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Reverse Engineering describes the process of determining the inner workings of an engineered piece of kit (hardware or software) in the absence of design plans.

Sometimes, reverse engineering is essential or unavoidable. For example, when documentation and knowledge about a certain product has been lost, reverse engineering could be aimed at recovering that lost knowledge so that product maintenance may continue. Another example of reverse engineering occurs in espionage and scientific research related to warfare; parties involved in a war (or potentially involved in a war) typically wish to understand the inner workings of the enemy's weapons or communication methods in order to improve defenses or prepare efficient means of attack.

Today, however, reverse engineering is most commonly associated with theft of intellectual property. Someone might purchase an engineered kit from the original manufacturer, take it apart and analyze it in order to re-build clones or copies of the original device without investment into development and research. This form of reverse engineering is generally illegal and frowned upon.

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12y ago

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Advantages of reverse engineering include the ability to reproduce something based only on a finished product and knowing how it functions. Some disadvantages include limited understanding of the design, research time, and costs.

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10y ago
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The downsides of reverse engineering include legal risks, high costs, and the time it takes. Sometimes, it doesn’t give a full picture, which can lead to mistakes when copying or modifying something.

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is that you dont know if your makeing the part right ?

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Wiki User

15y ago
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Q: What are the disadvantages of Reverse Engineering?
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