Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83: A Comprehensive Review and Tutorial
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83: A Powerful Tool for Visual Basic Programmers
If you are a Visual Basic programmer, you may have encountered situations where you need to decompile or analyze a program that was created in Visual Basic, but you don't have access to the original source code. Maybe you lost the source code due to a hard drive crash, or maybe you inherited a legacy application from someone else who didn't document it well. Or maybe you just want to learn how a certain program works, or how to improve it.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
In any case, you need a tool that can help you recover the source code from the compiled executable file, or at least give you some insight into the logic and structure of the program. That's where Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 comes in handy.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is a software tool that can decompile and analyze programs created in Visual Basic, revealing their source code and algorithms. It can decompile forms, p-code, and native code, as well as disassemble and emulate native code procedures. It can also recover UI meta information and resources, such as forms, usercontrols, designers, pictures, etc. It can even unpack packed applications that use UPX, NSPack, or other EXE packers.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is not only a decompiler, but also a design editor and a debugger. It allows you to edit the UI design of Visual Basic applications in a simple and easy way, without needing to recompile them. It also allows you to debug Visual Basic applications by setting breakpoints, stepping through code, inspecting variables, modifying values, etc.
In this article, we will show you how to use Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 to decompile and analyze Visual Basic programs. We will also discuss the features and benefits of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, as well as its pros and cons. Finally, we will compare Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 with some alternatives that you may want to consider.
How to Use Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
Downloading and Installing Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
To use Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, you need to download and install it on your Windows system. You can download it from the official website https://www.vb-decompiler.org/. The download file is about 6 MB in size.
After downloading the file, run it to start the installation process. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. You can choose the installation folder, the start menu folder, and the desktop icon options. You can also choose to associate Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 with .exe, .dll, and .ocx files, so that you can open them directly with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83.
After the installation is finished, you can launch Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 from the start menu or the desktop icon. You will see the main window of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, which looks like this:
The main window consists of several panels: the project explorer, the code viewer, the hex viewer, the string reference list, the procedure list, and the status bar. You can resize, move, or hide these panels according to your preference.
Decompiling Visual Basic Programs with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
To decompile a Visual Basic program with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, you need to open the executable file (.exe, .dll, or .ocx) that contains the program. You can do this by clicking on the File menu and selecting Open File, or by dragging and dropping the file onto the main window of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83.
Once you open the file, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 will analyze it and display its information in the project explorer panel. You will see the name of the file, its size, its type (p-code or native code), its version, its language (Visual Basic 5 or Visual Basic 6), and its forms and modules.
You can expand each form or module to see its procedures (functions and subroutines) and variables. You can also double-click on any form or module to see its source code in the code viewer panel. The source code will be decompiled from the executable file and shown in Visual Basic syntax with syntax highlighting.
You can also switch between different views of the source code by clicking on the tabs at the bottom of the code viewer panel. You can choose to view the decompiled code, the disassembled code (assembly language), or the hex code (binary data). You can also view the comments and errors that Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 generates during the decompilation process.
Here is an example of a decompiled form from a sample Visual Basic program:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can recover most of the original source code from the executable file, including variable names, control names, event handlers, property values, etc. However, some parts of the source code may be missing or incorrect due to limitations of decompilation techniques. For example, some comments may be lost, some constants may be replaced by numeric values, some expressions may be simplified or obfuscated, etc. Therefore, you should always verify and test the decompiled source code before using it for any purpose.
Editing and Debugging Visual Basic Programs with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is not only a decompiler, but also a design editor and a debugger. It allows you to edit and debug Visual Basic programs without needing to recompile them.
To edit a Visual Basic program with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, you need to open it as described in the previous section. Then you can use the design editor to modify the UI design of any form in the program. You can do this by clicking on the Design menu and selecting Edit Form Design.
This will open a new window that shows a graphical representation of the selected form. You can use this window to add, delete, move, resize, or change any control on the form. You can also change any property of any control by using the property grid on the right side of the window. You can also preview how the form will look like by clicking on the Preview button at the bottom of the window.
Here is an example of editing a form design with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 allows you to edit the form design in a simple and easy way, without needing to recompile the program. However, you should be careful not to make any changes that may break the functionality or compatibility of the program. For example, you should not change the name or type of any control that is referenced by the source code, or delete any control that has an event handler associated with it.
