steve Bolivar]

For a long time I thought of iLok as "it's pure evil, don't touch it" because many years ago I heard someone describe it as a virus at a Waves/Cakewalk combo demo at a Guitar Center. That guy was very convincing. Later I just used it as a crutch to help me deal with GAS. I could buy pretty much any heavily discounted plugin as long as it didn't use iLok.

[Alexander_D]

I was sold all my stuff on Ilok... will never use this type of things... Goodbye Ilok...

[ukundo]

i hate ilok

[sQeetz]

spoken like a true conspiracy theory nut

[jancivil]

i consider ILOK a huge plus for me.

i use a USB stick. It´s the only way it works for me.

+1: the USB stick should be reworked, bring a very small one to market that works well on Macbooks/labtops.

The two I I have are quite small. and sturdy. I opted for the old USB type because I'm out of USB-C slots.

[starflakeprj]

i hate ilok

Great review, I would like to see a few plugin reviews from you. Clear an concise, so that you know you should stay away.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

i hate ilok

Great review, I would like to see a few plugin reviews from you. Clear an concise, so that you know you should stay away.

It's their 8th post in 11 years. They clearly only write when their opinion is most needed, so it might be wise to take note

[osofaux]

A routine install some years back rendered my PC unbootable. Fortunately I know my way around PCs so I was able to fix it, but I've had generally negative feelings about iLok ever since, and avoid products that use it.