How to protect our code??

[Shay]

Hi

Someone showed me today, how to get FULL code
from any apk file / market app
the process took less than 10 minutes, he downloaded my app from the market, and used 2 software (I will not mention the names here)
in order to show me my code (it was in java not VB) but from what I read, it is my code (After it is been transfered to java)

So what the point of putting in the our code protections / registration / ask for money, if very easy someone can bypass this code and re-complile it.

Is there any way to protect our code?
(From what I understood from him - this is for any app - not related only to B4A)

 

[NeoTechni]

In 1.80, you can use code obfuscation. But that's pretty much it.

Any executable code can be decompiled.

 

[stevel05]

This is true, the code obfuscation in 1.8 will make it more difficult to read but I don't think it's possible to stop it being de-compiled altogether.

 

[unba1300]

If someone manages to decompile the code, does that remove the obfuscation too?

 

[ondesic]

That is disturbing!

 

[unba1300]

Our creations are protected by copyright laws. Anyone daring enough to decompile and then recompile an app and sell it under their own name would risk being sued. And as a stock photographer, I know that the settlement amounts in such cases end up being much more than the creation would have earned in the first place. If anyone tries this with me, I will sue.

 

[ondesic]

Well, I just tried it on my own apk even after obfuscation...and...there it is. All my hard worked source code just sitting there for anyone to read. This really p's me off.

 

[COBRASoft]

As far as I know this is the same for .NET and any Java exe. I hate it too, but it's the way it is to allow us to write programs fast. Write in C++ and compile to machine code if you can't live with this.

Note to self: relearn Assembler like in the good ol' C64 and Amiga days .

 

[rbsoft]

Our creations are protected by copyright laws. Anyone daring enough to decompile and then recompile an app and sell it under their own name would risk being sued. And as a stock photographer, I know that the settlement amounts in such cases end up being much more than the creation would have earned in the first place. If anyone tries this with me, I will sue.

I don't know the situation over there, but here it's in most cases so, that those people who break those copyright laws have no money anyway. If you try to sue them it usually means you end up paying your lawyer's bill. Or they sit in countries where you cannot sue.

Rolf

 

[wl]

Yes, both Java as .NET code can easily be decompiled. That's just the way it is. When you decompile a Basic4Android app you will get the Java code that the Basic4Android created in the first place.

Code obfuscation will not stop a hacker to decompile the code, but will just make it harder for him to understand what the code is doing.

In decompiled code it is easy to understand what a method "CheckLicense" is doing, but a lot harder to understand the purpose of the method "a4Hfawg" (BTW: I did not check what kind of obfuscation Basic4Android is using) ...

 

[Erel]

This is exactly the purpose of code obfuscation. You can reed more information about it here: Android Code Obfuscation