Skip to main content
S
sued92418717
Participant
September 20, 2023
Question

Scammers can get round password protected PDFs

  • September 20, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 375 views

I write crochet patterns which people pay to download. I create them by "Save As PDF" in Word. Recently a scammer has bought my file and then edited it. They have removed all my branding, watermarks etc and put their own on, they are now selling it themselves. I've done a take down notice and the hosting company removed it promptly but the scammer just sets up another website and we go round in circles playing cat and mouse which is a waste of my time. No-one seems to be able to shut him down, I've run out of places to report them to, no-one does anything. I would like to protect my future patterns. I was wondering if it would be worthwhile upgrading my Acrobat so I can password protect my files. However, a tech savvy friend says scammers can easily get round Adobe's PDF password protection and has told me how to do it (I won't publicise how here as I don't believe that sort of method should be widely circulated).  I know it is easy for scammers to remove watermarks and page footers once they can edit and they can also remove watermarks in images. 

Are there *aany* steps I can take using Acrobat to make a PDF impossible to edit or put something on it to let buyers know they are purchasing MY pattern and not the scammers?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    1 reply

    Karl Heinz Kremer
    Community Expert
    Karl Heinz KremerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 21, 2023

    Any form of password protection is better than none. Having said that, there are ways to crack files that are password protected. You have a choice of different levels of password security in Acrobat (which affects which versions of Acrobat can open the file). If you select Acrobat X and later and use a long password, you are safer than with an earlier method and a short password. If you want to get even more protected, then use "Certificate security". This is a lot more involved in setting up and protecting the documents, but also much safer. 

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices