A HASP dongle is a hardware device used to combat software piracy and authenticate software. It is used for specialized software programs and can enable rental or feature-based models. Dongles can be frustrating for users, but can also be cost-effective and offer additional features. Publishers use dongles to prevent organizations from using software on more computers than they have purchased licenses for. Dongles can also be emulated to trick a program into believing a physical dongle is connected.
A Hardware Against Software Piracy (HASP) dongle is a type of computer hardware device designed to combat software piracy. These devices must be connected to a computer for the software to work and are often used in place of serial numbers or other forms of authentication. Dongles can also be used to create and apply other business models for software, such as rental or feature-based models. For end users, dongles can offer both convenience and frustration.
A HASP dongle serves much the same purpose as a product key or activation system found in consumer software, but is usually limited to highly specialized software programs used in a variety of industries. These types of programs, which include professional printing software, forensic software, high-end audio programs, and computer-aided design (CAD) applications, often carry steep price tags per license, making them lucrative targets for the black and gray markets. To combat piracy and prevent organizations from using software on more computers than they have purchased licenses for, some software publishers use HASP dongles.
Customers using this software must connect a specially programmed HASP dongle to a computer before the software will function. Without the dongle, some programs will run in demo or trial mode, while others won’t work at all. Software publishers usually buy dongles and dongle software from other companies, and dongles need to be specially customized for the programs they will protect.
As the sophistication of dongles has increased, publishers have found new uses for them. Some new dongles come with internal clocks, batteries, and more onboard memory than older models. These features allow publishers to take a closer look at how their software is being used. For example, the internal clock can keep track of the expiration of a software license and can therefore render the dongle unusable. A HASP dongle can also enable rental, subscription, pay-per-use, or even pay-per-feature software licensing models.
Businesses and consumers purchasing software that require a HASP dongle may find this hardware solution more cost-effective than equivalent software security technologies. For programs sold with a limited number of seats or users, a dongle can easily be transferred between different computers or departments. Some dongles can also enable features on multiple computers on a network. Dongles can be a major source of frustration for customers who need to run legacy or unsupported applications, however, as new operating systems, lost dongles, or new hardware can mean programs will no longer run. In these cases, a dongle emulator is sometimes used to trick a program into believing that a physical HASP dongle is connected.
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