# Rant against New (?)Dongle , from Somebody that has never really minded E-licenser / ilok



## Paul Jelfs (Nov 18, 2020)

Hey,

Sorry if this is Old news,

But was getting round to updating some of my plugins today - And I have Avenger by VPS , which past version 1.5 requires new software etc to be installed. 

They now give you the option of installing on to a Dongle- Great I thought, surely it will be Elicenser. But no - its a Dongle called Code Meter CM as far as I can tell - So I googled that and the Dongle is $80 ! On sale from $100 ! 

Now they do advise you to buy direct from Cleverbridge if you are not in the US, - that costs £65! 

To be fair Avenger does allow you to store the licenses on your PC, but you have to install the Code Meter software - but if you want to transfer between PCs or Laptops that is A LOT of extra money for that convenience.

I have never heard of CM Dongles before - Does anyone here use one? Or Have Avenger ? 

I might well be jumping the gun and over reacting (it happens quite a lot  ) so, if I have got something wrong here I have no problem eating both humble pie and crow! (Served with Extra Dongle) 

Can somebody that knows more about this than me, chime in and let me know if that covers all hardware dongles - Elicenser, ILok and CM Code Meter. Or is there more ? 

Don't have enough USB Slots let alone an extra £65.

Can someone that uses this CM dongle post and let me know if they feel it is worth it, and how they get on with it. 

PJ


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## ReleaseCandidate (Nov 18, 2020)

Paul Jelfs said:


> Can somebody that knows more about this than me, chime in and let me know if that covers all hardware dongles - Elicenser, ILok and CM Code Meter. Or is there more ?



Nope, you're out of luck. You really need all of them (there's more, I also have a non-compatible Fusion/Resolve dongle). E-Licenser is Steinberg and VSL only AFAIK. Most of the other (audio companies) use Avid's Ilok.


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## GtrString (Nov 18, 2020)

Rant against the machine? Dont turn it into rage..


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## Crowe (Nov 18, 2020)

I do not think you're overreacting, it's stuff like this that makes me avoid certain developers like the plague. Very anti-customer.


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## ReleaseCandidate (Nov 18, 2020)

GtrString said:


> Rant against the machine? Dont turn it into rage..



But if, you'll maybe be a prophet! [oh well, not one of my best puns]


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## Ben H (Nov 18, 2020)

It's not new. Codemeter has been around for years. Their old dongle used to be called WIBU, which used to be used for things such as Independence sampler before Magix bought them out. Also the Yellow Tools libraries such as Candy and Culture.


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## Paul Jelfs (Nov 18, 2020)

Cheers Chaps. 

Like I said I can use the install on PC, but I am always nervous about installing new software that messes with windows ...



GtrString said:


> Rant against the machine? Dont turn it into rage..



"Fudge you, I wont do a new Dongle ......"


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## Wunderhorn (Nov 18, 2020)

Security and even copy protection are serving more and more as a decoy for a much bigger thing: unauthorized data collection. Especially when they want you to install additional software. People should be aware of that.

So, with these dongles that offer an alternate software solution it is basically, "pay for an overpriced Dongle even though you paid for a legal software license because we don't trust you or give us access to your computer".
I may be a a bit exaggerating here but it is worth thinking about that for a minute.


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## CoffeeLover (Nov 18, 2020)

i used to hate the dongles at the time! when i was between lot of daws for couple of years i had 2 major system crashes.
half of everything was on ilock and e-licenser and few old vst effects were lost forever. today i have lot more instruments and effects and i would gladly have all of the licenses on a dongle instead of these license apps from every manufacturer that bloat up system resources.


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## christianobermaier (Nov 18, 2020)

Wunderhorn said:


> unauthorized data collection.


I'm not sure this applies here. Like, the target audience number is microscopic compared to the billions of smartphone users who don't give a flying flamingo about their personal data, so why bother.

That being said, I absolutely loathe hardware dongles for their inconvenience and fragility in travel so much that no one has come near my system in over 15 years, and no one ever will.


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## pixel (Nov 19, 2020)

Read all terms and conditions about the case when you lost it. In another forum somebody said that it's absolutely awful, long and anti-consumer process. Absolutely worstthan iLok and eLicenser case. Same issue when device is broken.


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## Zero&One (Nov 19, 2020)

I have Codemeter installed on my Mac and no issues with their software. I do have a dongle for Nexus though.
Had no issues with the software version. Only issues I have seen on the FB group is it has to check once per 30 days online, otherwise you'll be greeted by a big black screen.


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## estolad (Nov 19, 2020)

No problems on PC either. Reason also uses CodeMeter. You can have multiple machine activations with the software.


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