Hi,
I don't normally respond to these questions simply because you obviously
haven't done much research.
Get this firmly planted in your mind:
1. There are hackers out there that are super whiz-kids and get their
lifes' thrills out of the de-obfuscation of anyone's code. These guys
are really quite brilliant and will always be able to crack anyone's
de-obfuscation algorithms.
2. If you accept the above then you realise that you can only protect
your code from people that probably are bad or inept programmers. They
use readily available tools created by 1. If they were decent coders
then they wouldn't really bother.
3. You need to try to keep one step ahead of 2 as you will never get
ahead of 1.
4. In time, all obfuscators will be cracked. You need to change them
frequently OR the creator of the obfuscator must keep one step ahead by
changing their algorithms.
5. I understand .Net Reactor protected code has been cracked for some
time. It always will be unless you upgrade or install a new release of
the obfuscator. You can only be protected if you scan the internet for
every released version of your product and delete it - impossible.
Whether you like it or not, if you continue to use .Net based products,
you will never be able to fully protect your intellectual property.
If someone pinches any of my code, their nuts.
If someone can read my passwords or other encrypted/sensitive data then
I am worried - but that is NOT obfuscation.
If someone can use my software for free forever I am really pissed off -
but that is NOT obfuscation.
In short, accept your code can be read by the whiz-kids but if your
chosen obfuscator is frequently updated then take some solace that at
least your latest version stands a good chance of not being cracked
within a few days of release.
I know the above isn't what you want to hear but it's as close to the
truth as you will get.
Regards,
Glen.