Ion Cube?

[mromero]

Can Futurequest's Dynamic Zen Force Attack Team tell us is the Ion Cube module is installed and operational on all servers?

We are getting an IonCube Loaders required error in tying to install a script.

[sheila]

IonCube is not yet supported on the Community Servers, as so far we have not been able to resolve all of the issues to allow it to run seamlessly in that shared environment. It can be installed by request on a Managed Dedicated Server.

As discussed in the following forum thread though:
http://www.aota.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22166
Zend Optimizer is available on the Community Servers and it may be possible that the script you are interested in is also available for Zend Optimizer or that the developer could choose to make it available for Zend Optimizer. However, if the only version available is dependent on IonCube, then the script would not be able to run on the Community Servers at the present time.

[mromero]

Thanks Sheilla - as always Fquest's strength lies in its expert and near instantaneous support. Wish the techy guys were at your level.

That said, The thread you refer to is from 2006. Hell - I've had two kids since then - well my GF.

Sheez I thought Fquest was cutting edge and we are in 2009 :blah:

Zend is old hat and our script is Ion Cube Only. We will contact the company to see if they have a workaround which we suspect will be a lamer kind of shimmy if available.

Memo to Terra: Come out of your Rip Wan Winkle slumber mon!

[phppete]

Memo to Terra: Come out of your Rip Wan Winkle slumber mon!

If you realised how your recent posts are perceived you might just think twice before hitting the submit button.

[Jeff]

What are the advantages you seek of Ion Cube over Zend?

[mromero]

I dunno except that the script requires Ion Cube to run.

Googling Ion Cube makes me think advanced PHP developers prefer it as it is difficult for people to crack their code.

[Matt]

I doubt any developer will rely on Zend's "encoder" ever again. Ioncube seems to be much more secure, although I suspect everyone will realize at some point it's not possible to get the security of compiled code without compiling the code. Mromero, I think you'd be better off on a VPS or dedicated server.

-Matt

[Jeff]

Interesting -- I just did a little googling -- I did not realize zend had been unlocked. I still try to run all native unencrypted scripts even if it means forking over a few more dollars because it's my believe they require less server resources to run so I hadn't been following zend vs. ion cube... Quite interesting reading.

[mromero]

Interesting -- I just did a little googling -- I did not realize zend had been unlocked. I still try to run all native unencrypted scripts even if it means forking over a few more dollars because it's my believe they require less server resources to run so I hadn't been following zend vs. ion cube... Quite interesting reading.
My limited research has come up with many messages of the "my website has been hacked" type and advice to switch to an IonCube compatible web host.

Other messages are from major PHP developers who have seen subscriptions and purchases of their products rise dramatically after they have switched to IonCube.

[Jeff]

My limited research has come up with many messages of the "my website has been hacked" type and advice to switch to an IonCube compatible web host.If closed source is a key to security, shouldn't you be on a windows vs. a linux hosting platform?
Other messages are from major PHP developers who have seen subscriptions and purchases of their products rise dramatically after they have switched to IonCube.
Vs. Zend or people actually preferring the closed source to native scripts? (is there some ease of use advantage too, or does it allow them a different pricing model?)

[Matt]

If closed source is a key to securityThe motivation to use Zend/ionCube is generally profit-driven, not security-driven. Developers don't want to hand out the crown jewels of their labor. It's why developers would sell you the compiled library with header files in the days of traditional programming (and probably still today). There's nothing wrong with that and it's a model that has proven profitable.

If Zend truly "encrypted" the source as they once claimed, a Zend-encoded script could actually be more secure than a plaintext script. Very likely the reason so many Zend encoded scripts are getting hacked versus ionCube encoded scripts is that a Zend decoder is available in the wild. So, the assumption that no one would ever see sloppy code has been rendered obsolete. Now, hackers can see all the problems in the source code for Zend encoded scripts, while ionCube-encoded scripts remain somewhat protected (although I am now seeing claims that ionCube-encoded scripts can be decoded/disassembled as well). This isn't to say that ionCube produces more secure scripts... the same vulnerabilities discovered by perusing source of Zend-decoded script could be used to compromise the same ionCube-encoded script. For the time being, ionCube is still popular and developers (myself included) are unlikely to ever trust Zend's claims again regarding their encoder.

Vs. Zend or people actually preferring the closed source to native scripts? Most likely versus Zend and it probably has to do with host support. By "native" I assume you mean the plaintext that is compiled on the fly by the PHP interpreter. I am sure customers would prefer having the full source. What a compiled script allows a developer to do is to offer demos, without having to worry about not getting paid by customers who actually end up using the script on an ongoing basis. Developers can let clients run the script on their own machine without having to worry that a competitor will steal the source. This is better for customers. Customers willing to fork over big bucks can likely still obtain source code (just like you can get the source code for Windows if you have the clout).

I think the Zend-encoder debacle should have been a wake-up call, yet developers moved to a different encoder, rather than addressing the underlying problem (the PHP interpreter has to be able to read the code). I suspect a better solution is something like RoadSend PHP, which is open source and does actually compile the PHP source into binaries.

-Matt

[johnfl68]

Is is safe to assume that ioncube is still not available on the community servers?

I am looking at phpMyDirectory for a possible project, and it requires ioncube.

John

[sheila]

That is correct. IonCube is still not available. With every PHP update to the servers, we look at the option of including IonCube. It is available on the MQS Servers by request only.

[johnfl68]

Thank you for the update Sheila!

John

[mromero]

That is correct. IonCube is still not available. With every PHP update to the servers, we look at the option of including IonCube. It is available on the MQS Servers by request only.
Thanks for the update Sheila. Moved the site requiring Ion Cube support to another unnamed host a couple months aback.......