If you use your dongle on the move like we do then it is well worth taking into consideration the increased risk faced by your laptop as a result of this. Whether you are an individual using your laptop computer on the go or a business with employees who use their laptops away from the office you could benefit from the insurance protection offered. A range of laptop insurance cover options are available to suit your personal or business requirements. Cover is also surprisingly cheap and starts from just £2.99 per month.

When considering whether to take out laptop computer insurance there are a number of factors that you should consider. Firstly do you want to insure the laptop up to its full replacement value? You do not have to insure the laptop for the amount that you paid for it but equally you cannot over insure the laptop. As this is not permissible. You are required to provide your laptop model details and we assume that all insurers would then run a cross reference check to make sure that the laptop is not being overvalued. Even insuring your laptop for part of its value will provide the peace of mind of knowing that if you are unlucky enough to break the laptop or have it stolen that you will have a substamtial financial contribution towards the cost of the new laptop. Of course you do not have to go for a laptop that was as expensive as the original.

Al you mobile dongle users out there thinking of laptop insurance should also make sure that you take a close look at the exclusions that the insurance policy comes with. All policies will have some level of exclusions but the key is to make sure that they do not go beyond what is reasonable.

Also, make sure you check what level of excess applies to the policy as this can vary considerably between insurance providers. It is particularly common with the cheaper insurers that a high excess applies. This may make the quote seem attractive but bear in mind that for a pound more each month you could probably avoid the excess altogether. The above should hopefully give our dongle using visitors something to consider. As a final point when looking to by insurance a dongle or anything really make sure you shop around and compare different provider’s options.

The term dongle, is quite new and unfamiliar to most people, it refers to the portable USB device that is designed to provide broadband internet access to people whenever and wherever they may be.

The UK markets are starting to open up space for both fixed priced and prepaid broadband dongles because of how cost-friendly and convenient these portable devices are. The dongle is embedded with High-Speed Downlink Packet Access technology that enables laptops to use mobile broadband and gain access to the World Wide Web.

This piece of technology has gained a lot of popularity that several broadband operators such as Orange, 3, and Vodafone are experiencing an increase of sales and traffic to their network.

There are two kinds of broadband dongles: Contract Dongles and pay as you go dongles.
For those who wish to have constant internet access wherever they go without having to worry about instant payment would normally go for the fixed plans.
Vodafone currently offers 7.2 MB for £15 per month while 3’s dongles come free with most internet packages for just £10 per month. But of course, there are instances when you do not need to use the internet and would only go online if needed, so they would normally prefer a pay as you go dongle.

Here, you only have to pay for the charges of your last internet usage and gain access to the World Wide Web at a limited period of time depending on the amount of credits you have.

Dongles are still new pieces of technology entering the UK markets, but a lot of consumers are turning to dongles because of its convenience, portability, and costs. It is a lot more practical and people are able to still experience fast and strong internet speed thanks to 3G technology. With the financial crisis going on, this seems like the best alternative to expensive internet charges that must be paid every single year.

The initial types of dongles are usually connected to the computer via a serial port. When the user wants to run protected software, the computer first searches for the dongle before it totally loaded. Otherwise, it will not even budge. Unfortunately, this can easily be broken by computer experts merely by changing the value in the software that indicate the presence of the device and pre-set it to a positive.

Unlike the ancient types, modern dongles are attached to the computer via the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port just like when plugging a flash drive of other devices. The advancement of technology has given way for the use of encryptions. Through this, an encrypted message or request for a validation key is first sent to the dongle which in turn would answer in an encrypted message. Since encryptions are very difficult to crack, it is next to impossible to fool the software into thinking that the hardware device is already present. A more secured encryption would prevent the software to run in this situation since it would have missing parts in its code.

Further, modern types of this hardware device also use techniques for reverse engineering and a non-volatile memory.

A large number of programs make full use of dongles. In an effort to prevent piracy and use of unauthenticated software, many companies have tried to use this hardware device in their computer products, only to be opposed by the consumers. Because of this, this device is now limited to the very expensive packages and vertical software like Computer Assisted Design software, MICROS systems software, applications for Digital Audio Workstation and some translation memory packages. Likewise, printing presses and pre-press software needs this device before they work.

The more popular makers of dongles include Matrix, SafeNet (formerly Rainbow) Feitian Technologies, Aladdin, Microcosm Ltd., WIBU-SYSTEMS, SG-Lock, UniKey of SecuTech, SenseLock, Spyrus and MARX. Pace ILok Smart Key, meanwhile, is used by most Pro Tools and plug-ins.

Though the technology of the dongle has been thoroughly studies and developed, there still are several issues against it. Aside from not being a genuine solution to trusted client problems, the counterfeit versions of computer programs have circumvented the code for dongles which totally defeats the purpose of the said device. Hardware cloning, which is very rampant nowadays, is also a grave threat to dongles. In lieu of this, dongle vendors have made use of smart card products as a replacement which actually is more secure as it is commonly used by the banks and the military.

Dongles come in several names. They could be called a hardware key, hardware token or just a security device. Some even went as specific as calling it as HASP (Hardware against Software Piracy).