My main client is transitioning from a hardware to a software based system (my fault ). He is not at all comfortable with standard software licensing (and in this specific case, I can see why) and so wants to include a hardware locking key to control the use of the software. His clients won't mind since they are used to the current hardware anyway. Other comments regarding how evil dongles are should be tagged [OT], please. The problem is that I can't seem to find any company that offers them in medium small quantities ( low hundreds ), for reasonable prices ( e.g. < $20 each ) and releases source code samples for how to connect to them. I had assumed there would be a DLL you include in your installation and you would call if from your application, but everything seems to be much more complex and secretive. We aren't trying to stop hackers here, just keep the users honest. Has anyone had any good experiences with this? I'd sure appreciate a referral. Thanks! --- James. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist