diff --git a/src/hbbr.rs b/src/hbbr.rs
index 4c8a784..49d449c 100644
--- a/src/hbbr.rs
+++ b/src/hbbr.rs
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ fn main() -> ResultType<()> {
         matches.value_of("port").unwrap_or(&port.to_string()),
         matches
             .value_of("key")
-            .unwrap_or(&std::env::var("KEY").unwrap_or_default()),
+            .unwrap_or(&std::env::var("KEY").unwrap_or("-".to_owned())),
     )?;
     Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 36233ee..902fc1e 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,6 @@ fn main() -> ResultType<()> {
     }
     let rmem = get_arg("rmem").parse::<usize>().unwrap_or(RMEM);
     let serial: i32 = get_arg("serial").parse().unwrap_or(0);
-    RendezvousServer::start(port, serial, &get_arg("key"), rmem)?;
+    RendezvousServer::start(port, serial, &get_arg_or("key", "-".to_owned()), rmem)?;
     Ok(())
 }