Can I encrypt PHP source or compile it so others can't see it? and how?

Question

I need to encrypt some PHP source that I\'ve released to the public.

Is this possible? Can PHP be \"compiled\" ?

Answer 1

There is some of software available to encrypt PHP sources to protect intellectual property. I do not know any free ones, though. Just google something like "php encrypt source" if you're ok with paying/shareware.

Answer 2

the problem with ioncube and zend --

They BOTH are crackable and there are applications out there for around 500.00 bucks that will allow you to steal the code.

They BOTH need loaders to run - why you ask is this a problem? IF this project is to be sold to the public then you will without fail get a ton of tech support questions about ioncube and I don't need to tell you what it's like supporting someone else's code / software.

I've found in this case neither one is a good choice.

Answer 3

I would say try ionCube also - they're one of the longest established and successful creators of PHP Encoding software. We use them for our Web development projects and while the need to install a "Loader" is a bit of a downside, they now provide the Loader Wizard script which we bundle to users and it gives them step by step instructions.

Also, I've always found their support to be more than helpful :)

Answer 4

since they need to run on a wide range of boxes, some of which don't have access to install things like Zend Optimizer and PHP Express Loader

If you need your code to be able to run on a standard version of PHP without any modules then the answer is NO. There is no method of compilation that is going to work on the wide variety of different PHP installations.

Answer 5

You can buy Zend Guard to encode your PHP sources, and then use the Zend Optimizer to run it. There is an opensource/free PHP compiler project as well (bcompiler, and also take a look to this) but I never used it because at the time I needed it the project was still incomplete.

Answer 6

You can have a look at phc which can generate executables from PHP. It also has some other options to create C-code, XML, optimized PHP, etc. from the original PHP source.