Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering

Chapter 4. Reversing Tools

Reversing is impossible without the right tools. There are hundreds of different software tools available out there that can be used for reversing, some freeware and others costing thousands of dollars. Understanding the differences between these tools and choosing the right ones is critical.

There are no all-in-one reversing tools available (at least not at the time of writing). This means that you need to create your own little toolkit that will include every type of tool that you might possibly need. This chapter describes the different types of tools that are available and makes recommendations for the best products in each category. Some of these products are provided free-of-charge by their developers, while others are quite expensive.

We will be looking at a variety of different types of tools, starting with basic reversing tools such as disassemblers and low-level debuggers, and proceeding to decompilers and a variety of system-monitoring tools. Finally, we will discuss some executable patching and dumping tools that can often be helpful in the reversing process

It is up to you to decide whether your reversing projects justify spending several hundreds of U.S. dollars on software. Generally, I'd say that it's possible to start reversing without spending a dime on software, but some of these commercial products will certainly make your life easier.

Different Reversing Approaches

There are many different approaches for reversing and choosing the right ...