Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.lang.c > #107545

Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application?

Show all headers | View raw

On 3/30/2017 1:59 PM, Real Troll wrote:
>
> Is there any way to stop an application from bundling all the debug info in
> the executables so that people can't reverse engineer the file?
>
> I was watching a yourTube video and somebody showed a way to reverse the exe
> file and extract the source code from it and the guy created a keyGen from
> it so that now everybody can use the programs without buying it.  Surely,
> there must be a way to stop this or at least make it harder for amateurs
> from doing this.
>
> I create the "Release" versions of my toy applications and when I opened the
> exe file in WordPad, I could see almost most things that are supposed to be
> private.
[...]

In the general sense, you can't generate source code from an executable 
file.  (You can't turn hamburger back into a cow.)  In some cases, it may be 
possible, if you know a lot about the compiler and environment used to build 
it.  (And debug info helps with that.)

I'm curious what sort of "private" things could you see in the release 
version of the program.  Unless your compiler/makefile/whatever is not 
configured properly, a "release" build should have no extra debug info in 
the file.

-- 
Kenneth Brody

Back to comp.lang.c | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Real Troll <real.troll@trolls.com> - 2017-03-30 12:59 -0500
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2017-03-30 18:45 +0000
    Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Real Troll <real.troll@trolls.com> - 2017-03-30 16:45 -0500
      Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Jerry Stuckle <jstucklex@attglobal.net> - 2017-03-30 18:53 -0400
      Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Ken Brody <kenbrody@spamcop.net> - 2017-03-31 13:56 -0400
        Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-03-31 11:49 -0700
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Jens Stuckelberger <Jens_Stuckelberger@nowhere.net> - 2017-03-30 20:29 +0000
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-03-30 14:06 -0700
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? gordonb.1bihd@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) - 2017-03-30 18:52 -0500
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Lew Pitcher <lew.pitcher@digitalfreehold.ca> - 2017-03-30 20:01 -0400
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-03-31 09:38 +0200
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? fir <profesor.fir@gmail.com> - 2017-03-31 00:56 -0700
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-03-31 08:59 -0700
    Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Real Troll <real.troll@trolls.com> - 2017-03-31 12:00 -0500
  Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Ken Brody <kenbrody@spamcop.net> - 2017-03-31 13:51 -0400
    Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2017-03-31 12:29 -0700
    Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Real Troll <real.troll@trolls.com> - 2017-03-31 16:59 -0400
      Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2017-04-01 06:05 +0000
      Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application? Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2017-04-01 01:35 -0500
      OT: private info in .exe files from VS (was Re: How to stop Reverse Engineer a C, C++, VB or C# application?) Ken Brody <kenbrody@spamcop.net> - 2017-04-03 12:39 -0400

csiph-web