To debug a Visual Basic program with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, you need to open it as described in the previous section. Then you can use the debugger to run and test the program. You can do this by clicking on the Debug menu and selecting Run Program.
This will launch the program in a separate window, and also open a new window that shows the debug information. You can use this window to set breakpoints, step through code, inspect variables, modify values, etc. You can also switch between different views of the debug information by clicking on the tabs at the bottom of the window. You can choose to view the call stack, the registers, the memory dump, or the log.
Here is an example of debugging a program with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 allows you to debug the program in a convenient and interactive way, without needing to recompile it. However, you should be aware that some features of the debugger may not work properly for some programs, especially those that use native code or packed applications. For example, some breakpoints may not be triggered, some variables may not be displayed correctly, some values may not be modified successfully, etc. Therefore, you should always verify and test the results of the debugger before relying on them.
Features and Benefits of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
Decompiling Forms, P-Code, and Native Code
One of the main features and benefits of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is that it can decompile forms, p-code, and native code from Visual Basic programs. This means that it can recover most of the original source code from any Visual Basic program, regardless of how it was compiled or what version of Visual Basic was used.
Forms are the graphical user interface elements of Visual Basic programs, such as windows, buttons, text boxes, etc. Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can decompile forms from any Visual Basic program and show their design and properties in a graphical way. It can also recover UI meta information and resources from forms, such as usercontrols, designers, pictures, etc.
P-Code is an intermediate code format that Visual Basic uses to compile programs. It is faster and more portable than native code, but less secure and more vulnerable to decompilation. Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can decompile p-code from any Visual Basic program and show its source code in Visual Basic syntax with syntax highlighting. It can also disassemble p-code into assembly language for more advanced analysis.
Native Code is a machine code format that Visual Basic uses to compile programs. It is faster and more secure than p-code, but less portable and more difficult to decompile. Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can decompile native code from any Visual Basic program and show its source code in Visual Basic syntax with syntax highlighting. It can also disassemble and emulate native code procedures for more accurate analysis.
Disassembling and Emulating Native Code Procedures
Another feature and benefit of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is that it can disassemble and emulate native code procedures from Visual Basic programs. This means that it can show how native code procedures work and what they do in a detailed way.
A native code procedure is a function or subroutine that is written in native code (machine code) instead of p-code (intermediate code). Native code procedures are usually used for performance optimization or security protection purposes. They are harder to decompile than p-code procedures because they are more complex and less standardized.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can disassemble native code procedures from any Visual Basic program and show their assembly language instructions in a readable way. It can also emulate native code procedures by executing them step by step in a virtual machine environment. This allows Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 to analyze the input and output of native code procedures, as well as their effects on the memory, registers, flags, etc. This allows Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 to recover more information and logic from native code procedures than other decompilers.
Here is an example of a disassembled and emulated native code procedure from a sample Visual Basic program:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can show the assembly language instructions of the native code procedure, as well as the values of the memory, registers, flags, etc. before and after each instruction. It can also show the source code of the native code procedure in Visual Basic syntax with syntax highlighting, as well as the comments and errors that Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 generates during the emulation process.
Recovering UI Meta Information and Resources
Another feature and benefit of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is that it can recover UI meta information and resources from Visual Basic programs. This means that it can restore the original appearance and functionality of the user interface elements of Visual Basic programs.
UI meta information and resources are the data that define the user interface elements of Visual Basic programs, such as forms, usercontrols, designers, pictures, icons, cursors, fonts, sounds, etc. They are usually stored in the executable file or in separate resource files.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can recover UI meta information and resources from any Visual Basic program and show them in a graphical way. It can also extract UI meta information and resources from the executable file or from separate resource files and save them in various formats. For example, it can save forms as .frm files, usercontrols as .ctl files, designers as .dsr files, pictures as .bmp files, icons as .ico files, cursors as .cur files, fonts as .ttf files, sounds as .wav files, etc.
Here is an example of recovering UI meta information and resources from a sample Visual Basic program:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can show the UI meta information and resources of the Visual Basic program in a graphical way. It can also extract them from the executable file or from separate resource files and save them in various formats.
Syntax Highlighting and String Reference List
Another feature and benefit of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is that it provides syntax highlighting and string reference list for Visual Basic programs. This means that it makes the source code more readable and easier to understand.
