Editing Openai/695fcf84-7c7c-800f-bf82-af37963702d5 (section)

==== Practical hardening that fits a plugin context ====

===== 1) Reduce what the binary gives away (without “obfuscation code”) =====

These are boring, but they’re often the highest ROI.

Symbols / visibility
* Build with hidden visibility by default and explicitly export only plugin entry points. - GCC/Clang: -fvisibility=hidden -fvisibility-inlines-hidden - MSVC: use __declspec(dllexport) only where needed (or a .def file).
* Strip symbols for release: - macOS: strip -x (keep minimal), dsymutil to keep symbols separate for your crash reports - Linux: strip --strip-unneeded - Windows: ship without PDBs; keep them privately

Link-time / whole-program
* Enable LTO/IPO (-flto or MSVC /GL + /LTCG). This tends to inline and restructure code enough to defeat simplistic pattern matching, without writing obfuscation.

String & metadata hygiene
* Don’t leave licensing error strings, URLs, feature flags, or obvious “LICENSE_FAIL” messages in plaintext. - Replace with numeric codes + localized resources fetched at runtime (from your own resources, not the network).
* Don’t embed private keys or fixed secrets (assume attackers can read your binary).

===== 2) Make tampering detectable rather than trying to “confuse” analysis =====

You’ll get more reliable behavior and fewer support nightmares than with aggressive junk/control-flow tricks.
* Add integrity checks around data you control (license blob, config, embedded public key, feature table).
* Prefer checks that are: - Fast (won’t glitch the audio thread) - Deterministic (no timing-based heuristics) - Fail-safe (don’t crash hosts; degrade gracefully)

Plugin-specific rule: do not run expensive verification on the real-time audio callback. Cache the result.

===== 3) Keep licensing decisions away from the audio thread =====

Common safe structure:
* UI / background thread: - parse and verify license - compute a small “capabilities” struct (bitmask / enum state) - store it atomically
* Audio thread: - read atomically and branch on a tiny state

This doesn’t stop patching, but it avoids glitchy behavior and reduces your attack surface (you don’t want complex crypto in the callback).

===== 4) Use signed licenses (serverless) so “secrets” aren’t in your plugin =====

Even if you don’t want “license servers,” you can still use public-key signatures offline:
* You ship only a public key
* You sign licenses with the private key offline
* Plugin verifies signature locally

That way, an attacker can patch the decision, but cannot mint unlimited valid licenses without patching (raising effort, increasing fragility of cracks).

If you want, I can provide a clean C++ example of signature-based license verification (Ed25519 / ECDSA) that’s safe for VST/AU/AAX and avoids audio-thread pitfalls.

===== 5) Harden your build against common binary rewriting =====

These are compiler/linker protections (not obfuscation):
* Control-Flow Integrity / CET / CFG - Windows: Control Flow Guard (CFG) where applicable - Clang: -fsanitize=cfi (platform/toolchain dependent)
* Stack protections: -fstack-protector-strong, MSVC /GS
* RELRO / PIE on ELF platforms: -Wl,-z,relro -Wl,-z,now -fPIE -pie (where relevant)
* Hardened runtime / code signing (macOS AU/VST3): proper signing + notarization reduces casual tamper/repack.

===== 6) Design your “feature gates” to be resilient and testable =====

Instead of a single if (licensed) gate, use:
* small, composable “capabilities” checks
* consistent behavior under unlicensed state (demo limitations)
* minimal branching inside DSP hot paths

This reduces the chance that a single patched compare fully unlocks everything cleanly.