SWF Encrypt 4.0 (from Amayeta) - 4 Free (Update - Franck’s Rant)

Update: Please read below a fast feedback from Franck.

Thank you Franck !

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Hi friends !

Before publishing the announced 4Free Special (top-notch photo software), here’s an interesting promotion for Amayeta SWF Encrypt 4.0, shared by Cyrus.

This giveaway is for an older version. But we’re interested in talking about this software category - SWF tools, rather rare on 4Free ( only Eltima SWF & FLV Toolbox and  Sothink SWF Decompiler ).

To bring up a discussion dear to Franck, the price level of this SWF encrypting tools is not the lowest one. The latest verion of SWF Encrypt 6.0 is sold for $145 and - as an alternative - the three versions of secureSWF from Kindisoft costs $ 99 , 199 or 400 !

But our opinion is that the prices are well-deserved in this case … At least theoretically, if the products are really doing their job. “If you are developing Flash related products and applications for a living you don’t really want people to be able to decompile and see your code.”

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Amayeta Limited - headquartered in the United Kingdom with technology & software development partners based in Asia -is a wholly owned subsidiary of Multidmedia Limited , an “industry leading multimedia software company”.  Multidmedia Limited are developers of Zink, the well-known rapid application development for Adobe Flash ( build and deploy for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux ) .

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SWF Encrypt encrypts your Adobe Flash SWF files, protecting them from the most popular Flash Decompiler Tools on the market. Secure your ActionScript today and prevent SWF Reverse Engineering and Decompiling.

SWF Encrypt uses Advanced Obfuscation Techniques along side proven Encryption Technology to provide security and protection for your Adobe Flash SWF Files. Put simply, SWF Encrypt prevents other people from decompiling or reverse engineering your SWF movie and stealing the ActionScript Code

You can read a positive and comprehensive review for SWF Encrypt 4.0 on flashvalley.com . Note the three decompiling tests ( with Sothink SWF decompiler,  Eltima Flash decompiler and ActionScriptViewer )

We cannot help to also notice the comments below that article, makind the readers doubt about how useful  SWF encryption is.

This question is somehow answered by the “Important Note” from Amayeta. ( see the ActionScript Obfuscation screenshot )

Remember, the effect of obfuscation and encryption is that a person intent on stealing your code will have a harder time decompiling and figuring out your code then it will be for them to just make it themselves.

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The latest version - V 6.0 now encrypts flash 10/CS4 and Actionscript 1,2,3.

We’re doing our duty to also highlight this on 4Free: please read the Imitation Alert from Amayeta

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How to grab Amayeta SWF Encrypt 4.0 for free ?

1. Just go on this promotional page and write down your name and email address.

Choose the country, select the platform, agree with terms and hit “Generate Free 4.x license”.

2. On the next page you can see your license key AND access the download page ( through “Click Here To Download SWF Encrypt 4.x ” - see screenshot )

3. On the final “Software Updates & Downloads” page you are able to choose the 4.x version installer.

Latest V 4.0.6 Direct download HERE

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Note

We have not tried this software. Version 4 is theoretically up-to XP only. But when we see that you can install version 4.0.6 - released on 08.02.2008 - this should be Vista compatible !

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We’re very curious about your opinion on Amayeta SWF Encrypt, and SWF encryption in general.

Thanks Cyrus !

Enjoy everyone !

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Update : Franck’s feedback

Actually it does its job as far as I can see… I tried on an old little banner I did, and don’t recognized anything in the code…
According to sothink decompiler, it added three miscellaneous objects on the resource list.
Still according to sothink (which by the way doesn’t retrieve the actionscript code exactly as it is in the source) I saw that on some places were there was only one or two lines of code, there are now many… I guess that’s part of the job…
I must say the swf still works once encrypted. Its size went from 79kb to 80kb. OK.

But….
But… It’s a big but to me, so I insist a little bit…
Obviously retrieving your code will be a real hassle; so even if not really unbreakable, your work is protected… even from yourself!
I’m not talking about a “yourself” being that careless to need retrieving his own work ages later from an encrypted swf (even from an unencrypted swf wouldn’t be a wise idea…)
I’m talking about a “yourself” who just encrypted his swf and, from now on, can’t know what the script behind his very own swf is actually doing…

I’m just paranoid here. Please note that I have absolutely nothing to reproach to my encrypted swf. I can launch it in the standalone adobe flash player and I see no internet traffic as expected…
So, please, don’t misjudge this software because of my paranoia

But, and that’s the real “but” I was talking about previously…
When you register it, it asks for an internet connection; should you deny it this, and there is no possible registration (through an internet form on another computer). OK: that means you can’t use this on a computer with no network access, and also that you must grant him internet access once…

Once…? that’s the “but”?
I think 4freers will be interested in knowing that SWFEncrypt 4.0 calls home at each and every launch.
Turn off internet or block the program within your software within your firewall settings… Ouf, it should still launch… So, was this calling home for update check, which would be quite legitimate (although there is nowhere I could see to enable/disable that… normal I didn’t see because…)

Because… once… but….
It calls home at each launch to check your license… At each launch? It’s quite startling there is more paranoid than me!!!

Technically speaking, the programs pings the following URL:
http://www.amayeta.com/out/?action=validate&serial=SWF4-WIN-FREE-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX&code=-Your-Computer-ID&product=swfencwin4
The server then replies “PASS” or “FAIL” (if one digit in the query string is corrupted).

This means that amayeta can know accurately who launches and when its pieces of software.
That’s very nice to them allowing the program to launch when any connection is available, but such a ping at each start should be explicitly and visibly stated somewhere within setup and/or the program interface.
The Computer identification string is quite precise as it contains in clear letters the brand of my computer, ie, fujitsu in my case!

Hum, maybe my paranoia is a little somewhat justified… Hey?

I did try to check amayeta notoriety by googling “amayeta” and “amayeta swf encrypt” (which was a google suggestion) and found nothing interesting. There was almost no download platforms that I know.
But there was a lot of illegitimate links, cracks and torrents in the two first result pages… That means nothing but why no cnet or softpedia links?

Maybe I’ll keep this one, although I strongly doubt I’ll ever use it for real… Regarding the price, justified…? hum, no….
Maybe v6 added some can’t-miss features, like encryption filter (to not encrypt certain functions or classes according to their names… see an example of why it’s important : http://community.ispringsolutions.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=784), but v4 is terribly uncustomizable… To speak the truth, I can’t see almost no way of configuring how the obfuscation progress should perform… 4 check boxes and two sliders (whose meaning may be quite obscure) and that’s it…
When it comes to 150$ products, it’s obviously targetting professionals who are selling their flash works….

OK… so I guess they will want to obfuscate quite complex projects, not simple banners… This lack of customization may lead to dysfunctional encrypted swf. (see the ispring example above.)
So in the end, it may mean: no encryption in the swf delivered to the customer…

So to me, no no no, it’s not worth THAT money…

@DJ : you don’t need adobe flash to create swf files. You just need it to create and use fla source files.
You can create swf using sothink swf quicker (once offered at GOTD) or swish max… which is my favorite… Swish Max 3 costs around 100$ I think - and this time the 100 bucks are justified (and it’s still much less than adobe solution). Plus, swishzone (the editor) offers great discounts (around 70-80% if my memory is correct) to students…
But DJ, you’re right : I know no swf authoring tool that is free…

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