Project Overview
I employ a pragmatic, defense-in-depth approach to protect code shipped to clients or public distribution: Why: The goal is to raise the cost and time required for reverse-engineering, protect trade secrets (algorithms, business logic, licensing checks), and deter tampering or casual redistribution. How: I use a combination of techniques appropriate to the stack: minification and symbol mangling for JavaScript/CSS, advanced obfuscators (control-flow flattening, string encryption, identifier renaming) for compiled languages or JS, Ahead-Of-Time (AOT) compilation or native packaging for performance-sensitive modules, and server-side relocation of particularly sensitive logic. Build pipelines automate these transforms so source remains clean in VCS. Complementary measures: obfuscation is paired with licensing, runtime integrity checks, secure configuration management (secrets never committed), HTTPS, and code signing to provide a layered defense. Caveats: Obfuscation raises the bar — it does not make software unbreakable. Determined adversaries can still analyze binaries; therefore obfuscation is one mitigation in a broader security posture that includes legal protections and operational controls. This pragmatic combination balances protection, performance, and maintainability so the delivered product remains robust and supportable.