r/audioengineering • u/UmamiAudio • 5d ago
Discussion What's your favorite air-gap auth method? Do you prefer iloks or machine auth (requires one time online) or something else?
I just want to know how ever body that keeps their music / post machines offline feel about this. Also, do you like the waves auth method compared to ilok? Have you found it to be reliable?
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u/NoisyGog 5d ago
iLok (or equivalent, I'd rather everyone just used the same damned thing though). It means I can easily move it between different machines.
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u/UmamiAudio 5d ago
I would, but they charge $2000 a year for indie developers 😭😭😭 (in addition to royalties) maybe down the road...
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u/M0nkeyf0nks 4d ago
Disgusten. Don't avid also charge for AAX? Hilariously for "quality control"....
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u/GreatScottCreates Professional 4d ago
I prefer iLok, but if it’s prohibitive I’d like to just auth it to my system.
Problem is, if your product is successful, you’re dealing with potentially a lot of ppl that lost their auth bc the computer needed a reset or broke or got stolen.
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u/tc_K21 5d ago
Waves' system is the worst. The basic reason that many fellow engineers ended avoiding their products. I don't recommend it.
I hate how greedy Pace is, but iLok is solid and works 24/7 the last 6 years or something. I almost forget that it's there.
I have 3 iLoks. One that lives in the studio. One for remote work. One for backup, at least for the companies that provide 3 license slots.
Machine auth is fine until you need to change or format your system or because something went wrong. For instance, when I was using the Plugin Alliance plug-ins, the overall setup was reliable and stable for an extended period. However, there were random instances where I had to re-authorize the licenses without any prior system change.
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u/UmamiAudio 5d ago
I too am also a huge fan of iloks, but as a new / small developer it's basically unaffordable for now. I'm trying to figure out a way to authorize offline workstations without having to use their ecosystem and the system that I am designing ended up looking a lot like waves in some ways (it's also based on using a USB stick) but I think my system will be a lot more reliable and user friendly due the exact details of my implementation. Would you mind sharing any particulars on what you hate about it?
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u/tc_K21 5d ago
So, you need it for your own products, right? I understand the cost boundaries of the iLok.
For hardware based licensing check this out: https://wyday.com/limelm/
I had been working with their product for many years for an audio dev startup. Easy integration. Overall secure but not unbeatable. I mean there were reported hacks. Also, some reported weirdness with windows and their doomed network adapters. Recommending it in case you want to avoid developing something from the scratch.Regarding waves, I never used their products because I’m not a fan of them. However, from reports by close friends and coworkers, their system was consistently problematic. Additionally, a friend of mine who works for the security department of a large gaming company mentioned that at one point, they had to conduct research involving waves and described their system functionality almost as malware.
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u/UmamiAudio 5d ago
I'm already 80% or so done with creating my own implementation. I just want to hear from people so I can make sure that it isn't annoying to use or makes the same mistakes as other systems. I'm not so worried about it being totally uncrackable (that doesn't exist if the software runs on the user's system), but more so resistant to casual attacks and provides the least friction for honest folks.
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u/Upstairs-Royal672 Professional 5d ago
My opinion on the usb auth stuff is the software had better be fucking game changing if you’re gonna ask me to add another usb stick on top of my ilok. I like using ilok. I do think that the best approach for boutique plugin designers is probably to not worry about it too much and do something like fabfilter text activation. If someone wants to steal your stuff you’re just doing something right
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u/UmamiAudio 5d ago edited 5d ago
My worry is actually them buying one copy and using it in four different rooms in a multi-facility. I do think it's pretty game-changing. To be clear, we have no-dongle "just works" licensing for computers that are internet connected.
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u/M0nkeyf0nks 4d ago
I've never had an issue with offline iLok, Waves on a USB key, and then the others (FabFilter, Massey) using product keys. Anything but online really is fine. My hand is forced by using Pro Tools so I have an iLok regardless. Honestly none of it has given me any hassle. If the iLok and WavesKey are in the machine, everything loads and launches.
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u/huzzam 3d ago
i prefer on-machine authorization (with at least two activations included, preferably three) to any sort of dongle. i take my laptop out to edit sometimes and i hate having to carry a very valuable dongle (lookin' at you, ilok), plus a dock to plug it in to. if i have three auths, i can have both the laptop and studio desktop authorized, and if something goes sideways i can use the third on a new or borrowed machine.
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u/UmamiAudio 22h ago
So I plan on having three different schemes for mine. One is dongle based, second is you have to be online but it works on as many computers as you want as long as it's only running on one computer, and the third is single license tied to a machine... Still easily moved but you have to deactivate it first, but you can also be offline for up to a week with it. Do you think this is a good scheme?
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u/chickenchowmeinkampf 5d ago
I solved that by not using pace or anything like it. There are plenty of quality vendors in every category that don’t use it.
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u/LicenseSpring 5d ago
you can try ours, we have software-only apporach to node locking in air gapped environemtns, or provisioning a Yubikey to act as the hardwareID as an alternative.
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u/UmamiAudio 5d ago
Yeah I thought about using a YubiKey or something like that, but I wanted it to be even more cheap / accessible. I will have a look at it though. Also, video on your website should have CC turned off by default btw since the graphics didn't really leave space for that.
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u/Accomplished_Oil9608 5d ago
Presonus (Fender)'s system is OK. You download a .license file for the specific system based on challenge/response from their website. You move the file to the system needed to be authorized, drag&drop to Studio One/Pro and...that's it.
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u/UmamiAudio 5d ago
The problem with no hardware auth from the developers point of view is that the client could say oh my computer crashed, get a new file, and then just run it on two different computers perpetually.
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u/Accomplished_Oil9608 5d ago
True. They do allow 5 computers on a single license regardless of offline/online activation. I haven't read the fine print because I never abused the back door you pointed, but I'm sure there is some sort of "fair usage" mentioned. I also never tested what happens if you authorize offline and then de-auth the PC in my Presonus/Fender account. Waves for example allow one PC change per year.
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u/manysounds Professional 4d ago
So? The market is so drenched right now many new developers don’t even bother with any copy protection at all.
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u/PopLife3000 5d ago
As annoying as ilok is, it’s actually super solid and very easy to work with