Self-Destructing arduino code

Question

Hi everyone,

so I've been wondering if there is a way to make a hidden button on a device (device wokring with ardunino) that will (once pressed) render the code useless - for example to delete values (val1, val2 ...) or in any way destroy the program that runs that device.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Lubo (Bo)

mcb1 · Answer

Rahul Someone in the Arduino.cc forums did a self destruct, by writing and then reading the address. The 10/100k write is the MINIMUM the manufacturer guarantees it will work for. I think (hazy memory) it was more like 1m write cycles he got. Anyway as everyone has posted, it only needs to be written once. dirtdiver You can run the button check routine as an interrupt, or whenever you read other inputs. This would clear the EEPROM (or write to it) and on next powerup, when it checks....... To make it look genuine, after the 'self destruct', you could always make it do a loop that looked like it 'booted' up then died and repeated. "Genuine failure mate, probably something inside the micro .....I can fix it, but btw about that account..." I have been known to remove the chip identity by sanding it off, when we didn't want it reverse engineered. Black spray paint, or encasement in rubber solution or epoxy (with glass) is also frustrating. Mark

Self-Destructing arduino code

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