Decompiling a vb.net application

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Solution 1

Yes. You can decompile your code very easily. .Net Reflector is an excellent tool to do exactly as you describe.

Imagine if you encrypted the code. The runtime on the users computer would still need to decrpyt it to understand it.

Best you could do would be to obfuscate your code.

Solution 2

.net reflector is not free anymore, I recommend telerik JustDecompile, free and very easy to use, a great tool http://www.telerik.com/products/decompiler.aspx . It's able to decompile everything the way you described

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user959631
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user959631

Updated on June 07, 2022

Comments

  • user959631
    user959631 almost 2 years

    I don't know if this is the correct place to post this question, so sorry if it is in the incorrect place.

    Question:

    How easy is it for a third-party person to decompile my vb.net application? I mean is it even possible?

    For example, I have an .exe, would someone just put that .exe into a decompiler and... BAAM!!, they can see all the code? Speaking of code, when compiling, does the code get encrypted? If not, is there a way to encrypt the code?

    I have used SWF decompiler to decompile a .SWF to .FLA, and to decompile an SWF is really really easy with this tool. Would it be this easy to decompile an .exe?

    Thanks.

  • user959631
    user959631 over 11 years
    Ohh, so is there any way of encrypting the code? Thanks again.
  • Steven Doggart
    Steven Doggart over 11 years
    There are third-party tools which will encrypt your assemblies.
  • user959631
    user959631 over 11 years
    Ahh, yeah, that's true, so then there is no way of preventing a third party person to have a look at your code, I was just testing out .Net Reflector and I just looked and I saw all the code for everything -.- That sucks!
  • user959631
    user959631 over 11 years
    Yeah, but I don't want to decompile my application, I want to find a way to prevent people from decompiling my application =]
  • Victor Zakharov
    Victor Zakharov over 11 years
    Another free alternative to Reflector is dotPeek by JetBrains. @user959631: you cannot prevent anybody from decompiling your application if it is .NET. Obfuscating is process where you make it difficult to understand your code for somebody with average programming skills. A true professional will be able to steal your code anyways.
  • user959631
    user959631 over 11 years
    Hmm, I think Microsoft should work on a way to prevent decompiling or you need a security code to decompile it, or something more secure. Lol, anyways, I don't know if that's possible, or they probably would have already done it. Anyways, thanks =]
  • Michael Eakins
    Michael Eakins over 11 years
    You can still get .NEt reflector for free you just need to know where to look for it. You can get it for free from Red Gate's website still.
  • MarkJ
    MarkJ over 11 years
    @Neolisk And dotPeek advertise on StackOverflow