How to share a USB dongle over the network

You may be aware of the fact that you can share a USB security dongle over the network if the device comes with the appropriate license. This license enables multiple computers to access the same USB dongle across LAN. However, not all hardware keys offer this type of licensing. Some USB security dongles are designed to be used on an individual computer only. To get remote access to USB key dongles of this type, you need to employ some dedicated third-party software.

Another situation that you may face is attempting to access a USB security key that is connected to a physical host from a virtual machine. In this case, a dedicated dongle splitter app can help you share your security dongle over the network and redirect it to your guest OS.

To share a HASP key with remote PCs,
follow these steps:

1. First, sign up for Donglify account. Then download the app and install it on all computers that need to access your USB dongle remotely. Also, make sure to install the program on the PC to which your physical dongle is attached directly (we’ll call it a device server).
2. Next, start Donglify on the server computer and sign in to your account.
3. Once done, click the “Plus” icon in the window that will open and you’ll see the list of local USB dongles available for sharing.

Note, there should be the “Multi-connect” or “Single-connect” icon next to the USB dongle you are going to share. The first one means you can share a USB key dongle and it will be accessible to several remote machines simultaneously. The “Single-connect” icon indicates that a shared dongle key will be available for use on only one machine at a time.

4. Select the required USB dongle by checking the radio button in front of it and click “Share”.
5. On a client computer, launch the program and sign in to the same Donglify account.
6. In the app’s window, you’ll see the list of devices available for connection.
7. Find the one you need and click “Connect”.

This is it! Now, the shared USB key will appear in the remote system as though it were connected to that computer physically.

It really is that simple to access USB security dongles from anywhere on your network with the help of Donglify.