ionCube Loader is a free PHP extension used to decode PHP files encrypted using ionCube's PHP Encoder. Follow the steps below to install it in a Windows machine.

  1. Download the Windows installer file from http://www.ioncube.com/loaders.php.
  2. Run the installer and select a temporary folder to extract the files to.
  3. Move the extracted files from the temporary folder to PHP's extensions folder. If you are using Parallels Plesk the extensions folder is: "C:\Program Files\Parallels\Plesk\Additional\php\extensions\".
  4. Then edit the php.ini file, the path for Parallels Plesk is
    "C:\Program Files\Parallels\Plesk\Additional\pleskphp5\php.ini" and add the following lines at the end:
    [ZEND]
    zend_extension_ts ="<php extensions folder>\ioncube_loader_win_<php version>.dll"
    
    <php extensions folder> is the path extensions folder and <php version> is the first and second parts of the version. For example this is what you'll add for PHP 5.2:
    [ZEND]
    zend_extension_ts ="C:\php\extensions\ioncube_loader_win_5.2.dll"