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From: perkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: What a dongle is (Was Re: Copy protection: boycott it!)
Message-ID: <2230@bnrmtv.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-Jul-87 16:45:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: bnrmtv.2230
Posted: Mon Jul 20 16:45:55 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 22-Jul-87 06:27:00 EDT
References: <291@l5comp.UUCP> <1131@killer.UUCP> <2802@phri.UUCP>
Organization: BNR Inc., Mountain View, California
Lines: 29
Summary: Dongle: an ill-conceived, obsolete hardware copy-protecton "key"

"Dongle" is the generic name for a class of hardware-based
copy-protection access keys.  The idea is that you attach to
a PC port a hardware "black box" which implements part of some
copy-protection mechanism.  The software routes some critical
function through the black box, which looks for a corresponding
dongle.  Typically one black box may support something like 4-6
dongles.  The copy-protection mechanism uses the black box plus
the unique dongle to give the appropriate response to the
software.

The remedy for dongle-based copy-protection is to patch the
software to remove the dongle code; if the code to access the
black box + dongle is removed, you don't need the hardware any
more.  Naturally, this is slow and tedious work.  The dongle
sellers are betting that it'll be less hassle for you to carry
dongles around in your pocket than to patch each version of the
program you get.  While they may be correct on that point, it's
MUCH EASIER to buy some competing unprotected product instead.

I don't see much future for copy-protection; games will probably
be holdouts for a while, though.  I'd expect a two-tier pricing
system instead: the cheap price gives you a copy of the current
version of the program; the expensive price gives you that plus
support and discounts on upgrades to later versions.
-- 
{hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!perkins        --Henry Perkins

It is better never to have been born.  But who among us has such luck?
One in a million, perhaps.