Obfuscation

What Does Obfuscation Mean?

Obfuscation is a programming technique in which code is intentionally obscured to prevent reverse engineering and deliver unclear code to anyone other than the programmer. Obfuscation is also applied to programs to ensure intellectual property (IP) protection through reverse engineering prevention.

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Techopedia Explains Obfuscation

Common reverse engineering techniques rely on function and code clarity when copying program code. Obfuscation creates ambiguous code, which makes reverse engineering difficult.

Slicing is the most common technique used for resolving obfuscated program mysteries, where portions of code are analyzed and simplified to determine program functionality.

An obfuscator is a programming tool that is used to transform readable code into ambiguous code without affecting code functionality.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…