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I am thinking of buying IDA Pro for my Linux programming environment after reverse engineering a bit with OllyDBG (under WINE)... But before I endorse into such a costly purchase I ask the following question(s):

  • If I have native IDA Pro on Linux, can it disassemble/decompile a Windows PE (or Mac OS X apps as a bonus)?
  • If not, when I multi boot Windows, can I download the Windows version of IDA on the Windows without purchasing it again?

Motive

Some renowned programs I'd like to reverse (for fun) are Windows executables, so if it can't disassemble a Windows executable from Linux, I'll have to multi boot (tedious)

Note

If it helps, I have a 32-bit machine with a x86 processor

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4 Answers 4

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Current IDA versions (as of 6.5) are pretty much equivalent for all three platforms. You can disassemble all file formats on all three platforms. You can definitely analyze PE and Mach-O files on Linux. Most debuggers are also available on all platforms.

A couple of features are available only in the Windows version:

  • WinDbg and Symbian debuggers
  • WinCE debugging over ActiveSync
  • PDB symbol parsing

Note: the last function is available on Linux and OS X if you can run the win32_remote.exe debugger on a Windows system/emulator.

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  • I recommend using IDA Linux over IDA in Virtual Windows.
    – Stolas
    Jun 20, 2014 at 9:22
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Yes

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  • Is that intended to mean "Yes it can dissassemble Windows PE" or "Yes it can disassemble Mac OSX" or both? It's a bit terse.
    – Edward
    Jun 11, 2014 at 15:09
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    IDA Pro on any platform can disassemble Windows PE files and Mac OS X Mach-O files.
    – Jason Geffner
    Jun 11, 2014 at 15:14
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I think the reason that the first answer to this question was terse is that the information to answer your question is easily accessible on the Hex-Rays website.

Take a look at the ordering page on the website. There are .pdf forms that break out the pricing for IDA/IDA Pro. You must purchase the Linux and Windows version separately. As far as I understand, the disassemblers for IDA/IDA Pro are the same across platforms. You can see the differences in included disassemblers per edition here. As one of the other answers to this question has pointed out, some of the integrated debuggers are not included on non-Windows versions.

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One other thing to mention: Disassembling .NET applications is only possible in Windows Version. IDA uses some Microsoft dll's for parsing.

Another point: As IDA is a 32bit application (even the 64bit disassembler) you always have to use remote debuggers for handling 64bit applications.

IDA works well for me with Wine under Linux. So I bought the Windows version to have all the features and use it either native under Windows or via Wine(Crossover) under Linux.

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    Not anymore, we implemented .NET parser for Linux and OS X a couple versions ago.
    – Igor Skochinsky ♦
    Jun 12, 2014 at 13:32

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