PDF password: Acrobat vs. Indesign

[Doc Maik]

Hello! This question actually goes to Adobe and perhaps someone of them replies, but others may know something as well.

In Indesign, when I export to PDF, I set a password of 5 letters length. No problem at all.

Doing the same in the sort of latest Acrobat DC (document properties window) doesn't accept 5 letters and tells me it has to have 6 at least. Setting the password via a custom action I created would accept 5 letters.

I would like to know why Acrobat handle the password length so differently.

I mean, it's my decision to use short/long or simple/complex passwords. Well, I usually set the password in the Indesign export action, but sometimes it's skipped and then Acrobat has to help. There I either use the action or the document properties.

[Test Screen Name]

Acrobat recently changed to block such insecure passwords. Maybe one day InDesign will change too.

[Doc Maik]

Thanks, but even if Indesign does it different to Acrobat, Acrobat also handles it differently in itself, as I wrote. Isn't this stupid? Next thing, like I wrote, why enforce long passwords? If users want to use insecure passwords, it's their decision.

[Abambo]

If users want to use insecure passwords, it's their decision.

By @Doc Maik

Yes and no. If a software vendor can protect users for using something insecure, it's nice when they do. And sometimes legal aspects even force them to do so.

So if I understand you correctly, when applying the password manually, it gets refused, but applying via a script it gets accepted. That lets me think, that the change is simply on the dialogue box, but the underlying code does not check again.

[Doc Maik]

Insecure is relative. 5 years back five letter passwords were as easy to crack as today, but not considered a problem. I mean, it's a PDF, not a bank account. They already have this gauge that rates the password. Suddenly enforcing longer passwords is a change of spec.