Approach:

1. Checking if a binary is Encrypted or Obfuscated There isn't a direct "Is Encrypted?" or "Is Obfuscated?" button. Instead, you look for indicators and patterns. Binary Ninja's analysis helps, but you'll often rely on:

Indicators of Encryption/Packing:

High Entropy Sections: Go to the "Sections" view (usually in the sidebar). Look for sections with entropy values close to 8.0 (on a scale of 0-8). High entropy often indicates packed, compressed, or encrypted data, as it resembles random data. Unusual Section Names or No Sections: Packers often create custom sections or modify existing ones with unusual names. Some heavily packed binaries might even appear to have very few or no recognizable sections initially. Small Import Table: If the binary is heavily packed or encrypted, the initial import table might be very small, as the actual imports are resolved at runtime after decryption/unpacking. Self-modifying Code/Decryption Stubs: Look for code that writes to other parts of the binary, especially at the entry point or in sections with high entropy. This often indicates a decryption or unpacking routine. Binary Ninja's analysis might flag unusual memory writes. API Calls for Memory Allocation/Protection: Packed or encrypted binaries often allocate new executable memory (VirtualAlloc, mmap, etc.) and change memory protections (VirtualProtect, mprotect) to execute unpacked code. Indicators of Obfuscation:

Complex Control Flow Graphs (CFG): Control-Flow Flattening: Look for a single large basic block that acts as a dispatcher, jumping to small "handler" basic blocks and then returning to the dispatcher. This severely complicates static analysis. Opaque Predicates: Conditional jumps where the condition is always true or always false, but the disassembler can't easily determine that. This creates dead code paths that confuse analysis. Chained Jumps/Junk Instructions: Many unnecessary jumps or NOP (no operation) instructions inserted to clutter the code and make it harder to follow. Arithmetic Obfuscation/Mixed-Boolean Arithmetic (MBA): Complex arithmetic expressions that achieve a simple result using many unnecessary operations. Binary Ninja's HLIL (High-Level Intermediate Language) might sometimes simplify these, but if the HLIL still looks overly complex for a simple operation, it could be MBA. String Obfuscation: Strings that are not directly present in the binary but are decrypted or constructed at runtime. Look for functions that take an encrypted blob and return a readable string. Anti-Analysis Techniques: Code that tries to detect debuggers, virtual machines, or specific analysis tools and changes its behavior or crashes. Large Basic Blocks: As mentioned in the search results, large basic blocks can sometimes contain dead code, virtual machine initialization, or hidden calculations. Instruction Overlapping: Where instructions appear to overlap, confusing disassemblers. Binary Ninja Tools/Options for Detection:

Entropy View: (Access through the "File Info" or "Sections" sidebar, often visualized as a heatmap). This is your primary tool for quickly identifying potentially encrypted/packed regions. Graph View: Crucial for visualizing control flow. Look for the patterns described above (flattening, opaque predicates). Linear View: Helpful for identifying jump chains and junk instructions. Cross-References (Xrefs): Observe cross-references to suspicious memory regions or API calls (e.g., VirtualAlloc, decryption functions). High-Level IL (HLIL): Binary Ninja's decompiler to C-like code. If the HLIL for a simple assembly routine looks overly complex or nonsensical, it might be obfuscated. Plugins: Binary Ninja has a rich plugin ecosystem. obfuscation_detection plugin (GitHub: mrphrazer/obfuscation_detection): This plugin is specifically designed to identify obfuscated code using heuristics like complex functions, large basic blocks, instruction overlapping, and more. This would be a great tool to install. Sidekick (Binary Ninja's AI assistant): As per the search result, Sidekick can assist in identifying important functions and potentially deobfuscating strings, especially in malware analysis. Analysis Options (File -> Open with Options / Analysis -> Settings): While there aren't direct "detect obfuscation" toggles, understanding these can influence how effectively Binary Ninja analyzes such files: analysis.mode: This setting controls the depth of analysis. "Full" is generally recommended for detailed analysis, including type propagation and data flow. For highly obfuscated or packed binaries, you might sometimes try "basic" or "intermediate" if "full" gets stuck, but usually, "full" is the goal once unpacking/deobfuscation is handled. analysis.earlyStackConstantPropagation: Helps resolve stack offsets, which can be useful when obfuscation tries to confuse stack analysis. analysis.keepDeadCodeBranches: If you suspect dead code due to opaque predicates, enabling this might show you those branches in the HLIL. analysis.forceIndirectBranches: Ensures full analysis of functions with indirect branches, which are often used in obfuscation. analysis.taint.sources, analysis.taint.sinks: If you are trying to understand data flow through obfuscated regions, configuring taint analysis can be beneficial. analysis.debugInfo.internal and analysis.debugInfo.external: While not directly for obfuscation, if you do have debug info (which is rare for obfuscated binaries), ensuring these are enabled can help. 2. How to check for Debug Symbols Binary Ninja has excellent support for debug information.

