Last time I installed a new DAW - to replace my stolen computer - I had to re-authorize a lot of stuff. As I was going through that I was thinking that iLok might have simplified the process.
 
However, it then occurred to me that the thieves would have also taken my iLok dongle, along with my backup drive. I would have had to not only re-authorize everything but also buy a new dongle.
 
As a software engineer, I am philosophically opposed to any scheme that breaks software by default, allowing it to work only after a very specific set of criteria are met. Such a design is doomed to be fundamentally unreliable, as Pace's colorful history has proven. 

I still have my first generation iLok which stops me from buying certain products...I bought the iLok to run Waves for the most part and it works great but I'm not buying another one(iLok2...and now iLok3)...they are built to store my licenses, shouldn't have to keep buying them.
 
Now with that said my iLok makes software installs, transfers, etc. easy peasy!
 
Bill

bitflipper
As a software engineer, I am philosophically opposed to any scheme that breaks software by default, allowing it to work only after a very specific set of criteria are met. Such a design is doomed to be fundamentally unreliable, as Pace's colorful history has proven. 

Also software engineer here and I totally agree to your first sentence!
But if I compare iLok with all kind of online autorisations and cloud solutions, then I am convinced that iLok is ahead! They are much more unreliable, because they have even more triping hazards.
 
Marc

Cookie Jarvis
I still have my first generation iLok which stops me from buying certain products...I bought the iLok to run Waves for the most part and it works great but I'm not buying another one(iLok2...and now iLok3)...they are built to store my licenses, shouldn't have to keep buying them.
 
Now with that said my iLok makes software installs, transfers, etc. easy peasy!
 
Bill

Same, still have iLok 1 that works & it's the only one I've had to purchase. I got two other iLok 2's free from Slate purchases in 2013 & I'm still using the first one I connected 5 years ago, second one is a spare.
 
Now that iLok Cloud Sessions are becoming more available I might not need to use any dongle at all.

Thanks for the input. It's the per machine iLok that affects me My laptops don't have the spare USB ports, and I don't see the point in a hub when I can do the per machine option.
 
I guess this is really no different than my XLN installer/waves/NI intallers checking for authorisation, except that's all it does

I had been a hater but tried the  "use your computer"  deal and it has been no problem for me. Getting everything to work with Waves has been a different problem. I understand, and respect the truth Bit Flipper shared. But, I have not had 1 problem with iLoc and Windows 10. I think the problem was the old iLoc 1 a lot of the time. Native Instruments has been good since getting it on a hard drive. Toontrack has never been a problem with their Product Manager. IK has been pretty good too.
This stuff should be no more difficult than click on a few things and come back later when it's done. Not there yet but some are pretty close.

TheSteven
Of course YMMV but I haven't had a Pace issue in years (over 5 maybe 10?) and never with Win7 or Win10.
In regards to iLok - I use to be a hater but my perspective changed after a run of hardware issues a couple of years ago where I had to reinstall Windows 7 4 or more times within 6 months.  My iLok plugins were no issue easy peasy but with the others I had to pray that I could get the old system up one more time to run an uninstall on something I missed the previous 'final run', look up serials numbers, do challenge & response, contact vendors explaining why I needed yet another unlock, etc. I literally would have saved days of time if ALL my plugins were iLok.

This is my experience too. I much prefer physical iLok plugins nowadays. Maybe one downside is the companies have to pay to be on the ilok system so the cost of their vsts might go up a bit.


ilok 1 got hacked and at one point so did ilok2 if I recall correctly. I think the negative connotations about ilok come from a small number of gearslutz malcontents who for whatever reason are quite zealous about their disdain for PACE. But reading through the boards there and here you can see probably 19/20 have only had good ilok experience.
 
One thing I do hate: there are three different dongle brands-- you've got iLok, overloud, waves hofa et al use a usb stick system, and codemeter make a dongle that MAAT and propellerheads use! Annoying :)

My Waves and Overloud isn't on iLok. Or is that just optional?
 

marled

bitflipper
As a software engineer, I am philosophically opposed to any scheme that breaks software by default, allowing it to work only after a very specific set of criteria are met. Such a design is doomed to be fundamentally unreliable, as Pace's colorful history has proven. 

Also software engineer here and I totally agree to your first sentence!
But if I compare iLok with all kind of online autorisations and cloud solutions, then I am convinced that iLok is ahead! They are much more unreliable, because they have even more triping hazards.
 
Marc

Yet another software engineer here... and I tend to agree with Marc here. 
 
I've never had any reliability problems with iLok. Doing a system re-install is a breeze for my iLok enabled plugins, none of this searching around for serial numbers, or fighting with online authorisation. You also avoid the nonsense of having to re-authorise after doing a Windows update, or changing your hardware configuration. 
 
I've only two complaints about the iLok:
 
1. The iLok dongle is too big for constant use with a laptop. This limits me to plugins that don't require a hardware iLok, or have cloud support. My 2 desktop PC's are unaffected by this.
 
2. The number of authorisations available. Some vendors allow 3, most allow 2, and some only 1 (McDSP / Antares !!!). I really object to having to buy something twice (or 3 times in the case of McDSP) when everything is already locked to the same user account. I'm assuming developers have to pay PACE for the various options (i.e. hardware iLok required or not, number of authorisations, cloud support etc), but limiting licenses to 1 machine per purchase is pretty bad, considering the price of the plugins.
 
In saying that, the Waves authorisation is just as good/bad for the same reasons. Waves has one advantage at least, in that you can at least unauthorise without that PC being switched on.
 

Hi. I have an iLok2 that I've had for years, without any issues.
If I could authorize all my plugins to Ilok, I would.
It's (IMO) very easy to get back up and running after doing a fresh install on my studio pc, which I do almost yearly.
All the best.