Greetings, I have an ioncube script that I need to have decoded. If you can do this, please drop me a PM to discuss pricing, or feel free to reply to this thread. This needs to be done on a somewhat urgent basis, as their licensing server(s) are down, which causes downtime for myself, and is a very frequent issue.
Just for a bit of clarification here, because I've already had neg rep left because of someone who had NO CLUE what they were talking about or doing: This is fully legal to do! I have paid for the script, am CONTINUING to pay for the script, and WILL continue to pay for the script (it's on a leased basis). The problem is that the script developers have absolutely no concern to monitor their own servers, and have had multiple day outages over the past year. Right now, they are going through one of those outages, and I have some 1k+ forums that are DOWN because of these idiots and their pathetic licensing servers. Next time Mr (or Mrs) anonymous, please, make sure you know the facts before you report a thread and leave neg rep! I run a legitimate business, have been doing so for years. There is absolutely nothing wrong with needing a script decoded, there are times it is absolutely necessary to have done!
"there are times it is absolutely necessary to have done!"... 'absolutely necessary' does not automatically mean legal. Hate to tell you mate: you got what you paid for. Show us the license that says "and yes, we went to the effort to encrypt it, but feel free to unencrypt it!", otherwise it's not necessarily the 'neg reppers' that don't know what they're talking about.
It is NOT illegal to decrypt software whatsoever. There are times (again) that it is absolutely necessary, and no the "You get what you paid for line" doesn't apply here. I've paid over $300 into this script over the years so that DEFINITELY doesn't apply. Stealing software? Of course, that's illegal. DECRYPTING software? Well duuh, that's not illegal at all. Just because it may violate some company's TOS doesn't make it illegal. It just means that specific company has obligations which it has to live up to (including keeping the software USABLE).
Even though you may be legally entitled to decode the script, depending on the license agreement and terms of service - you are a victim of those that came before you. Software fraud is rampant and has been so for decades. Most honest people do not want to get tangled up with this kind of stuff. Because of this, you might be better off visiting a black hat forum. One way to prove that you are within your rights is to get a release from the software owner. My wife runs a photography business out our house. When people get a CD with the pictures, my wife gives them a copyright release form so the pictures can be printed off the CD. Whoever prints the pictures off the CD or DVD (the pictures have my wifes copyright logo on them), that person or company will usually make a copy of the release form. That way if any legal issues come up, they have the release form on hand. If you are able to find someone to do this job for you, offer to fax or mail them a copy of the release form provided by the software devloper.
Yeah, I posted this in a number of places, including here, because of the urgency of the situation (again, 1k+ forums down because some incompetent fool can't monitor their licensing servers). I completely get the piracy thing, and it should be a concern, but NOT to the extent of calling it 'illegal' (which it's not), killing customer business (which happens every time they do this), and trying to label the individual a fraud (which, I'm not).
About a year ago I bought a piece of software that used ion cube. About 5 months later the company went under. When I tried to access the software on my site, the script reported that I did not have permissions to use it. After trying to contact the people that made the script, I finally removed it. For me (and maybe you), dealing with these types of companies is a lesson learned. Deal with people and companies that have been around for a long time. Only spend a certain amount of time on this project and then start looking for something to replace the software you are using. How much is your time worth? In the long run it might be better to migrate away from this software and use something else.
I actually waited a while before purchasing the script (2-3 years). Unfortunately, within a year, the company was sold to an Indian company (if it even is a company) that doesn't even update the script any more. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the script (multi forum hosting script), it's not possible to simply replace the software, without having to migrate 1000s of forums, countless posts and users. It's a messy situation unfortunately. My only recourse, realistically is to have it decrypted so that I have my own protection, instead of relying on this company which is dying quickly.
Ioncube is probably the toughest to decrypt. I bought a script several years ago that was encrypted with codelock, and when the vendor dissapeared, and the script quit working, I had to decode it. I paid for the full licensed version, and didn't mind the encryption until it quit working and the vendor was nowhere to be found for support. I think I saw a place on the internet that would decrypt ioncube files for a fee. Just do a google search for "decode ioncube" or "decrypt ioncube". I don't think they were all that expensive either. Edit: Found these: http://www.phpdecoders.com/ They want 499$ for the software that decrypts all encoders http://www.decode4u.com/index.php Charges by the number of files.