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how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks

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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    Blackzero
    wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 12:32 last edited by
    #1

    How to strengthen the protection of applications made with C++ qt?
    I read some articles on the internet
    https://www.qt.io/blog/2018/01/11/protecting-qt-application-device-hacking-part-1 .
    The way to make it difficult to hack is to make a C++ Code Obfuscator and making a static compiler will make it difficult to reverse engineer, but I don't know how to do that C++ Code Obfuscator in qt to make a static compiler I saw from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCH92zvrHas&t=839s but I don't know how to do the C++ Code Obfuscator. and is there any additional security to make it difficult to reverse engineer, I know that in the world of programming there is nothing that cannot be dismantled but I want to make it difficult to reverse engineer.

    J 1 Reply Last reply 24 Jun 2024, 12:53
    0
    • B Blackzero
      24 Jun 2024, 12:32

      How to strengthen the protection of applications made with C++ qt?
      I read some articles on the internet
      https://www.qt.io/blog/2018/01/11/protecting-qt-application-device-hacking-part-1 .
      The way to make it difficult to hack is to make a C++ Code Obfuscator and making a static compiler will make it difficult to reverse engineer, but I don't know how to do that C++ Code Obfuscator in qt to make a static compiler I saw from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCH92zvrHas&t=839s but I don't know how to do the C++ Code Obfuscator. and is there any additional security to make it difficult to reverse engineer, I know that in the world of programming there is nothing that cannot be dismantled but I want to make it difficult to reverse engineer.

      J Offline
      J Offline
      jsulm
      Lifetime Qt Champion
      wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 12:53 last edited by
      #2

      @Blackzero said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

      static compiler

      Do you mean static build?

      https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct

      B 1 Reply Last reply 24 Jun 2024, 13:25
      0
      • J jsulm
        24 Jun 2024, 12:53

        @Blackzero said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

        static compiler

        Do you mean static build?

        B Offline
        B Offline
        Blackzero
        wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 13:25 last edited by
        #3

        @jsulm I mean the msvc2019 64bit static compiler

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        • C Online
          C Online
          Christian Ehrlicher
          Lifetime Qt Champion
          wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 13:40 last edited by
          #4

          There is no such thing like a 'static compiler'...
          What's your goal with this? What do you think you gain?

          Qt Online Installer direct download: https://download.qt.io/official_releases/online_installers/
          Visit the Qt Academy at https://academy.qt.io/catalog

          B 1 Reply Last reply 24 Jun 2024, 13:53
          0
          • C Christian Ehrlicher
            24 Jun 2024, 13:40

            There is no such thing like a 'static compiler'...
            What's your goal with this? What do you think you gain?

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            B Offline
            Blackzero
            wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 13:53 last edited by
            #5

            @Christian-Ehrlicher This article says if making the application static will make reverse engineering difficult, it means that static unites all application dlls such as qtwidget and others into one or makes the application static You can read it from here to understand what I mean https://www.qt.io/blog/2018/01/11/protecting-qt-application-device-hacking-part-1. Now how to do the C++ Code Obfuscator on the code, is there another application to do this or do the settings on qmake then how to do it

            C 1 Reply Last reply 24 Jun 2024, 14:11
            0
            • B Blackzero
              24 Jun 2024, 13:53

              @Christian-Ehrlicher This article says if making the application static will make reverse engineering difficult, it means that static unites all application dlls such as qtwidget and others into one or makes the application static You can read it from here to understand what I mean https://www.qt.io/blog/2018/01/11/protecting-qt-application-device-hacking-part-1. Now how to do the C++ Code Obfuscator on the code, is there another application to do this or do the settings on qmake then how to do it

              C Online
              C Online
              Christian Ehrlicher
              Lifetime Qt Champion
              wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 14:11 last edited by
              #6

              @Blackzero said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

              making the application static w

              Now you talk about statically compiling a library, not a 'static compiler'. You have to compile Qt by yourself statically. There are a lot of topics about this here - the search function is your friend. I don't know why you would do it. Noone wants to re-engineer your code from machine code...

              Qt Online Installer direct download: https://download.qt.io/official_releases/online_installers/
              Visit the Qt Academy at https://academy.qt.io/catalog

              J 1 Reply Last reply 24 Jun 2024, 14:42
              2
              • C Christian Ehrlicher
                24 Jun 2024, 14:11

                @Blackzero said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

                making the application static w

                Now you talk about statically compiling a library, not a 'static compiler'. You have to compile Qt by yourself statically. There are a lot of topics about this here - the search function is your friend. I don't know why you would do it. Noone wants to re-engineer your code from machine code...

                J Offline
                J Offline
                JonB
                wrote on 24 Jun 2024, 14:42 last edited by
                #7

                @Christian-Ehrlicher said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

                I don't know why you would do it. Noone wants to re-engineer your code from machine code...

                +1

                P 1 Reply Last reply 25 Jun 2024, 01:07
                1
                • J JonB
                  24 Jun 2024, 14:42

                  @Christian-Ehrlicher said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

                  I don't know why you would do it. Noone wants to re-engineer your code from machine code...

                  +1

                  P Offline
                  P Offline
                  Pl45m4
                  wrote on 25 Jun 2024, 01:07 last edited by
                  #8

                  @JonB said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

                  +1

                  +1

                  :o)


                  If debugging is the process of removing software bugs, then programming must be the process of putting them in.

                  ~E. W. Dijkstra

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                  • A Offline
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                    Angely
                    wrote on 25 Jun 2024, 03:13 last edited by
                    #9

                    @Blackzero said in how to protect apps from reverse engineering hacks:

                    How to strengthen the protection of applications made with C++ qt?
                    I read some articles on the internet
                    https://www.qt.io/blog/2018/01/11/-qt-application-device-hacking-part-quordle using a C++ code obfuscator is a good way to make your code harder to reverse engineer.

                    Have a nice day!

                    1 Reply Last reply
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                    • S Offline
                      S Offline
                      SimonSchroeder
                      wrote on 25 Jun 2024, 07:29 last edited by
                      #10

                      You have to be careful. The article is meant specifically to try to sell you a commercial license. Do not use the advice in this article if you are using the open source version of Qt. The whole article is saying to strip the function names of Qt functions. However, the LGPL requires you to provide a way to the users of your software to relink with a different version of Qt. If you link to Qt statically, you need to provide e.g. your own object files with all symbol names so they can be relinked with a different Qt library version. Even obfuscation would not work as you would have to provide the obfuscator so others can obfuscate the Qt source code to be compatible with your own code. You need to buy a commercial license if you really want to follow this advice.

                      As the article states: all this only helps against "casual reverse engineering". Without the function names it is slightly harder to reverse engineer programs. However, the hardest part is figuring out how the function works. This can still be done without the function names. Someone who can do that does not really care about function names.

                      Another thing they mention is to protect your software against tempering. This is mostly in the context of closed devices which are supposed to just run your single program. Most likely this does not apply to your use case. (Tempering protection in the context of desktop or mobile apps is a lot more complicated.)

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                      24 Jun 2024, 12:32

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