protecting php file with ionCube encoder
One of the issues PHP developers face is that PHP is an interpreted language, meaning PHP source code is readable by anybody who downloads your applications. In this article I will show you how to protect your intellectual property by encoding your PHP source code. The tool we are going to use to protect our code is ionCube PHP Encoder . Before releasing your PHP software, you use the encoder to convert your plain-text PHP files into special encrypted files. While ionCube PHP Encoder is a commercial product, there is a time-limited trial available for download . Because your PHP is encoded into a special byte-code (as opposed to just being obfuscated), a loader must be installed on your web server. A loader is a PHP module that must be installed. Fortunately, ionCube PHP Encoder is commonly used and therefore many web hosts will already have a loader installed. On the ionCube website there is a loaders page which contains the latest versions of the loader for all supported plat