.NET IP Protection only (not licensing or anti-cracking)

[bball0002]

Originally Posted by comp1mp

Thanks Kao!

That powerpoint was very interesting.

I am still confused about one thing.

Generally speaking, is it true that once a specific copy protection has been defeated, all future software using that protection is easily a zero day release?

Do some systems require expensive effort for every assembly protected, regardless if other assemblies with the same protection have been defeated?

If anyone else has any thoughts to add - I am all ears .

Not necessarily. Any time a new protection is defeated, it is usually done so by a cracking team. Most if not all of the time, the cracking team will re-protect the software, to keep the developers code safe and to not make the protection useless.

For example, a cracker named MegaX cracked {SmartAssembly} 4.0. When he released it, he re-protected it with {SmartAssembly} AND Xenocode. So in reality the cracked version of {SmartAssembly} is actually more protected then the real version.

For your last question, if a cracker knows how to defeat a protection, it is generally the same for each application. Once the cracker can do it once, he can create a program to greatly speed up the process, for example he/she may create a program to decrypt the strings in the app, then another program to unobfuscate the control flow, etc.

But, since the only release of the cracked {SmartAssembly 4.0} has come from one person (publicly), I think it is safe to say that your average reverser will have much trouble cracking your app if you use this protection.

[FarJump]

In most cases, if you protect your soft with professional obfuscation and code flow/string obfuscation your intellectual property should be protected by ~85%. It is hard to reconstruct the original code flow and impossible to get original class/method names back. Of course this would not stop hacker to crack your software. But it can't be wrong to combine protection and licensing. There are also tools which directly combines strong protection+licensing. At least you would win time to sell your soft.

Generally speaking, is it true that once a specific copy protection has been defeated, all future software using that protection is easily a zero day release?

I would say it depends on the protection tool. There are tools which always produces different assemblies. Obfuscation+Flow obfuscation based on coincidence. Or random string encryption keys...