Editing Obfuscation (software) (section)

== Techniques ==
{{Expand section|date=March 2023|explaining more obfuscation techniques in general}}
Types of obfuscations include simple keyword substitution, use or non-use of whitespace to create artistic effects, and self-generating or heavily compressed programs.

According to [[Nick Montfort]], techniques may include:
# naming obfuscation, which includes naming variables in a meaningless or deceptive way;
# data/code/comment confusion, which includes making some actual code look like comments or confusing syntax with data;
# double coding, which can be displaying code in poetry form or interesting shapes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Montfort |first=Nick |title=Obfuscated code |url=http://obfuscationsymposium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Montfort__Obfuscated_Code.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424012657/http://obfuscationsymposium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Montfort__Obfuscated_Code.pdf |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |access-date=2017-11-24}}</ref>

=== Automated tools<span class="anchor" id="Obfuscating software"></span><span class="anchor" id="Examples"></span> ===
A variety of tools exist to perform or assist with code obfuscation. These include experimental research tools developed by academics, hobbyist tools, commercial products written by professionals, and [[open-source software]]. Additionally, deobfuscation tools exist, aiming to reverse the obfuscation process.

While most commercial obfuscation solutions transform either program source code or platform-independent bytecode, {{em|i.e.}} portable code (as used by [[Java (programming language)|Java]] and [[.NET]]), some also work directly on compiled binaries.
* Some [[Python (programming language)|Python]] examples can be found in the [https://docs.python.org/3/faq/programming.html#is-it-possible-to-write-obfuscated-one-liners-in-python official Python programming FAQ] and elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ben Kurtovic |title=Obfuscating "Hello world!" |url=https://benkurtovic.com/2014/06/01/obfuscating-hello-world.html |website=benkurtovic.com |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-date=September 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914093302/http://benkurtovic.com/2014/06/01/obfuscating-hello-world.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date= |title=Obfuscated Python |url=http://wiki.c2.com/?ObfuscatedPython |website=wiki.c2.com |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214190515/http://wiki.c2.com/?ObfuscatedPython |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The First Annual Obfuscated Python Content |url=https://code.activestate.com/lists/python-list/16171/ |website=code.activestate.com |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525195529/https://code.activestate.com/lists/python-list/16171 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The ''movfuscator'' [[C (programming language)|C]] [[compiler]] for the [[X86|x86_32 ISA]] uses only the [[X86 instruction listings|''mov'']] instruction in order to obfuscate.<ref>{{Citation |last=domas |title=xoreaxeaxeax/movfuscator |date=2022-11-03 |url=https://github.com/xoreaxeaxeax/movfuscator |access-date=2022-11-05 |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112181448/https://github.com/xoreaxeaxeax/movfuscator |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Break Me00 The MoVfuscator Turning mov into a soul crushing RE nightmare Christopher Domas | date=September 25, 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7EEoWg6Ekk |access-date=2022-11-05 |language=en |archive-date=October 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021143736/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7EEoWg6Ekk |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2021/05/21/one-instruction-to-rule-them-all-c-compiler-emits-only-mov/ |title=One Instruction To Rule Them All: C Compiler Emits Only MOV |last=Williams |first=Al |publisher=[[Hackaday]] |date=2021-03-21 |accessdate=2023-10-23 }}</ref>

=== Recreational ===
Writing and reading obfuscated source code can be a [[brain teaser]]. A number of programming contests reward the most creatively obfuscated code, such as the [[International Obfuscated C Code Contest]] and the [[Obfuscated Perl Contest]].

Short obfuscated [[Perl]] programs may be used in [[Signature block|signatures]] of Perl programmers.  These are JAPHs ("[[Just another Perl hacker]]").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rochester.pm.org/talks/japh_discussion.txt |title=JAPH – Just Another Perl Hacker |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=pm.org |publisher=Perl Mongers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516074850/http://rochester.pm.org/talks/japh_discussion.txt |archive-date=16 May 2013 |access-date=27 February 2015 }}</ref>

=== Cryptographic ===
{{Further information|Indistinguishability obfuscation|Black-box obfuscation}}
Cryptographers have explored the idea of obfuscating code so that reverse-engineering the code is ''cryptographically'' hard. This is formalized in the many proposals for [[indistinguishability obfuscation]], a cryptographic primitive that, if possible to build securely, would allow one to construct many other kinds of cryptography, including completely novel types that no one knows how to make. (A stronger notion, [[black-box obfuscation]], is known to be impossible in general.)<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Cryptography Breakthrough Could Make Software Unhackable |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/02/cryptography-breakthrough/ |magazine=Wired |language=en-us |issn=1059-1028 |access-date=2021-03-14 |archive-date=April 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414061648/https://www.wired.com/2014/02/cryptography-breakthrough/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jain |first1=Aayush |last2=Lin |first2=Huijia |author2-link=Huijia (Rachel) Lin|last3=Sahai |first3=Amit |date=2020 |title=Indistinguishability Obfuscation from Well-Founded Assumptions |url=https://eprint.iacr.org/2020/1003 |journal=Cryptology ePrint Archive |arxiv=2008.09317 |access-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-date=March 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303200221/https://eprint.iacr.org/2020/1003 |url-status=live }}</ref>