Q: I have several USB dongles for my software. Any tips on managing them? Do I need a powered USB hub?

A: We feel your pain, as you purchase software, the number of dongles you need to connect to your computer goes up at a similar rate.

You shouldn’t need a powered USB hub for most dongles. Usually a powered hub is only required when you are using a bus-powered device, such as a USB keyboard/controller or hard drive.

Depending on the type of dongle and the software manufacturer, you may be able to consolidate your authorizations into one dongle, rather than keeping them on separate units. For example, an iLok can hold more than 100 authorizations, and you can freely move most authorizations between your dongles using the tools at iLok.com.