code obfuscation

Increased loading speed 

Web-page scripts must be delivered across the network to the user agent that will execute them. The download will be faster if they are smaller. In many situations, minification (a relatively simple sort of obfuscation) might provide significant benefits.

Memory utilization is reduced. 

Programs operated faster and used less RAM in archaic run-time interpreted languages (more popularly known as script), such as older versions of BASIC, provided they used single letter variable names, avoided comments, and contained only essential blank characters (in brief, the shorter the faster). 

Trade secrets are safeguarded. 

Any trade secret, licensing mechanism, or other intellectual property contained within a program is visible to the user if the source code of the program must be provided to the user, such as JavaScript in a web page. Obfuscation makes it more difficult to comprehend and modify the code.


Some desktop apps have features that assist in disguising their code. Some programs may not keep all of their binary code on disk and instead retrieve a portion of it from the internet at runtime. They may also employ compression and/or encryption, which adds to the disassembly process’s complexity. 

Anti-circumvention measures 

In such circumstances, obfuscating the program can make it more difficult for users to get around license mechanisms or get information that the program’s source wanted to keep hidden. It can also be used to make multiplayer games more difficult to hack.

Virus detection prevention 

Obfuscation is a technique used by malicious programs to hide their true intentions. Because the majority of users do not read such programs, and those who do usually have access to software tools that can assist them erase the obfuscation, this method is ineffective.

Obfuscation’s disadvantages 

Obfuscation can make reading, creating, and reverse-engineering a program more difficult and time-consuming, although it is not always impossible. 

For developers, it adds time and complexity to the build process. 

It might be incredibly difficult to troubleshoot errors after the software has been obfuscated. 

When a software becomes abandoned and is no longer maintained, hobbyists may seek to maintain it, make mods, or gain a better understanding of it. Obfuscation makes it difficult for end users to interact with the code in a beneficial way.

Obfuscation that isn’t merely a local binary and instead downloads tiny binaries from a web server as needed can reduce performance and/or necessitate Internet access. 

Decompilers 

The source code of an executable or library can be reverse-engineered using a decompiler. Based on the traditional cryptographic attack known as “man-in-the-middle,” decompilation is sometimes referred to as a “man-at-the-end” attack. It gives the user access to source code, even if the source code is typically difficult to interpret. The source code is likely to have different logic and function names from the original source code, as well as wrong variable types and incorrect variable types (due to compiler optimizations).

Obfuscation using cryptography 

Cryptographers had also lately looked into the notion of obfuscating code in such a fashion that reverse-engineering it is difficult. This is embodied in the various concepts for indistinguishability obfuscation, a cryptographic primitive that, if constructed securely, would allow the construction of a large range of cryptographic types, including whole new kinds that no one knows how to build. (In 2001, researchers demonstrated that a stronger notion, black-box obfuscation, is impossible when they built programs that cannot be obfuscated in this notion.)

Users are notified when code is obfuscated. 

Some antivirus software, such as AVG AntiVirus[citation needed], can additionally warn users if they visit a website with code that has been manually obfuscated, as obfuscation can be used to hide hazardous code. Some developers, on the other hand, may use code obfuscation to reduce file size or improve security. Because the average user does not anticipate their antivirus software to send notifications about otherwise harmless code, particularly from well-known companies, such a feature may actually discourage people from using genuine software.

Browser extensions containing obfuscated code are likewise prohibited in some major browsers, such as Firefox and Chrome. 

Software that obfuscates 

To accomplish or aid with code obfuscation, a number of tools are available. Academics’ experimental research tools, hobbyist tools, commercial goods designed by professionals, and open-source software are all examples. There are also deobfuscation tools that attempt to reverse the process. 

Copyleft licenses and obfuscation 

There has been discussion on whether it is illegal to circumvent copyleft software licenses by publishing source code in an obfuscated form, such as when the creator is unwilling to make the source code available. The GNU General Public License addresses the issue by requiring the “preferred form for making modifications” to be made public. “Obfuscated’source code’ is not true source code and does not count as source code,” according to the GNU website.

By Anurag Rathod

Anurag Rathod is an Editor of Appclonescript.com, who is passionate for app-based startup solutions and on-demand business ideas. He believes in spreading tech trends. He is an avid reader and loves thinking out of the box to promote new technologies.