Furthermore, ionCube has features like and IP binding . If a file is locked to a specific IP address or domain, a simple decoder won't be able to make the script functional on a different server. The Ethical and Legal Angle

You lose the ability to receive security patches from the original developer. What Should You Do Instead?

Using a decoder to bypass a license is a violation of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) policies and most End User License Agreements (EULA). If you are trying to recover your own lost code, it’s a frustrating situation, but if you are trying to "null" a paid plugin, you are opening yourself up to:

Most "nulled" or "decoded" scripts found online contain hidden scripts that give hackers access to your server.

For almost every paid, encoded plugin, there is an open-source version on GitHub that is free to modify.