Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

May 10, 2017 6059 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.

R8: A Step in Google's Android Build Performance Roadmap

Google recently introduced R8, a new tool designed to replace ProGuard as the default shrinker in the Android build process. R8 is meant to produce as-good-or-better outputs than ProGuard, and to do so faster than ProGuard does, thereby reducing overall build times. It will be enabled by default in the next release of Android Gradle Plugin (v3.4).

This change removes a long-standing component (ProGuard) and replaces it with entirely-new code that does essentially the same thing. Why would Google do such an expensive, risky thing?

The booths are gone, the lights are off and the conference halls are empty. It’s a wrap for RSAC 2019, but IT pros aren’t going home empty-handed: Here’s a roundup of this year’s key topics, critical outcomes and biggest surprises.

No “I” in Team

This year’s RSA Conference opted for a simple, one-word theme: Better.

While it’s certainly aspirational, what does it mean in practice? For RSA, it’s a recognition that security doesn’t happen in a vacuum, that infosec pros must work together to find better solutions, make better connections and make the world a better place. Given the often-fragmented nature of corporate IT security — RSA’s focus on empowering the “collective we” in cybersecurity makes sense: Evolving, adaptable threats won’t be defeated by companies operating in isolation.

There’s an app for that.

Apple’s (now trademarked) slogan is perhaps more telling than the company intended: Organizations rise and fall on the strength of applications — well-integrated, full-featured apps can help drive market success, while offerings more limited in scope and functionality may prove disastrous.

The sheer volume of both external and internal applications has also created a new challenge for companies: Risk management. Cybercriminals are both creating custom code and leveraging tools available on the Dark Web to compromise applications, steal corporate data and wreak network havoc.

GDPR fines were inevitable. Despite years of lead-up and months of warning before the legislation came into effect last May, many companies simply weren’t prepared for the complex (and evolving) nature of EU privacy expectations.

Now search giant Google is in the compliance law’s cross hairs: As noted by Bloomberg, Google has been assessed a $57 million fine because it “fails to adequately explain how it collects data to offer personalized advertising.” For some experts, the fine is a warning of things to come — companies must improve their data handling or face the consequences. For others, the penalties are a step too far with a purpose too vague.

The hard truth? No matter where opinions fall, GDPR fines are now out in full force — and your application could be next.

Hackers are winning. As noted by Information Age, data breach reports are up 75 percent over the last two years — while part of this increase is tied to emerging legislation and disclosure requirements, a quick look at tech headlines makes it clear that attackers are coming out ahead in the fight to keep corporate networks, applications and data secure.

But it’s not all bad news. Armed with knowledge of the current breach landscape — along with actionable insight to protect critical assets — organizations can start to even the score and put hackers on the defensive. Here’s what you need to know.

Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

R8: A Step in Google's Android Build Performance Roadmap

RSAC 2019 Roundup: NIST Gets Structural as the NSA Goes Open Source

No “I” in Team

Hardened Apps = Harder Target = Reduced Corporate Risk

GDPR Goes After Google — And Your App Could be Next

Data Breaches in 2019: Why the Hackers are Winning (And What You Can do About It)

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R8: A Step in Google's Android Build Performance Roadmap

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Hardened Apps = Harder Target = Reduced Corporate Risk

GDPR Goes After Google — And Your App Could be Next

Data Breaches in 2019: Why the Hackers are Winning (And What You Can do About It)

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Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

No “I” in Team

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