Excel Software has announced MakeDongle 1.0, which runs on Mac OS X, Windows or Linux computers. It generates a secure USB dongle that grants a license to run protected software on the attached computers and complements a suite of protection and licensing tools.

Protected software can be stored on the computer or dongle itself. When launched, the dongle is validated before the software is allowed to run. When building dongles, MakeDongle can copy multiple licenses, applications or installers to the USB drive.

MakeDongle can be used standalone or with the QuickLicense, AppProtect or DocProtect products.  It also works with licensing plug-ins for FileMaker and Xojo. To use MakeDongle alone, add a programming command to Mac or Windows software. Several coding interfaces are supported with sample code provided for popular programming languages.

MakeDongle 1.0 costs US$395 for a single user license. Go to www.excelsoftware.com for more info.