Automatic Loading: By default, Binary Ninja will attempt to automatically load debug information if it's present in the binary (e.g., DWARF in ELF, PDB in PE files). "Debug Info" Sidebar: If debug symbols are present and loaded, you'll see a "Debug Info" entry in the sidebar. This will list imported types, function signatures, and data variables. "Types" View (T icon in sidebar or View -> Types): This view will show you all the types that Binary Ninja has identified, including those imported from debug symbols. You'll see structures, unions, enums, and function prototypes. Function Names and Signatures: Functions with debug symbols will have more descriptive names (e.g., main, printf, MyCustomFunction) and often full C-style function signatures (return type, parameter types) in the disassembly and IL views. Without debug symbols, functions are often named generically (e.g., sub_401000). Local Variables: In the High-Level IL (HLIL) view, if debug symbols are present, local variables will have meaningful names instead of generic stack offsets (e.g., int count instead of var_8). "Analysis" Menu -> "Import Debug Info from External File": If your debug information is in a separate file (e.g., a .pdb for Windows, a .dSYM for macOS, or a standalone DWARF file), you can manually import it using this option. To verify debug symbols are loaded:

Open your binary in Binary Ninja. Look at the "Functions" list. Are the function names descriptive or generic? Check the "Types" sidebar. Do you see complex structures or meaningful type definitions? If available, go to a function's HLIL view. Are local variables named clearly? Check the "Log" window for messages about debug information loading. If debug symbols are not found:

Binary Ninja will proceed with its powerful automated analysis, but you'll have to rely on its type inference and your reverse engineering skills to understand the code. You can manually rename functions (N hotkey), define types (Y hotkey), and add comments to aid your analysis. 3. How to check C-level code steps Binary Ninja's primary strength for C-level code is its High-Level Intermediate Language (HLIL), which is essentially a decompilation to C-like pseudo-code.

Steps to view C-level code:

Open the Binary: Load your bin file into Binary Ninja. Navigate to a Function: In the "Functions" sidebar, select the function you want to analyze. Switch to HLIL View: In the main code view pane, there's a dropdown menu (often near the top right of the pane) that allows you to switch between different Intermediate Language (IL) views and disassembly. Select "High Level IL" (or press the F5 hotkey, or I multiple times to cycle through ILs). What you'll see in HLIL:

C-like syntax: The code will resemble C, with if, else, for, while loops, variable declarations, and function calls. Type Inference: Binary Ninja automatically infers data types (integers, pointers, structures). You can further refine these types yourself. Variables: Local variables will be identified and, where possible, given meaningful names based on usage (or generic names like var_4, var_8 if no debug info). Function Calls: Calls to other functions (both internal and imported) will be shown. Comments: Binary Ninja often adds automated comments based on its analysis, and you can add your own. Tips for working with C-level code (HLIL):

Renaming: Use the N hotkey to rename functions, variables, and global data to make the code more readable. Defining Types: Use the Y hotkey to define or apply custom data structures (structs, unions) and function prototypes. This significantly improves the readability of HLIL. Cross-References (Xrefs): Select a variable or function, and press X to see where it's used or called. This helps understand data flow and function relationships. Decompiler Sync: Binary Ninja typically syncs the disassembly and HLIL views, so when you click on an instruction in one, it highlights the corresponding part in the other. Plugins for HLIL: There are plugins that can further enhance HLIL, such as those that automate type recovery or identify common library functions.