Dongle

1. Cord connecting PC Cards or other hardware device such as a USB thumb drive to external connections such as networks and phone lines. To the right is an example of a PC Card network card dongle a cable that connects to the end of the network card and allows for a standard RJ-45 network cable to be connected to the other end.
2. Device allowing the computer to be locked; hardware or software to prevent unauthorized use.

Also see: PC Card, X-Jack