Permissions Password on Adobe Acrobat Pro - I never set one??

Dov, sir,

I would like to make it known that the reason for my original comment was to help other poor souls who come across the same problem.  I had an issue and went looking on the internet to see if anyone was able to remove or get access to the permission password for their documents.  I have found that many people have not found good solutions, some none, except for one person who has a Mac, instead of a PC.  I found a solution that, although not optimal, works.

I mean no disrespect, but your comment makes me think that you didn't really read my comments very well.  You see, I never said there was a problem with Adobe, Acrobat or PDF file format.  It sounds like your trying to rightfully shift blame, when I put no "blame" on Adobe, etc. at all.  Obviously, it is the creator of the file, ie. the bank, financial institution, etc.  I totally get that and I actually got that the first time around from someone else's comment that was made a year ago, even before I read your initial comment on the matter.  Actually, I understood that prior to even searching the internet for a solution as I have a decent understanding of how Acrobat works.   But, obviously, there is next to zero chance that I, or any other regular banking customer, is going to be able to make actual contact with the person who secured the document to get the permission password.  One would think that maybe they could let the customer pick the password or have it be some form of a social security number or something, just maybe.  However, I have no issues with Adobe in this matter.  I like Adobe.  Well, I actually love Adobe Acrobat.  I wish I had time to take classes to learn how to efficiently and expertly use Adobe's different products.  Alas, I haven't the time for that, maybe when I retire.  But, nonetheless, the situation is really bothersome when one is not able to do what one has always done, which happens to be part of one's job.   It is part of my job to compile and organize clients' documents and put document numbers on them and sometimes redact information prior to giving them to opposing counsel and the Court.  The Court prefers digital pdf far more than scanned pdf and they demand that certain information be redacted or covered up prior to filing with the Court.  Adobe Acrobat is AWESOME for this.  I used to hand Bates stamp document numbers on each page.  Let me tell you...The options in the the header/footer window in Acrobat Professional are AWESOME!  Redacting  social security numbers and birth dates and account numbers in Acrobat is a breeze.  Having to hand stamp and hand redact just costs the client more money, which I would prefer not to do, and more time than I would like to spend. 

Regarding the fraud bit, yep, I believe it, there are lots of unscrupulous, dishonest people.  But, whereas it may concern financial statements, one can always send out a subpoena to the financial institution and double-check the documents produced by the other side.  In most cases, subpoenas, especially to financial institutions, work like a charm. 

And, obviously, there are good reasons to protect certain documents from editing.  I'll be honest - I'm rolling my eyes just a bit, but only just a bit.  However, I am taking note of what companies do that so that I can not be one of their customers.  The dealing with the whole Permission Password thing has been beyond a bother and cost my client more of my time than it really should have.  If there was confidence that my client could have figured it out herself rather than my spending time on it, we would have gone that route. There are many people that are still not that technologically savvy.  Alas, I surmise that you have been long desiring that I digress.  However, I will take the liberty to make a small reiteration - I made the initial comment on this website to empathize with others that have the same or similar problem and to offer a nearly painless solution, since it appeared that there were few with actual solutions and even you did not offer a solution, but instead just got on a soapbox of why the protection was such a great and valid thing.  Come on, really, the customer can't do with his/her own bank statements as they wish?  Do we really want to keep the whole thing and bulk up our files with the repetitive pages that have little to no account specific information whatsoever?  Do we not have the privilege of taking the first two amount- and transaction-specific pages of a mailed statement and throw the other 2-5 pages in the garbage if we want?  Gotta love rhetorical questions!  I wonder if there is anywhere on the statement that says that it is a federal or state offense for the customer to separate individual pages of their own banking or credit card statement.  I'll be honest, your reply was rather like an unrelated retort to my comment.  But, hey, maybe it's your job to respond to every comment that gets posted on this website.  A simple thumbs-up for finding a solution would have sufficed.  I will not blame Adobe for making it possible for documents to be secured or protected by password.  But, I will say that many goings on and restrictions in this country and world are overkill, ie. HIPAA and not profiling at the airport, but patting down little old grannies and going through their luggage (randomly selected - it does happen), etc.  But, one could think that if the bad guys were actually truly prosecuted and penalized and not let get away with stuff on technicalities, then, maybe, it would be easier to breathe freely.  Oops.  That comment might start another soapbox from somebody else.  But, just so y'all know, I was using an extreme remark to make a point and promise that should someone jump on that soapbox, which is largely unrelated to the permission password issue, I will not reply, as I am sure you have heard enough of my ranting.

It can be tested very easily: Download the file and then open it using only Adobe Reader. If it still shows up as secured that means that's how it came, as Reader is technically not capable of applying a security policy.

Also, what exactly does it say under File - Properties - Security?