Sadia’s Blog

Long while back I had written a short piece about “Dongle alternative”. What is the dongle alternative? First, however, what is the dongle?

Some machine embroidery softwares have a security device also known as the “hasp” which checks for the legality of the coding marked into the hasp with the coding within the software when the software is started up. These hasps or dongles are external devices hooked to your computer via serial or usb ports. Without them, the software will not run at all. It is an aged technology but has its merits especially where sharing of softwares is concerned. It prevents one from running the software if the software has not been legally purchased. Now, there are sellers (private and not ME dealers and legitimate sellers) who would gladly sell their ME software yet keep the dongle (meaning they have a copy of the software in their possession). I’ve had numerous friends who were “gyped” in this manner.

There is a long line of “computer geeks” whose only mission is to continuously break any software’s protective layer(s). They do this perhaps not maliciously but as a mental achievement. Many years ago, such a geek broke the PE/Palette softwares’ dongle capability to where the software could run with a certain coding or “crack” instead of the actual dongle. As the wife of the said geek happened to be into Machine Embroidery, the “crack” was first openly shared amongst other machine embroiderers. With time, it turned into a money making solution for some. I happened to be at the home of a friend when I realised that she was running her PE Design without a dongle. Surprised I asked her and the answer was simply….”oh I purchased the dongle alternative”. Imagine my surprise! A bit of questioning brought the whole story out. My friend  had no idea that what she had on her computer was anything illegal. Yes, it is ILLEGAL.

Any software when installed has a certain “I agree” to clause and anyone bypassing the security of the software to run it has created a definite  illegal medium. The person who created the “Crack” is at first and foremost the guilty party but anyone using the “crack” falls into the same category. As the crack is illegal so the activity of using it is illegal….simple logic. I know there are many new comers constantly in the field of Machine Embroidery and many do not know the background or have the knowledge of certain issues in this hobby. As the “Crack” is not sold by the company that makes the software it is an immediate criminal offence. I would warn friends in the machine embroidery world to bypass this offer of the “dongle alternative”. Please don’t become the “birds” who would want you to believe that it is a legitimate device regardless of whether you own the software legitimately or not.

As for the dongle, I had a conversation regarding this very matter with a Brother Rep not too long ago. There are possibilities of the dongle becoming corrupt and or broken. One such company that also has the similar device (in the form of a usb stick) offers a protection plan…the company being Generations. Bernina in my belief was probably the very first company to introduce the hasp or dongle method of maintaining a watch over the illegal distribution of their software. I still have the hasp for the Customizer (after nine years) and it still works. Nevertheless, my conversation with the Brother Rep regarding any damage to the hasp or the dongle was that if they can send in the damaged dongle along with their original purchase number (every software has an ID number) the company will for a small sum send in another one. If for some reason, your dongle happens to become irrational, I would strongly advice to contact the company for a replacement. The only way a dongle may go bad is if it is inserted improperly or some electronic malfunction should happen. Personally I think the age of the dongle or the hasp is too old…and the software companies need to come up with an alternative idea. One of the companies, Embird uses a coding technique which checks for the ID number when the software is installed. ID numbers are unique and are not interchangeable. Ofcourse this technique does require a lot of upkeep in books etc. Meanwhile, simple advice to friends….do not believe in the “crack” to run your software.