[PHP] Encrypting PHP with ZendGuard

Tue, 29 Dec 2015 07:28:22 +0000

Downloading ZendGuard

Official download link: http://www.zend.com/en/products/guard/downloads#Windows

Registration is required before downloading. I downloaded Zend Guard 6.0. Simply double-click to run the installer.

The latest version is 7.0. If you want to download an earlier version, click “>Download here” and a list of older versions will appear below the current page.

Downloading PHP

Official download links: http://php.net/downloads.php | http://php.net/releases/

My current version: http://windows.php.net/download/#php-5.4

PHP typically releases two types of builds for each version: Thread Safe and Non Thread Safe.

Important note: ZendGuard only supports Non Thread Safe builds. So please download the Non Thread Safe version of PHP.

Configuring PHP – ZendLoader.dll

Download ZendLoader.dll

Official download link: http://www.zend.com/en/products/loader/downloads#Windows

Registration is required before downloading. Similar to ZendGuard, make sure to select the ZendLoader version that matches your PHP version.

Copy ZendLoader.dll to the PHP [PHP root directory]\ext\ folder.

Rename php.ini-development or php.ini-production to php.ini,
and add the following content to php.ini:

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zend_extension="./ext/ZendLoader.dll"

; Enables loading encoded scripts. The default value is On
zend_loader.enable=1

; Disable license checks (for performance reasons)
zend_loader.disable_licensing=0

; The Obfuscation level supported by Zend Guard Loader. The levels are detailed in the official Zend Guard Documentation. 0 - no obfuscation is enabled
zend_loader.obfuscation_level_support=3

; Path to where licensed Zend products should look for the product license. For more information on how to create a license file, see the Zend Guard User Guide
zend_loader.license_path=

Creating PHP Code

Create an input folder, and inside it create test.php.

Code:

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<?php
date_default_timezone_set("Asia/shanghai");
echo "Thanks ZendGuard!\n";
echo "Now datetime is ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s")."\n";
?>

The above code outputs:

Thanks ZendGuard

Now datetime is [current time].

Installing ZendGuard and Creating a Project

ZendGuard has a straightforward installer. After installation, launch it and you’ll see:

Create a new Zend Guard Project.
Set the output directory to the output folder.
Add the input folder as the input directory.
Select the PHP version.
Click
A new test.php is generated in the output folder. Opening it reveals garbled content (the encrypted code).

Running Source Code and Encrypted Code

Running the source code:

Running the encrypted code:

With this, you can now use ZendGuard to encrypt PHP code.