What is a Dongle?

The information provided is for help with Commtest Instruments products:

• Ascent®

QUESTION

What is the Ascent security dongle and how does it work?

ANSWER

A dongle is a security key that plugs into your computer and is used to control access to a software application (in this case the Ascent software). If the dongle is not attached to your computer the software will not open or certain features will be disabled. When you run the Ascent software, the program will interrogate the dongle and if everything is as it should be the software will start.

USB and parallel port dongles

What Windows Operating Systems use Dongles?

All operating systems can use dongles. A dongle is simply a device that attaches to the computer, so in earlier computing times it was normal to have a parallel port dongle. These are still very common today.

Modern computers are equipped with USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports and these are being used for dongle connections more and more.

Port

The term 'port' refers to a plug or socket on a computer to which you can connect a device such as a dongle.

USB port symbol found on the back of a computer

Support

The term 'support' means that your computer may have USB ports available in the hardware, but if you are using one of the 'No USB support' operating systems then the USB ports will not be available.

Earlier operating systems from Microsoft have very little or no USB support. These earlier systems require a parallel port dongle.

Installing the USB Security Dongle for Ascent

Important: (For all Windows operating systems) Do not connect the security dongle until the Ascent installer program prompts you to do so.

Windows XP, 2000 and ME

• Install the Ascent program and connect the dongle to the computer's USB port when prompted.

After connecting the dongle the 'Found New Hardware' wizard will open and use the 'Aladdin Key' drivers from the Ascent installer. At this point the Dongle Log window will open and display a list of what features are available for the dongle.

• Click Continue on the Dongle Log window to start Ascent. This completes the installation process.

Windows 95, 98, 98 SE and NT 4.0

These systems will require the computer to be re-started during the Ascent installation process.

• Install Ascent with the dongle disconnected. At the end of the installation a message appears telling you to re-start the computer.

• Click OK to close the Ascent installer.
• Manually re-start your computer.
• Once re-started and logged back in, connect the dongle to the computer's USB port. The 'Found New Hardware' wizard will activate and use the 'Aladdin Key' drivers from the Ascent installer to install the dongle.
• When the dongle installation process has finished, start Ascent by double-clicking the desktop icon or use the Start menu.

When Ascent starts it will look for the dongle and start up as normal. This completes the installation process.

Troubleshooting

When you start Ascent it should find the dongle but in the event of:

• the installer finished normally and...
• the drivers seemed to install normally (it is fairly invisible to the user) and...
• the computer re-started normally and...
• the dongle is connected and working normally according to the Windows Device Manager (no warning messages appeared) and...
• the USB dongle's red light is on then the following window will appear. Click Re-Register.

(Click image to see larger version.)

• In the next window, click Continue to start Ascent. This process will make Ascent re-evaluate the dongle and should allow the program to start as normal.

What Happens if I Connect my Dongle too Early?

If you connect the dongle too early it will be disabled by the Windows Device Manager.

To re-enable the dongle so that you can start Ascent see What is a Dongle Driver?

FAQ ID: 12046 Last Reviewed: 24/05/2004