Confuser .NET Obfuscator. Is it safe?

c# .net obfuscation decompiling
Fredrik picture Fredrik · Aug 28, 2012 · Viewed 15.2k times · Source

I'm currently developing an application where it's rather crucial to keep the user from decompiling the code. Now, I'm aware of the fact that most .exes are decompilable if executed by an experienced programmer. However, my goal is simply to keep it safe from the "regular" user with basic programming knowledge.

I've come across several obfuscators, and the one I'm using right now is Codeplex Confuser, which you can find here. Since I'm no obfuscation guru, or that experienced within programming of any high level, I'm asking you if you know anything about the safety of this obfuscator.

Answer

denied66 picture denied66 · Aug 28, 2012

From my experience Confuser is one of the hardest (free) obfuscators to reverse at this moment. At least by 1-click tools.

Personally I had a few issues with it, namely, a few false positives when using max settings and a few cases that made my .exe's unable to run.

Keep in mind that regardless if it's a bit harder to reverse than other free alternatives it's still very possible for someone to do so if he devotes a bit of time.

Related questions

Protect .NET code from reverse engineering?

Obfuscation is one way, but it can't protect from breaking the piracy protection security of the application. How do I make sure that the application is not tampered with, and how do I make sure that the registration mechanism can't …

Read More
Should you obfuscate a commercial .Net application?

I was thinking about obfuscating a commercial .Net application. But is it really worth the effort to select, buy and use such a tool? Are the obfuscated binaries really safe from reverse engineering?

Read More
How to make an HTTP POST web request

Canonical How can I make an HTTP request and send some data using the POST method? I can do a GET request, but I have no idea of how to make a POST request.

Read More