[c#] Protect .NET code from reverse engineering?

.NET Reflector can only open "managed code" which basically means ".NET code". So you can't use it to disassemble COM DLL files, native C++, classic Visual Basic 6.0 code, etc. The structure of compiled .NET code makes it very convenient, portable, discoverable, verifiable, etc. .NET Reflector takes advantage of this to let you peer into compiled assemblies but decompilers and disassemblers are by no means specific to .NET and have been around as long as compilers have been around.

You can use obfuscators to make the code more difficult to read, but you can't exactly prevent it from being decompiled without also making it unreadable to .NET. There are a handful of products out there (usually expensive) that claim to "link" your managed code application into a native code application, but even if these actually work, a determined person will always find a way.

When it comes to obfuscation however, you get what you pay for. So if your code is so proprietary that you must go to such great lengths to protect it, you should be willing to invest money in a good obfuscator.

However, in my 15 or so years of experience writing code I've realized that being over-protective of your source code is a waste of time and has little benefit. Just trying to read original source code without supporting documentation, comments, etc. can be very difficult to understand. Add to that the senseless variable names that decompilers come up with and the spaghetti code that modern obfuscators create - you probably don't have to worry too much about people stealing your intellectual property.

Examples related to c#

How can I convert this one line of ActionScript to C#? Microsoft Advertising SDK doesn't deliverer ads How to use a global array in C#? How to correctly write async method? C# - insert values from file into two arrays Uploading into folder in FTP? Are these methods thread safe? dotnet ef not found in .NET Core 3 HTTP Error 500.30 - ANCM In-Process Start Failure Best way to "push" into C# array

Examples related to .net

You must add a reference to assembly 'netstandard, Version=2.0.0.0 How to use Bootstrap 4 in ASP.NET Core No authenticationScheme was specified, and there was no DefaultChallengeScheme found with default authentification and custom authorization .net Core 2.0 - Package was restored using .NetFramework 4.6.1 instead of target framework .netCore 2.0. The package may not be fully compatible Update .NET web service to use TLS 1.2 EF Core add-migration Build Failed What is the difference between .NET Core and .NET Standard Class Library project types? Visual Studio 2017 - Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=4.1.0.0' or one of its dependencies Nuget connection attempt failed "Unable to load the service index for source" Token based authentication in Web API without any user interface

Examples related to obfuscation

Is it possible to hide/encode/encrypt php source code and let others have the system? Convert a PHP script into a stand-alone windows executable How do I hide javascript code in a webpage? Is it possible to decompile an Android .apk file? Best Java obfuscator? How can I hide or encrypt JavaScript code? Protect .NET code from reverse engineering? Best solution to protect PHP code without encryption How do I protect Python code? Is there a code obfuscator for PHP?

Examples related to reverse-engineering

Sniffing/logging your own Android Bluetooth traffic What is the iBeacon Bluetooth Profile JNZ & CMP Assembly Instructions Best practice for storing and protecting private API keys in applications How to avoid reverse engineering of an APK file? Generate UML Class Diagram from Java Project How do you extract classes' source code from a dll file? Generate ER Diagram from existing MySQL database, created for CakePHP decompiling DEX into Java sourcecode List of all index & index columns in SQL Server DB