papaw vs Themida

papaw is a Linux executable packer for programs that include statically linked third-party components, aimed at devices with limited disk space. It compresses executables and bundles them with a decompressor of about 15–40 KB. Supported algorithms are LZMA2, LZMA1, Zstandard and Deflate, and packed executables can replace themselves on disk when run. The project is free and unencumbered software under the MIT license, and can be self-hosted. It uses Meson and can be included as a Meson subproject; the README recommends `custom_target()` for running `papawify`. Prebuilt static binaries are available through GitHub releases, with example assets for aarch64, arm, armeb, i386, mips, mipsel and x86_64. To support portability, the project avoids machine-specific assembly and newer system calls such as `fexecve()`. Optional very basic anti-debugging protection is intended to discourage trivial reverse-engineering techniques. The payload is extracted to a temporary file; when run as root, papaw mounts a tmpfs filesystem and lazily unmounts it before extraction.

Themida is Windows software that protects applications against advanced reverse engineering and cracking. Its SecureEngine technology combines anti-debugger, anti-disassembly, anti-tracing, anti-breakpoint, and anti-memory-patching techniques. Code protection options include virtualization, encryption, mutation, metamorphic scrambling, and random garbage-code insertion. It protects native 32-bit and 64-bit EXE files and dynamic libraries in DLL, OCX, and BPL formats. XBundler can embed DLLs and data files, while custom DLL plugins can be embedded in the protected binary. Integration is available through SDK communication with the protection layer and command-line support. Developers can customize dialog text and icons shown by protected applications. A demo is available for evaluation, but demo versions cannot be registered and have reduced protections, including light virtualization, no string encryption, and a demo splash screen. Licenses are perpetual. Developer License costs €249 as a one-time purchase; Company License costs €499 as a one-time purchase. Renewal plans cost 79.00 EUR or €159 a year for existing customers.