iLok vs. challenge response - thoughts?

[larryf]

I just bought/installed Altiverb 6, and had to choose between iLok and challenge/response.

I chose iLok because there will come a day when the hard disk will crash or otherwise be replaced, and I just don't want to deal with reauthorizations. I want to plug in the little iLok thing and be back up to speed. I was also thinking of moving my PSP authorizations from the hard disk to the iLok.

But that got me thinking - many people seem to really not like iLok, and there aren't actually too many plugin companies making use of it - it's hardly a "standard", though it is in use with some key plugins. So perhaps it has some drawback I haven't though of.

Anyone care to comment on the iLok vs. hard disk authorization choice?

[Dwetmaster]

If you Ever get in a situation where you go on location with your laptop and you forget your ilok key (Because these dongles are too big to be carried with your Carkeys) You'll probably wish you had challenge/response authorization...

[emulatorloo]

I have come to accept and like ilok. (that is, if we have to have copy protection, then this is not horrible)

It is nice to take it from computer to computer and have access to my plug ins.

I really never liked challenge and response. I like to reformat and do a fresh install now and again. Big pain with getting new challenge response authorizations.

[Frodo]

I chose iLok because there will come a day when the hard disk will crash or otherwise be replaced, and I just don't want to deal with reauthorizations.

That alone gets my personal vote for dongles. Systems are updated too often and the slightest tampering with one's own system can trigger an invalidation. I've had no problems with iLok-- but Syncrosoft-- eewwwwwwwww!! Gross-a-rooney!!

The challenge/response thing just doesn't sit well with me because I've not had one single experience with them I can consider to be reliable.

I don't think I've ever had a genuine need to take a dongle off my home computer, although I know this is not the case for everyone. Just for the way things have gone for me personally, the dongle approach fits the bill. Maybe the day will come when that will change.

[BradLyons]

iLok is the lesser of two evils, because in a perfect world everyone would be honest and copy protection wouldn't be needed. But it's not a perfect world and it is needed. iLok gives you the ability to work on ANY computer that you want at anytime, Challenge Response simply does not.

[waxman]

Not much lesser...

I just did the iLok Altiverb validation. Actually iLok would not work at first so I did the hd validation to get working. Then I emailed iLok and Altiverb to get help switching to authorization to iLok. Thanks to Audio Ease it happened. Pace iLok is the most useless tech support ever. I got 5 emails back from them and everyone was jive like the following.

Samples...

1 Obtain a support incident, please follow the link below: (I did they sent me back the email with the support incident on the email...)

2. The link is rather long and therefore your e-mail client has broken the link into two lines. You will need to combine the URL in your browser in order for the link to function properly. (it was the link they sent me! any way I did that.)

3. Your iLok serial #s are not valid? (oh really is that why you have waves, NI, T-Racks listed in my account?)

4. In order to better serve you, a support incident needs to be completed. The support incident will help to guarantee proper handling of your issue. (here we go round the mulberry bush)

So finally through Audio Ease who have been through this before with Pace iLok a simple fix was found. I reinstated both iLoks which for a year had been running my software and pace had could not find. Now had there been a problem and the iLoks were not registered I wonder whose fault that would be. I printed out my iLok account and saved it to PDF for the future...

[James Steele]

I'll cast a vote for iLok as well. Makes it easy to install and temporarily run plugs on a different computer when you need to. I've never had any problems with it.

[larryf]

thanks for the input on iLok. I'm reviewing my plugs to see which can be iLok'd; unfortunately, not many. Challenge-response really worries me for the future - I've not had to do a HD overhaul/replacement since loading up my system wiith plugins, and I dread that day, because all I have is a bunch of .dmg files and authorization codes and a dream that this will all work out when the time comes, and I suspect it won't be a fun time.

I just want to wring the necks of the software pirates who've made this all necessary. One could only imagine how cheap plugins would be if the SW companies were getting paid for each copy in use. I read some plugin developer saying recently that he estimated he was getting paid for approximately 5-10 % of his plugins in use and that that was doing well by industry standards. You have to assume plugins would cost maybe half or less if SW developers were getting legimtimately paid by their users. Having spent $6,500 on plugins for my studio, I guess I've shelled out at least $3,000 and maybe quite a bit more to support the thieves and knaves making up the 90-95 % of plugin users.

Anyway, Altiverb rocks!!

[FMiguelez]

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iLock RULES!! Once you get it working, which might be very fast, or not, then it's like you can just forget about it forever... until you need to reformat your HD. No prob, just plug the little sucker and you're in business.

If I could have it my way, everything would be in the iLock. It just makes things so much easier, and you can carry it with you wherever you go. Just be carefull with it. Treat it as a wand of cash, 'cause that's what it is.

You wouldn't leave a couple of thousand dollars in cash laying around, would you?

And i suggest getting a little USB cable extention to protect the iLock. It's too easy to damage it, and this cable helps avoiding that.

[ttauri]

About the same to me, I guess. Maybe prefer challenge/response by a bit, because forgetting my iLok has been more of an annoyance when it's happened.

I wish the iLok was a little smaller and less bulgy though (doesn't really sit too comfortably next to my other dongles in some usb hubs).

Peece,
T. Tauri

[Jim]

I'm still jumping through hoops to avoid the iLok, and products that require it.

Here's what would change my mind: Free iLoks, free backup iLoks to all customers, and free Platinum Level support (the $10,000/year option) for ALL customers.

IOW, the iLok should come with an iron-clad promise that customers will not lose a single second of downtime to authorization issues.

We customers pay for all piracy. The costs are passed through to us. Since we're paying for it, we should benefit from those payments, not just the people who sell the software.

Fair is fair, and paying for iLok is like paying The Sopranos for "protection."

IMO.


Jim



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[James Steele]

Here's what would change my mind: Free iLoks, free backup iLoks to all customers, and free Platinum Level support (the $10,000/year option) for ALL customers.

IOW, the iLok should come with an iron-clad promise that customers will not lose a single second of downtime to authorization issues.

Well, that sounds like you won't be using iLok... ever. That's unrealistic. Basically, iLok must be making its money now by charging licensing fees to software companies. Considering that iLok is not yet ubiquitous, these fees must be as high as they can make them-- perhaps even too high. So all this free this, and free that, would have to come from their profits which might be inadequate to cover it. So essentially it aint' gonna happen.

iLok has worked great for me and I have complete confidence in it. I got my iLok included when I got MachFive.

[giles117]

I was anti Ilok, but as often as I have expereinced dumb hard drive issues... ILOK!!!!!!!!!!

THANK GOD FOR ILOK!!!!!!

I even have a spare ... Just in case. LOL...