Obscuring .NET code

[John Olbert]

We are working on our first large .NET C# program.

We create programs that run analytical instruments for chemists. Many
programs contain complex algorithms which represent very significant
investments in research.

We were surprised by how a program like Reflector.exe can disassembler the
source code, even from a Release version.

Can you recommend one or more commercial programs that can obscure .NET C#
code in the Release mode?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
--
John Olbert

[Jeremy S]

Re: Obscuring .NET code

To provide the most protection for your investment, you should both (1)
obfuscate your code and (2) use some licensing system.

For obfuscation, the professional edition from PreEmptive Solutions
generally receives good reviews:

http://www.preemptive.com/

This link is to an eBook that does a great job of explaining obfuscation in
the .NET world (and why/when you need both to obfuscate and use a licensing
system):

http://www.desaware.com/products/books/net/obfuscating/index.aspx

Desarare also has a first-class licensing system:

http://www.desaware.com/products/licensingsystem/index.aspx

-HTH

"John Olbert" <someone@snet.n et> wrote in message
news:339E5316-D4FC-49C1-AA8F-DFBA726631DF@mi crosoft.com...[color=blue]
> We are working on our first large .NET C# program.
>
> We create programs that run analytical instruments for chemists. Many
> programs contain complex algorithms which represent very significant
> investments in research.
>
> We were surprised by how a program like Reflector.exe can disassembler the
> source code, even from a Release version.
>
> Can you recommend one or more commercial programs that can obscure .NET C#
> code in the Release mode?
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> --
> John Olbert
>[/color]

[Bob Powell [MVP]]

Re: Obscuring .NET code

Code obfuscators are the answer to this. They alter the maethod and variable
names, add complex execution paths and inject code that crashes the ILDASM
disassembler.

Two good ones are Dotfuscator that comes in a community edition with Visual
Studio but has a disadvantage of being expensive to license the full version
and Xenocode which is a good tool and not too expensive although perhaps a
little harder to use.

If you want to protect your algorithms these tools will deter casual or
inexpert would-be hackers but to be honest, anything that you can code can
be analysed by someone with enough determination. Reverse engineering is a
fact of life.

--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks

http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm

Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ

http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm

All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.





"John Olbert" <someone@snet.n et> wrote in message
news:339E5316-D4FC-49C1-AA8F-DFBA726631DF@mi crosoft.com...[color=blue]
> We are working on our first large .NET C# program.
>
> We create programs that run analytical instruments for chemists. Many
> programs contain complex algorithms which represent very significant
> investments in research.
>
> We were surprised by how a program like Reflector.exe can disassembler the
> source code, even from a Release version.
>
> Can you recommend one or more commercial programs that can obscure .NET C#
> code in the Release mode?
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> --
> John Olbert
>[/color]