title: PyInstaller Encryption --key
body: <p>I'm trying to understand why PyInstaller documentation states that the --key argument to encrypt Python source code can be easily extracted:</p>
  
  <p><em>Additionally, Python bytecode can be obfuscated with AES256 by specifying an encryption key on PyInstaller’s command line. Please note that it is still very easy to extract the key and get back the original byte code, but it should prevent most forms of “casual” tampering.</em></p>
  
  <p>My basic understanding of AES-256 is that if no one has the encryption key you specify, they can't extract it "easily"</p>
  
  <p>Does anyone have better understanding ?</p>