Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

May 10, 2017 8252 Views Joseph Sewell

This week, all eyes of the software community will be fixed on Microsoft's Build conference. Microsoft and its partners are set to announce new technologies and lay out their vision for the future of software development. Recent years have seen the narrative take a decidedly cross-platform approach. Visual Studio Code gives developers tools to create what they want no matter their OS of choice. .NET Core extends the reach of the popular .NET Framework to Mac and Linux. Finally, Xamarin, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016, lets app developers write their app once, then publish it for Android, iOS, and Windows devices.

As a Visual Studio 2017 Premier Launch Partner, PreEmptive Solutions is pleased to announce, as part of Microsoft Build 2017, a new way to integrate Dotfuscator's protection into Xamarin apps. This new Dotfuscator-Xamarin integration has a number of advantages:

Easy setup - Developers just download an MSBuild targets file and import it into their projects with a few simple property changes. No more need to define custom targets or copy files as a post-build step!
Deep pipeline integration - The new integration automatically puts Dotfuscator into the Xamarin build pipeline, protecting apps as they're built in Visual Studio or MSBuild. Developers don't have to worry about forgetting the protection step, since it's now included as part of the build.
Incremental builds - Don't waste time reapplying Dotfuscator's protection when your project hasn't changed. The integration is smart enough to know when a build is necessary, and when it can be skipped.
Automatic configuration - Get up and running quickly: the integration creates a Dotfuscator config file automatically, with sensible defaults for the project. Instructions are provided for further configuration, including a case study of how to discover which additional identifiers (if any) need to be excluded from renaming obfuscation.
Detailed instructions - We've detailed how to use the integration with a well-known Xamarin.Forms sample. Developers can see the practical application of these instructions through an included git repo, which walks through the process step-by-step.
All major project types supported - The integration supports projects targeting Android, iOS, and Universal Windows (UWP).
Proven protection strategy - The app is protected by Dotfuscator, the industry standard .NET obfuscation and protection tool.
Free to start - The integration works not only with the commercial Dotfuscator Professional Edition, but also with Dotfuscator Community Edition (CE), which is included with Visual Studio. Developers can use the integration to quickly discover the capabilities of Dotfuscator's protection.

To get started, see Integrating Dotfuscator's Protection into Your Xamarin Apps in Visual Studio. There you can read the step-by-step instructions, as well as download the necessary MSBuild targets file.

We plan to keep introducing features like this, to make the protection process easier and more accurate, for Xamarin and all other kinds of apps. Stay up-to-date with the latest Dotfuscator features by visiting the Dotfuscator Downloads page. For announcements and other information, keep an eye on our blog and follow our Twitter account, @PreEmptive.

Latest Blog Posts

Protecting Utilities and Infrastructure with PreEmptive's .NET Solution, Dotfuscator

Protecting Industrial Internet Applications

Bayshore Network Case Study

Today’s utilities, factories and other infrastructure are exposed to high risk. The software that controls many of these entities is not protected. In the last 20 years, the way industrial environments operate has completely changed. Many industrial systems were designed with permissive set-ups that assume only the “right people” in the “right place” would ever give instructions. Past systems were not built with exposure to the internet in mind, and as a result they relied on this “air gap” to limit access to only authorized personnel within the organization. The rate of innovation within technology and wireless systems has outpaced the rate of development in security features. Control centers have gotten better - high tech displays and more capability, but this has led to an exposure to untrusted environments… and in many cases this threat has not been addressed.

Application security can often be viewed by development teams as a time-consuming barrier to finishing a project. In a world where "time equals money", the rush to ship functional applications can overshadow the need to ensure those applications are secure. It is true --- features are what sell software and fixing bugs retains customers and loyalty. Both actions can be directly linked to revenue and profitability. So, what effect does an investment in application security have on a company's bottom line?

The coronavirus crisis is changing human behavior. From the persistent need for social distancing to the potentially permanent adoption of work-from-home mandates, the “new normal” is uncharted territory.

But the growing priority of public health also has knock-on effects in other fields, such as credit and debit payments. While the United Stated has historically lagged behind other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia when it comes to the adoption of contactless card transactions, the demand for physical distance now trumps the functional familiarity of swipe-and-signature or chip-and-PIN interactions.

Facilitating “no contact normalcy”, the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) includes guidance for both commercial deployments and software applications to help solve potential payment security gaps. Here’s what you need to know.

Localization is often a key ingredient when building Xamarin Forms applications with a global audience. There are different ways to approach app localization, but most of these leverage the built-in tools provided by the .NET Framework. These include RESX files to configure localized strings and an auto-generated resource class which provides strongly-typed access to the string translation at runtime. This mechanism has been available since .NET 1.1, and is used for localization of WinForm, WPF, ASP.NET, and Xamarin applications.

In the months since we released the Dotfuscator 6 beta, we’ve been hard at work finishing the feature set, fixing issues, and putting on the final touches in preparation for the full release. Now, we are happy to announce the full availability of Dotfuscator 6!

Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

Protecting Utilities and Infrastructure with PreEmptive's .NET Solution, Dotfuscator

Mobile Application Protection Increases Profits

No Contact Normal: Solving the Payment Security Gap

Protecting Localized Xamarin Forms Applications

Dotfuscator 6: The Next Era of Dotfuscator

Latest Blog Posts

Protecting Utilities and Infrastructure with PreEmptive's .NET Solution, Dotfuscator

Mobile Application Protection Increases Profits

No Contact Normal: Solving the Payment Security Gap

Protecting JavaScript Code: The Making of JSDefender

Protecting Localized Xamarin Forms Applications

Twitter