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Participating Frequently
January 25, 2023
Question

Best PDF security option

  • January 25, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 873 views

PDF Security Gurus. I'd like to send a copywrited PDF training manual to a customer overseas but don't want the file to be copied or shared. What is the best security option, and is there a tutorial on how to do it? I have Acrobat 8 Pro

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2 replies

try67
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 25, 2023

The only reliable way to do it is with DRM technology, but that will cost you a pretty penny.

Alternatively, you can indeed add a watermark and then digitally sign the file to prevent it from being edited (at least, you will be able to detect such editing, as it will invalidate the signature). You can also apply a security policy, especially the one that requires a password to open the file, as the encrypts the file's entire contents, making it more difficult (although not impossible) to get around it. All the latter can be done using Acrobat. The former requires specialized tools.

Legend
January 25, 2023

There is no way you could stop this. There is security you can set, but a lot of apps ignore it. Also, if it's worthwhile, anyone could photograph the pages and republish it in a few minutes.

rcfsAuthor
Participating Frequently
January 25, 2023
What about a watermark just to make it a bugger to look at without the
proper credentials?

--
Dave Scott
www.rcflightschool.com
ls_rbls
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 25, 2023

Watermarks can also be removed from PDFs.

 

In which case, it is better if you watermark every page, but print the whole PDF as an .png or .jpeg image, instead of sending your customer a PDF file.

 

Besides, the document is already copyrighted, so you can also furnish an binding legal agreement to establish your conditions upon which the other party would agree before having access to the document (just like software companies require the end user to agree to licensing and distribution terms before the software is even installed on a computer device).