I agree about MSE
 
This is all I use nowadays on all 3 machines (Daw/Laptop/Family Desktop)

AT
My music computer was hooked up to the internet today - but I plugged it in.  Otherwise, no.  A usb thumb drive gives me access to this internet connection too, for small files.
 
@

I do the same. I had to connect it once for a Waves authorization issue but that was it.

I understand all the workarounds listed in this thread and the earlier thread (thanks for that link) it's just a bit frustrating to be forced to make hardware changes on a stable system because some folks like to steal. In my case it will be very time consuming and cost money  to physically get a connection going because of the location of my studio. I would not be so concerned about viruses, maybe a little concerned about all the hidden garbage that would be running and checking in the background even with the network disabled. I just hate to "deflower" the ol' girl even tho it will probably be fine.

JazzSinger
The next generation are showing a preference for phone and tablet/iPads for internet access. DAW and plugin companies will need to take note of this trend. But serious companies have, in my experience, always provided a way to register offline. And if not, the choice in plugs is so vast, I have never been stuck for an alternative. As far as Addictive Drums is concerned, it turns out it has a proprietary file format, so we cannot use our sounds anyway. We will stay with Dim Pro for drums.

What do you mean with that last bit? I haven't tried yet but think I read you could use your own samples within AD?

EDIT: NM just checked. You can't indeed. Never needed to before anyway but was curious.

Bristol_Jonesey
I was getting fed up running from machine to machine in order to effect offline authorizations, so I bought a wireless dongle which plugs into the front USB port of my DAW.
 
It's a HUGE timesaver (as well as being a lot more streamlined & effective) and the chance of picking up something nasty for that brief time is vanishingly small.
 
The routine is:
 

• Enable AV (MSE)
• Plugin dongle
• Authorize software
• Remove dongle
• Disable AV

Couldn't be simpler

Care to share some technical details or maybe even a photo for us there Bud?

I have a 50ft. long network cord I run from my router in another room that I only connect when I need to. It's easy to connect, but it's also awkward enough having a cord running underfoot that it removes the temptation to keep it plugged in.

pauxier
...it's just a bit frustrating to be forced to make hardware changes on a stable system because some folks like to steal.

 
Indeed!

pauxier
...In my case it will be very time consuming and cost money  to physically get a connection going because of the location of my studio...
 
...I just hate to "deflower" the ol' girl even tho it will probably be fine...

It probably will be, but could you not try the USB flash drive method first?
 
It has always worked for me with no hassles at all, even if it means you returning with an activation file or registration code the next day.

drewfx1
I have a 50ft. long network cord I run from my router in another room that I only connect when I need to. It's easy to connect, but it's also awkward enough having a cord running underfoot that it removes the temptation to keep it plugged in.

I have the exact same thing, only 25 feet long to the router, but I just haven't had to use it yet.   
 

As far as ADrums goes when I purchased it in2012 I was able to dig way down into the web site and find the way to do it offline. That only works for older versions now and according to their site is not an option at all. Other stuff I've purchased such as guitar rig5 have a similar "installer / service center" but you can still do it via flash drive. Seems like having my money would be enough to trust me to authorize in another manner. I'm hoping I can migrate my existing version to the new Sonar. I wonder if anyone has done that yet with ADrums

Hi Guys.
 
I totally understand what everyone is saying & you're correct as any security is a fine balance between having all access or no access so reaching a safe middle ground is quite difficult.  The machine I'm writing on now is my DAW machine & that is connected to the Internet, however I'm very careful what sites I access & if I'm not sure of certain sites, I don't need to have another physical PC as you can all use Microsoft's Virtual PC which is available for free & you can run a second instance of your OS sandboxed if you're that paranoid.
 
Other more practical measures you can take which will reduce the threat vectors are to browse the Internet with minimal rights, ie, you're all probably logged on now as Admins?  Will lower you're rights when browsing to a minimal user account with hardly no rights, ie, create a User account with no rights so do anything other than browse the web & run your browser with those rights.
 
Another thing you could do is pay for one of those Sandbox programs & run your browser in that!
 
One more thing you can do if put a hardware firewall in front of your computer & configure it to only allow access to the sites you require for downloads & software authorisation.
 
The biggest problem Microsoft machines have & why they get infected with nasty malware is because users do one or several of any of the following things:
 
1. Don't apply Windows Updates in a Timely Manner
2. Forget to turn on AV programs while online
3. Suft the net with full Admin rights - malware uses the current logged on user's privileges to infect its host
4. Turn off the UAC (User Access Control - requires a machine restart)
 
Microsoft put that in there for good reason but because it asks you every time you want to perform an admin task & therefore frequently prompts, users get pissed off & foolishly switch it off.  Definitely not advisable on a machine which has unrestricted internet access.
 
I think if you're mindful of the things above & some of the details in my post (link below), you should be okay as that post highlights why AV programs are near useless & why thinking that surfing known trusted sites is okay when in fact there's no guarantee that they've not been compromised:
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/2898343
 
Hope that helps.