Simple code obfuscation
| From: | Brian Dunning | Date: | Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:32:54 +0000 |
| Subject: | Simple code obfuscation | ||
| Groups: | php.general | ||
| Request: | Send a blank email to php-general+get-301889@lists.php.net to get a copy of this message | ||
Hey all -
I'm selling a custom PHP solution to FileMaker users. It uses FileMaker's PHP API, so
everyone who has FileMaker Server is already set up to use it, but very few of them have any
knowledge of how to set up a server or do anything PHP related. But I do want to add some level of
code obfuscation to prevent them from making simple changes to my code that allow them to exceed the
privileges they've purchased.
I've looked at custom code encryption services like Ioncube and phpCipher, but in my
estimation, deploying the needed server-side code for these is going to be beyond the capabilities
of a large segment of my customers. I would rather have a few customers cheat me than offer a
product that most customers are unable to figure out how to run.
So I was thinking of doing something like base64_encoding the crucial chunk of my code (maybe 20
lines worth) and using eval(base64_decode($that_content)) to run it. I figure that will scare away
most of the customers who might be able to edit my code. Can anyone suggest something that goes one
better?
- Brian