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I'm working on a small project web about billing and inventory. The project is designed to be on the web, but some micro and small businesses do not have internet access (yes, that exists in Nicaragua). So the option I offer is hosting it locally, but I am afraid to leave the source code available. How can I protect this source code from the user or someone clever enough to find it and resell it?

laviku
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  • create an encryption function that overwrites the file and requires your key to undo it? – iam-decoder Aug 14 '14 at 16:21
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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service – Wayne Whitty Aug 14 '14 at 16:22
  • As soon as the source code leaves your hands and ends up on someone else's machine you've lost control. Unless you want to develop your own DRM system, which is probably a lost cause, you may have to evaluate the risk of your software being stolen versus any potential sales. Maybe it's best to not sell to offline people. – tadman Aug 14 '14 at 16:30
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    Turn this application into an appliance. Put it on a locked down piece of hardware, such as a server with an encrypted file system. Don't just give them the code. – Marcus Adams Aug 14 '14 at 16:43
  • @tadman yeah, you're absolutely right, but I don't want to leave it so easy for them. – laviku Aug 15 '14 at 16:10
  • Did you ever find a solution @laviku? – Jeppe Christensen Oct 12 '20 at 07:02
  • @JeppeChristensen I didn't :( – laviku Oct 13 '20 at 01:58

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One option would be to obfuscate the source code with Zend Guard.

Charlotte Dunois
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  • wow, it is very expensive, is worth 3 times more than the site – laviku Aug 14 '14 at 16:23
  • I only know Zend Guard. But maybe there are some cheap (or open source) PHP Obfuscator. – Charlotte Dunois Aug 14 '14 at 16:25
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    These are not only extremely annoying, but pretty much useless since they can always be cracked by a determined party. This also doesn't prevent someone from copying it. – tadman Aug 14 '14 at 16:27