Install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9 – Protect Scripts

This guide intends to teach you to Install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9. The ionCube loader is a PHP module that can be used to load encrypted PHP files. This allows you to protect your scripts from theft and change by others. The loader is supplied as a PHP extension module for Windows, Linux, and macOS which can be installed into a PHP installation and is freely redistributable.

To install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9, you can follow the steps below provided by the Orcacore team.

Steps To Install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9

To Install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9, you must log in to your server as a root user and follow the steps below. To do this, you can follow this guide on Initial Server Setup with AlmaLinux 9.

Step 1 – Install PHP and Apache on AlmaLinux 9

First, you need to update your local package index with the following command:

dnf update -y

Then, use the command below to install Apache:

dnf install httpd -y

You need to install PHP 8.1 on your server. To do this, you can visit this guide on How To Install PHP 8.1 on AlmaLinux 9.

Verify your PHP installation by checking its version:

php --version

Output
PHP 8.1.18 (cli) (built: Apr 11 2023 16:47:45) (NTS gcc x86_64)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.1.18, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.1.18, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Step 2 – Set up ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9

At this point, you can follow the steps below to Install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9.

Download ionCube Loader

Visit the ionCube Loader downloads page and get the latest version by using the following wget command:

wget https://downloads.ioncube.com/loader_downloads/ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz

When your download is completed, extract your downloaded file with the following command:

tar xzf ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz

Then, use the following command to list the content of the ionCube directory on AlmaLinux 9:

ls ioncube

Output
ioncube_loader_lin_4.1.so     ioncube_loader_lin_5.6_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.2.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.0.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.3.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.0_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.3_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.1.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.4.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.1_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.4_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.2.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.0.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.2_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.0_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.3.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.1.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.3_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.1_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.4.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.2.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.4_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.2_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_8.1.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so     ioncube_loader_lin_8.1_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.3_ts.so  LICENSE.txt
ioncube_loader_lin_5.4.so     loader-wizard.php
ioncube_loader_lin_5.4_ts.so  README.txt
ioncube_loader_lin_5.5.so     USER-GUIDE.pdf
ioncube_loader_lin_5.5_ts.so  USER-GUIDE.txt
ioncube_loader_lin_5.6.so

Enable ionCube Loader in PHP

At this point, you need to find the location of the extension directory. To do this, you can use the following command:

php -i | grep extension_dir

Output
extension_dir => /usr/lib64/php/modules => /usr/lib64/php/modules

Next, copy the ionCube loader module from the ionCube directory that matches your PHP version to the PHP extension directory:

cp ioncube/ioncube_loader_lin_8.1.so /usr/lib64/php/modules/

Then, you need to enable the ionCube loader by editing the php.ini file. You can use your favorite text editor, here we use the vi editor:

vi /etc/php.ini

Add the following line at the end of the file:

zend_extension = /usr/lib64/php/modules/ioncube_loader_lin_8.1.so

When you are done, save and close the file.

Finally, restart Apache to apply the changes:

systemctl restart httpd

Now you have learned to Install ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9.

Verify ionCube Loader PHP module on AlmaLinux 9

At this point, you can verify your ionCube loader PHP module by checking the PHP version:

php -v

If everything is fine, you should get the following output:

Output
PHP 8.1.18 (cli) (built: Apr 11 2023 16:47:45) (NTS gcc x86_64)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.1.18, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with the ionCube PHP Loader v12.0.5, Copyright (c) 2002-2022, by ionCube Ltd.
    with Zend OPcache v8.1.18, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Also, you can use the following command:

php -m

Output
...
[Zend Modules]
Zend OPcache
the ionCube PHP Loader

The above output confirms that the PHP ionCube extension is loaded on your server.

Conclusion

At this point, you have learned to Install PHP ionCube Loader on AlmaLinux 9. You should just remember that the version of the ionCube loader you want to use matches to PHP version on your server.

Hope you enjoy it. You may be interested in these articles:

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FAQs