iLOK License storage location (safer?) USB vs. PC?

[Caine123]

i have all my liecnses on my PC but i read about hdds/ssds f**king ups and then you mostly lost the licenses? how about the DONGLE? is it safer? especially if you change hardware (parts)?

should i move those licenses to the DONGLE?

what are your pros/cons?

[chk071]

I'd do so. Even though most vendors using iLok protection offer 2 ativations, meaning that, if you only use the plugins on one computer, and you have a hard drive crash, you'll have another activation (and they probably also reset the lost activation). The advantage of using the dongle is that it's portable and usable on as many computers as you like. Unless the dongle breaks. Well, you know the deal.

iLok dongle is fkn expensive though. That's why i got mine (2nd gen) used on eBay, for 24 € or so...

[electro]

HDD storage is probably the least safe. Spreading licenses over multiple dongles should reduce the risk of losing access to everything at one.

[Etienne1973]

I have all my iLok licenses on an iLok USB dongle. Recently in addition: iLok ZeroDowntime (TLC On) insurance. I'm feeling much safer now.

[Armagibbon]

Usb is def gonna be safer unless you always on the move and work from a laptop. Desktop? Just dongle it ahaha

[JerGoertz]

If your iLok dongle dies, will Pace transfer your licenses to a new dongle even if you don't have "zero downtime"?

[Etienne1973]

If your iLok dongle dies, will Pace transfer your licenses to a new dongle even if you don't have "zero downtime"?

Yes, even if you don't have ZeroDowntime.

Source: https://www.ilok.com/#!zdt-coverage

[mgw38]

If your iLok dongle dies, will Pace transfer your licenses to a new dongle even if you don't have "zero downtime"?

They give you the option to buy zero downtime at the time you submit an RMA. But they charge an extra fee for waiving the 7 day "cooling off" period which makes this quite expensive. And as far as I know it only works for broken iLoks. If your iLok is lost or stolen you have to have TLC ("total loss coverage") enabled before you submit the RMA. But I am not 100% sure, somebody might correct me on this.

The safest way is to have your licenses on an iLok dongle, buy the zero downtime subscription at 30$ a year and enable total loss coverage (which is free if you have the zero downtime subscription).

[JerGoertz]

Good info, thanks mgw and Etienne

[Caine123]

thanks a lot guys, late reply but i transferred ALL my licenses to my ilok2!

[JerGoertz]

If you regularly do a disk image backup, it would probably actually be safer to have your licenses on the HD.

[NothanUmber]

The safest way is to have your licenses on an iLok dongle, buy the zero downtime subscription at 30$ a year and enable total loss coverage (which is free if you have the zero downtime subscription).

The safest way is to treat anything that uses iLok "protection" like a piece of glowing metal - don't touch, even with gloves.

To be fair, PACE isn't the worst player in this game.
I still have "fond" memories of how the Nalpeiron protection for Notion 3 overwrote my third party boot manager, needing a rescue disk to make the computer boot up again. (The proposed solution (after analyzing the problem and even telling the support what was specifically overwritten) was to uninstall the boot manager and the second operating system. Guess what I uninstalled instead - a notation program simply should have no business with my boot sectors or non-NTFS partitions at all...)

For me this is a major decision factor of what I buy. If there is an alternative with no or serial-number protection a product relying on activation or even dongles has to be *a lot* better to be even considered (and goes back the minute I experience problems with the protection in any way shape or form with making sure the devs know why).

[AdvancedFollower]

The licenses are also available in the "Cloud" (if you log in at ilok.com you can see them), and can be activated on another computer as long as you have your login details and enough activations. You can probably get a de-commissioned computer de-activated if you contact their support (doesn't seem to be any way to do this from the web interface) to free up activations.

The USB key might be more convenient if you work in different locations, as you can just take the key with you. However flash memory does have a limited life span and tiny USB keys can get lost.

Also it's kind of ridiculous that you as the customer have to pay for their copy protection. Imagine you go to a store to buy a shirt. Since the store has had problems with shoplifting, you have to buy your own security camera in order to enter the store and buy your shirt. That's kind of what dongles are.

[noiseboyuk]

I have all my iLok licenses on an iLok USB dongle. Recently in addition: iLok ZeroDowntime (TLC On) insurance. I'm feeling much safer now.

The TLC bit is really tricksy. Around the time they introduced License Manager they screwed up permanent licenses that connected to their server, rendering them useless. It went on for weeks, some post houses nearly went out of business. You were fine as long as you never connected the iLok to the internet via License Manager. Eventually they restored permanent licenses, but it was a long and very difficult period.

That to me is the fundamental flaw of TLC - it doesn't protect me from PACE themselves screwing up, since I lose my permanent licenses and trade them for licenses that have to be constantly renewed. All the while I have permanent licenses and keep my ear to the ground for PACE screw ups I should be safe. Given their history, I've decided the odds of them screwing up are actually higher than me screwing up, so although I have ZDT I keep TLC off.

[phreaque]

Get yourself an iLok physical key... It happened to me lately and I lost 26 licenses, luckily I could convince the providers to reset the activation codes again, but it took lots of time...