Reverse engineering involves taking something apart physically or virtually to understand how it works and create something similar. It has been used for centuries for both improving existing creations and technology theft. It is also done in the virtual world and computers use it for decompilation and security breaches. Reverse engineering is also used for creating and preventing computer viruses.
Some terms are self-explanatory. This is the case with reverse engineering, which literally takes something apart and puts it back together. This can be done physically or virtually and the intent is to understand how something works to create something similar.
Reverse engineering has been done for many centuries, almost as long as people have been making things. Sometimes, reverse engineering is done for the purpose of improving an existing creation, while other cases of reverse engineering involve technology theft. The latter has especially been the case with weapons throughout the history of warfare.
It’s not just weapons that are being reverse engineered. Everyday things like vehicles, DVDs, and appliances are under scrutiny in neighborhoods around the world. Some companies have a habit of importing goods from other countries, taking them apart piece by piece and then using reverse engineering to create their own.
Reverse engineering is also done in the virtual world. Artists and computer scientists reverse engineer by making 3D models of real-world devices and then virtually deconstructing them to see how they work. Sometimes they put them back together, exactly or a little differently. The advent of heavy graphics servers and suites has made this both possible and desirable.
Computers also reverse engineer on a more fundamental level. One form of this type of reverse engineering is decompilation. Reverse engineering is a process in which a computer converts information from a low-level format (computer code) to a high-level format (ASCII text and numbers), to allow people to read things like instructions and web articles. Events Common decompilation involves the transfer of files from one user to another, such as an exchange of data or images in an email, or for the reconstruction of damaged or never completed code. Reverse engineering can also come in the form of security breaches, where a hacker will use reverse engineering to reconstruct data that someone else desperately wanted to hide via encryption.
Another dual use of reverse engineering involves creating and preventing computer viruses. Virus creators delve into the bowels of computer code to find places to bury their creations. By reconstructing the machine code as source code, the creator of the virus can find what he is looking for. The flip side of these actions are people trying to prevent or destroy computer viruses. They too use reverse engineering to deconstruct the virus itself and destroy or pre-empt the malicious executables.
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