Author: Paul Andrews, Head of Digital Forensics, Digital Detective Group
One of the growth areas in digital forensics is the use of USB dongles for the licencing of software. Every single practitioner now finds themselves managing a veritable menagerie of tiny USB devices, just to enable them to carry out their day-to-day work.
Of course, where dongles for core forensic software are concerned, most people will possess their own NetAnalysis, EnCase or FTK dongles and these will be jealously guarded, with practitioners unwilling to let their prized (and in some cases, very expensive) hardware leave their sight. But what about some of the lesser used, but no less valuable, licencing dongles out there? At the moment, most labs will resound to the cries of “who’s got the X dongle? I need it to do Y”. Several minutes of frantic searching and head scratching then ensues, until someone remembers that they borrowed it to use in the imaging lab for five minutes, two weeks ago.
One solution to this problem is a dongle server (figure 1).
This little piece of kit may look like an ordinary powered USB hub, but it can do so much more. The dongle server runs its own operating system, which manages each USB port separately. When a dongle is plugged into a USB port, the operating system is then able to present this dongle to the attached network. Using client software installed on remote workstations, practitioners are then able to grab the use of this dongle via the network, and use it as if it were plugged into their own machine. The use of the dongle is exclusive to the person that has taken ownership of it, but they are able to surrender control at any time, and the next user can take on the use of the licence. Each USB port is independently configurable to allow only certain users or IP addresses to make use of the licence(s).
Figure 2
This means that all of your ‘we use this once in a blue moon’ licencing dongles can be stored in one location, and accessible to all of your staff via your forensic network. The port area of the dongle server is lockable, meaning that no-one is able to remove dongles without the key; and if you use the rack-mounting kit, the dongle server can even go in your server rack for further security.
Figure 3
If working practices allow, the dongle server can be accessed over the Internet, meaning that on-site working doesn’t have to involve carrying around thousands of pounds worth of dongles. A remote worker can also have temporary access to a dongle when required. The server works with all the common forensic dongles such as Feitian, Aladdin HASP, SafeNet and Wibu CodeMeter. This means that even your core forensic function dongles can be kept securely locked away, safe from loss or damage.
Main Benefits
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Easily share any licensing dongle via the local area network
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Lock away expensive dongles to prevent theft
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Easily share, and provide dongle access to remote workers
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Easily share licensing dongles in the office without having to constantly plug/unplug and throw them around
This would be an ideal purchase for small offices that cannot afford to buy licences for everyone, particularly for expensive software which may not be used every day.
Purchase
We are currently selling the MyUTN-80 for £698, + VAT and shipping. Please feel free to contact us on 0845 224 8892 (or +44 (0) 203 384 3587) to discuss any questions you may have about the functionality of the kit or to place an order.
Nice. Are there any dongles that are not compatible with this solution?
ReplyDeleteHi, we haven't found any so far that do not work. The ones we have personally tested are: CodeMeter, KeyLok, Aladdin HASP and Feitian. We use this kit (rack mounted) on a daily basis and have not had any issues. It is really handy in all sort of ways.
ReplyDeleteIf one loads multiple dongles for the same product, then multiple people could use multiple dongles, yes?
ReplyDeleteHi Alan, I am not sure I understand your question. If you had 8 dongles inserted into the server for the same product, then 8 separate workstations would be able to select and activate the dongles and use them as if they were plugged in to their own workstations. Whilst a user has access to a single dongle, it is shown as occupied and unavailable for use by anyone else. When the user is finished with the dongle, they deactivate it from their workstation and it is then available for any other user on the network.
ReplyDeleteWhat about dongle driver conflicts? I have issues with the EnCase HASP dongle taking over and when I try to run Intella which also uses a HASP dongle, I get an error. Have you had any reports of conflicting dongles through the use of the Dongle Server?
ReplyDeleteHi Phil
ReplyDeleteThe dongle server presents the “activated” dongles to the workstation, in exactly the same way, as if they were physically connected. However, one benefit the server has is that it is relatively easy and simple process to deactivate dongles you do not need. If you have two dongles with some sort of conflict, then activating them both at the same time on the same workstation is likely to lead to the same issue.
What type of error are you getting with your two hasp dongles? It seems a little unusual to get two dingles from the same manufacturer causing an issue unless one of the software companies has not implemented the protection correctly.
This is someting I wonder too. I use Encase and Intella both on one machine on almost a daily basis and have had no conflicts...
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I was wondering. Is there an easy way to use this dongle over the internet instead of a LAN.
I work on a lot of different places. Sometimes on my laptop and sometimes on a custommers machine.
It would be great if I could access my dongles remotely over the internet.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteRe accessing the dongle over the Internet; yes, this is easy to do and works extremely well. This is another of the great features. We sometimes use this functionality for a customer who has purchased a dongle based product and urgently needs to use the software on a case before the dongle has arrived. All they have to do is install the client software and enter the IP address of the dongle server.