In this example, the developers package the libraries into an APK file for distribution on Android devices. When the developers of this game are ready to deploy it to a device, or upload it to an app store, they compile the source code into libraries and then package those libraries into an app bundle. Below is a simple example to demonstrate how obfuscation guards apps against reverse engineering.Ĭonsider the following C# method in the source code for a Xamarin.Android game: Typically, this is done by an automated obfuscation tool, or obfuscator. Obfuscation is a process where an app’s compiled code is transformed into code that is functionally-identical but harder to reverse engineer. Today I’ll explain how obfuscation can protect a Xamarin.Android app from reverse engineering, and how you can apply that same protection to your own Xamarin apps with a few simple steps. The tool for the job is Dotfuscator, the Community Edition of which is available in Visual Studio. Now, Xamarin developers have access to that same kind of protection across all major mobile device families, from Android and iOS to Universal Windows (UWP). For instance, if you’re an Android developer, you may have already used ProGuard to shrink and obfuscate Java code. On many platforms and languages, code obfuscation tools are a familiar way to guard against reverse engineering. In particular, developers are often concerned with the threat of reverse engineering.

Once your software is freely available to the world, you lose a certain degree of control over how it will be used. Let’s be honest, releasing a library, desktop app, or mobile app can be a bit scary. This is a special guest post from Joe Sewell, a developer on the Dotfuscator team at PreEmptive Solutions.

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