Which term refers to techniques used to prevent analysis by debuggers during reverse engineering?

• A. Anti-debugging
• B. Anti-emulation
• C. Anti-heuristics
• D. Add-on viruses

Answer: (A)

Techniques used to hinder analysis by debuggers during reverse engineering are called anti-debugging. The goal is to detect if a debugger is present or to obstruct its operation so the program behaves differently or crashes, making analysis harder. This covers checks like detecting debugger presence, manipulating execution timing, or altering flow when debugging is suspected. Anti-emulation targets analysis in virtual emulators rather than debuggers, anti-heuristics aims at evading heuristic-based detection (often by security software), and add-on viruses isn’t a standard term for this concept.