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Hello everyone, hope all is well.
I have a question regarding exporting an executable of my Python program. I want to pack my script, which is complete with Tkinter GUI, into an .exe and share it for free, but I don't want it to be decompiled or 'cracked'.
I've been reading up on this, and it seems Python is notorious for being easy to decompile, no matter hard one tries to protect it. I've also read I would have to probably use some C coding to wrap around it?
This is kind of confusing for me, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions on how I might be able to protect my script?
Thanks in advance, thank you for reading.
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Jan-05-2020, 05:46 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan-05-2020, 05:49 PM by metulburr.)
First of all, any executable can be hacked. That is why pirates crack software, games, Windows operating system, etc. If you come up with an uncrackable method you will be a billionaire. That being said, Python is more easier than other languages to reverse any secrecy. Most people that use python leave it open sourced. You can build your python programs into an .exe but it just s prone to cracking as any other exe
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Why are you concerned about it getting cracked if you are giving it away for free? It's not like they're going to be taking any revenue from you. Just put a non-commercial use license on it.
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(Jan-05-2020, 05:48 PM)ichabod801 Wrote: Why are you concerned about it getting cracked if you are giving it away for free? It's not like they're going to be taking any revenue from you. Just put a non-commercial use license on it.
Because I want to sell a 'Pro' version of my program.
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Jan-05-2020, 06:47 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan-05-2020, 06:47 PM by metulburr.)
I would just build 2 windows exe's. Pyistaller would be best for that. One that is a free version and one pro version that requires payment to obtain. But the word "uncrackable" is impossible. Every software ever made, that ever touches the internet is prone to hackers.
If you have a useful program, people will pay for it. It is better to pay the developer to maintain it than hack it and the developer stop maintaining it because it is not bringing in money. Some will hack it, but most people do not know how to open a console, let alone crack an exe. Even if 5% of your user base cracks it, you are still obtaining money from the other 95%. The 5% that cracked it would not of paid for it anyways.
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(Jan-05-2020, 06:47 PM)metulburr Wrote: I would just build 2 windows exe's. Pyistaller would be best for that. One that is a free version and one pro version that requires payment to obtain. But the word "uncrackable" is impossible. Every software ever made, that ever touches the internet is prone to hackers.
If you have a useful program, people will pay for it. It is better to pay the developer to maintain it than hack it and the developer stop maintaining it because it is not bringing in money. Some will hack it, but most people do not know how to open a console, let alone crack an exe. Even if 5% of your user base cracks it, you are still obtaining money from the other 95%. The 5% that cracked it would not of paid for it anyways.
Well, 'uncrackable' is a possibility, at least on the Internet Marketing forum I want to sell my bot. I won't mention names, but they have like 5 famous applications on there that haven't been cracked yet and believe me crackers try. They try it not just for a free app, but also to get the 'reputation' for being able to do it.
I'm assuming it's because their apps are well connected to their servers in such a way that makes them uncrackable.
I could name the applications here if asked.
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Jan-05-2020, 09:56 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan-05-2020, 09:57 PM by metulburr.)
Well that depends on the user base. If there are not enough people using it there are not enough tech savvy using it either. Also a hacker wouldnt bother with the process of cracking a bot code because they would just write one themselves. Whereas cracking Windows 10 is much faster than writing an operating system. If you temp hackers to crack your stuff, your in for a rude awaking if you think its 100% safe. With time and enough effort everything can be reverse engineered. I dont know what software you are referring to, or how new is it, but everything is crackable if a person wants to devote time to crack it. You can believe what you want, but it is impossible to make software impervious to cracking. If there was, Windows, the game industry, and governments would pick it up. Decades in they are still getting their stuff cracked.
You can ask the same question in any programming language and you will get the same end results: that everything can be reversed engineered. However, Python in particular, tends to more often be open-sourced. You can embed the interpreter and source code in the exe, but of course, that can be cracked just like every other software too.
Its better to change your business model than worry about cracked software.
Quote:Make the price so high that the licensees will value their copy and not permit it to be inspected, or make it so low that reverse-engineering is cost-infeasible; or make it free and make your money on the support contract.
(Jan-05-2020, 07:58 PM)JackMack118 Wrote: I'm assuming it's because their apps are well connected to their servers in such a way that makes them uncrackable. Its because of either one of the following:
- the hackers suck and only hacked easy ones (newbie hackers)
- those apps hardened their software and are just not yet cracked yet (too new or not enough hackers working on one software)
- there are not enough hackers interested in cracking such software (its a low value target)
Notoriety of hacking bots on a single marketing forum is limited to only that forum. If i was a black hat hacker, i would care less of what a single forum knew about me and care more about what the government and high value target's team of lawyers knew about me.
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(Jan-05-2020, 05:36 PM)JackMack118 Wrote: I have a question regarding exporting an executable of my Python program. I want to pack my script, which is complete with Tkinter GUI, into an .exe and share it for free, but I don't want it to be decompiled or 'cracked'.
Don't write it in python, it is not the language for keeping your code secret.
Don't use standard programming conventions. Decompilers look for these.
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Languages like Java and C# are too high-level and do not provide any effective structures against cracking. You could make it hard for script kiddies through obfuscation, but if your product is worth it it will be broken anyway.
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I'm surprised no one here has mentioned SaaS, software as a service. If you don't distribute any code (compiled or not) it becomes much more difficult to crack it! They'd have to compromise your server first. It's more work, but it's effective.
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