Syntax highlighting is a feature that colors different parts of the source code according to their syntactic role or meaning. For example, keywords are colored blue, variables are colored green, strings are colored red, comments are colored gray, etc. Syntax highlighting helps to distinguish different elements of the source code and to highlight errors or anomalies.
String reference list is a feature that shows all the strings that are used in the source code in a separate panel. For example, it shows all the messages, labels, captions, titles, etc. that are used in the user interface or in the logic of the program. String reference list helps to find and edit strings easily and to identify potential issues or vulnerabilities.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 provides syntax highlighting and string reference list for any Visual Basic program that it decompiles. It supports both p-code and native code decompilation. It also allows you to customize the colors and fonts of the syntax highlighting according to your preference.
Here is an example of syntax highlighting and string reference list for a sample Visual Basic program:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 colors different parts of the source code according to their syntactic role or meaning. It also shows all the strings that are used in the source code in a separate panel. It also allows you to customize the colors and fonts of the syntax highlighting according to your preference.
Unpacking Packed Applications
Another feature and benefit of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is that it can unpack packed applications that are created with EXE packers. This means that it can decompile and analyze applications that are compressed or encrypted to reduce their size or protect them from reverse engineering.
An EXE packer is a software tool that compresses or encrypts an executable file to make it smaller or more secure. Some common EXE packers are UPX, NSPack, ASPack, PECompact, etc. They are often used by Visual Basic programmers to optimize or protect their applications from decompilation or modification.
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can unpack packed applications that are created with any EXE packer and show their original executable file. It can also detect the type of the EXE packer and show its name and version. It can then decompile and analyze the unpacked executable file as usual.
Here is an example of unpacking a packed application with Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83:
As you can see, Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 can unpack the packed application and show its original executable file. It can also detect that the application was packed with UPX 3.96 and show its name and version. It can then decompile and analyze the unpacked executable file as usual.
Pros and Cons of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
Pros of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 has many advantages that make it a powerful and useful tool for Visual Basic programmers. Some of the pros of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 are:
It can decompile and analyze any Visual Basic program, regardless of how it was compiled or what version of Visual Basic was used.
It can decompile forms, p-code, and native code, as well as disassemble and emulate native code procedures.
It can recover UI meta information and resources, such as forms, usercontrols, designers, pictures, etc.
It provides syntax highlighting and string reference list for the source code.
It can unpack packed applications that are created with any EXE packer.
It allows you to edit and debug Visual Basic programs without needing to recompile them.
It has a user-friendly and customizable interface that supports multiple languages.
It has a reasonable price and a free trial version that you can download and test before buying.
Cons of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 also has some disadvantages that you should be aware of before using it. Some of the cons of Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 are:
It cannot recover the exact original source code from the executable file, especially for native code or packed applications. Some parts of the source code may be missing or incorrect due to limitations of decompilation techniques.
It cannot edit or debug some features or functions of Visual Basic programs, such as ActiveX components, COM objects, API calls, etc.
It may not work properly for some programs, especially those that use native code or packed applications. Some features or functions of the debugger may not work correctly, such as breakpoints, stepping, inspecting, modifying, etc.
It may be detected as a virus or malware by some antivirus software, because it uses some techniques that are similar to those used by hackers or crackers. You may need to whitelist it or disable your antivirus software before using it.
Alternatives to Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83
VBReFormer Professional
VBReFormer Professional is another software tool that can decompile and analyze Visual Basic programs. It can decompile forms, p-code, and native code from Visual Basic 5 and Visual Basic 6 programs. It can also recover UI meta information and resources from forms, such as usercontrols, designers, pictures, etc. It can also edit and debug Visual Basic programs without needing to recompile them.
VBReFormer Professional has some advantages over Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83, such as:
It can recover more information from native code procedures, such as variable names, control names One of the alternatives to Vb Decompiler Pro 10 83 is VBReFormer Professional, which is another software tool that can decompile and analyze Visual Basic programs. It can decompile forms, p-code, and native code from Visual Basic 5 and Visual Basic 6 programs. It can also recover UI meta information and resources from forms, such as usercontrols, designers, pictures, etc. It can also edit and debug Visual Basic programs without needing to recompile them.
VBReFormer Profe