Advice needed: New Applet to talk to ServerSocket

Question

Hi,
I have to write this from scratch, so please feel free to re-direct me in a whole new direction. Here's what I have to do:
1. We generate some real time information (numerical) which I have to display to my clients in an applet in grid format (tabular)
2. The data changes maybe 4-5 times a minute and the client applets should pick up these changes and display them with no more than 10-15 second delay.
3. I already have a serversocket application which can send this information over TCP/IP sockets. Applets can make socket connections and readLine() from here.
4. The number of applets simultaneously accessing this data could be 1000 or more.
5. I am comfortable doing the server side development but am very weak as far as writing applets.
Questions:
1. How should I go about writing the applet to display the dynamically changing information?
2. How can I hide the port number where the applet connects - i.e. prevent the port number from being revealed via a decompiler?
3. How can I make it very difficult for someone to first download and then decompile my JAR file? I have seen sites that use "CABBASE" and keep code in CAB files. Can I package my class files in the CAB files instead of JAR files? Will it help?
4. What else can I do to keep unauthorized entities from accessing the real time raw feed from my serversocket app?
Thanks!

Answer 1

4. The number of applets simultaneously accessing
this data could be 1000 or more.You should probably set up more than one server to distribute the load of all these clients
1. How should I go about writing the applet to
display the dynamically changing information? 1. Initiate your applet
2. Register your connection with the backend data provider
3. Have a thread listen for updates, then update your applet
2. How can I hide the port number where the applet
connects - i.e. prevent the port number from being
revealed via a decompiler?It's a little tricky. I believe the guys who created Mocha also SELL software for making java classes undecompilable.
How useful would your applet code be without the backend data? Would anyone really be interested in trying to redistribute it maliciously?
Honestly, your first line of defense should be to try to set up some sort of connection filter, where either your clients have to log in before getting to your applet, or the backend ServerSocket (or whatever) checks to make sure the IP of the incoming request is authorized.
3. How can I make it very difficult for someone to
first download and then decompile my JAR file? I have
seen sites that use "CABBASE" and keep code in CAB
files. Can I package my class files in the CAB files
instead of JAR files? Will it help?I doubt it. CAB is just about the same thing as a jar.
4. What else can I do to keep unauthorized entities
from accessing the real time raw feed from my
serversocket app?
Thanks!