PECompact is a next generation Windows executable compressor designed for software developers and vendors. Commonly termed an ‘executable packer’, such utilities compress executables and modules (i.e. *.EXE, *.DLL, *.OCX, *.SCR). At runtime the compressed modules are rapidly decompressed in memory.
Executable compressors work by compressing selected portions of executables. At runtime, compressed executables are decompressed and reconstructed directly into their virtual image (memory) so that no data is ever written to the disk. The executable can therefore be run exactly as it was before without the user even knowing it was compressed.
Compatibility:
- Complete Windows platform support (all variants, including Vista).
- Supports EXE, DLL, SCR, and all other Win32 PE formats except device drivers (SYS).
- Supports software and hardware DEP (Data Execution Prevention).
- Compressed executables can be matched to debug symbols by debuggers like Visual Studio. PECompact is unique in this proper handling of the debug directory.
- Supports VC++ 7 and 8 (Visual Studio 2003, 2005, 2008) CRT SEH protections; currently only win32 packer that properly addresses the issue. This is to say, if your C++ exception handling code doesn’t work with other packers, it will with PECompact!
- Compressed programs work under WINE (Windows emulator for Linux).
- Compressed programs work with NJStar Communicator and other applications other compressors may fail with.
- Modules compressed with each build are tested in complex load scenarios under all win32 flavors. Our test cases assure proper functioning.
Software Protection:
- Compressed modules are inherently more difficult to reverse engineer.
- PECompact support custom loaders that can be written to provide your own unique protection mechanisms, greatly deterring the creation of automatic unpackers.
- Tampering or modification of modules can be detected at runtime.
- Plug-ins are available that extend and enhance the protection of your software. These include the FastImport, API Redirect, and IsPacked plug-ins.
