Postbuild 2008 for Windows developers

SEATTLE, USA: Xenocode, a next-generation virtualization company has announced the availability of Postbuild 2008 for .NET, a major update to obfuscation and deployment solution for Windows developers.

Postbuild uses a range of powerful obfuscation techniques to protect intellectual property against decompilation and integrates directly with the advanced Xenocode application virtualization engine.

The 2008 edition of Postbuild includes support for the latest .NET platforms and technologies, including Visual Studio 2008, .NET 3.0/3.5, WPF, and LINQ.

Postbuild 2008 for .NET incorporates the latest Xenocode application virtualization technology, allowing developers and ISVs to deploy applications in pre-configured virtual executables that run instantly on any Windows desktop via intranets, the Internet, USB keys, or existing desktop management infrastructure.

"Xenocode Postbuild allows developers to enjoy the benefits of developing on the .NET platform without worrying about Framework installs or reverse engineering," said Kenji Obata, CEO of Xenocode.

He added: "Deploying with Postbuild simplifies application deployment and reduces test and support costs by packaging all application dependencies, including components, DLLs, runtimes, and services, into a single executable that runs instantly on the end-user device. Postbuild's interface, auto-configuration, and direct integration with Visual Studio 2008 allow software developers to quickly and easily incorporate Postbuild into their build processes."

Postbuild's deployment and virtualization capabilities include:

* Native code generation: Postbuild allows developers to convert .NET binaries into native executables that run with or without an installed .NET Framework, or with a mismatched version of the Framework. Postbuild automatically identifies and statically binds a minimal set of Framework dependencies, reducing overall deployment size and eliminating dynamic link costs.

* Assembly linking: Postbuild's single-assembly output mode allows multi-assembly projects to be combined into a single output assembly, allowing for "copy" deployment of multi-assembly .NET applications. Linking is fully integrated into the obfuscation, optimization, and virtualization pipeline - encryption settings are automatically propagated across linked assemblies and redundant inter-assembly data are merged, reducing output assembly sizes.

* Filesystem, registry, and service virtualization: Postbuild allows filesystem data, registry keys, and Windows services to be directly embedded within the executable. Virtual machine resources are visible to the executing application without any modifications to the host device. For example, application data files and COM components can be made available to the application without requiring any separate setup or registration. Virtualization also allows applications to emulate behavior of privileged applications under non-privileged user accounts.

Postbuild uses a range of powerful obfuscation techniques to inhibit decompilation, reverse engineering, and unauthorized distribution:

* Symbol renaming: Postbuild renames symbolic metadata, such as class, variable, and method names, into meaningless characters, destroying the most valuable resource available to decompilers or hackers studying a compiled executable.

* Control flow obfuscation: Postbuild manipulates the program control flow within the IL bytecode, editing branch instructions generated by compilers, inserting decoy branches, and re-ordering instruction sequences. This conceals the original structure of the control flow from decompilers.

* Disassembly suppression: Postbuild applies counter-analysis techniques to executables to prevent popular decompilers from processing the binaries.

* Code watermarking: Watermarking allows per-instance customization information, such as user names and registration codes, to be embedded into the visible text and internal binary structures within the assembly. Watermarking can assist in tracking distribution of product on a per-executable basis and deterring software licensing violations.

Postbuild's integrated code optimization capabilities - including metadata reduction, transparent compression, dead code pruning, and dead and duplicate literal elimination - maximize application performance and minimize disk footprint.