Python obfuscation

[Alex Martelli]

Yu-Xi Lim <yuxi at ece.gatech.edu> wrote:
   ...
> My brother is bugged by Civilization IV's copy protection. A couple of
> days ago, after consulting me on what other options he could try, he 
> finally said in frustration, "Maybe I should go buy the game."

It's interesting, in this context, that Civilization IV is mostly
written in Python (interfaced to some C++ via BoostPython).

It took me 12 seconds with a search engine to determine that CivIV's
protection uses "SafeDisc 4.60" and 30 more seconds to research that
issue enough to convince myself that there's enough information out
there that I could develop a crack for the thing (if I was interested in
so doing), quite apart from any consideration of the languages and
libraries used to develop it -- and I'm not even a particularly good
cracker, nor am I wired into any "underground channels", just looking at
information easily and openly available out on the web and in the index
of a major search engine.


> Obfuscation has it's place.

What I think of this thesis is on a par of what I think of this way of
spelling the possessive adjective "its" (and equally unprintable in
polite company).  If I could choose to eradicate only one of these two
from the world, I'd opt for the spelling -- the widespread and totally
unfounded belief in the worth of obfuscation is also damaging, but less
so, since it only steals some time and energy from developers who (if
they share this belief) can't be all that good anyway;-).


Alex