Can you lock a PDF?

Andre Vandal

Learn / Forums / General InDesign Topics / Can you lock a PDF?

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    • August 7, 2018 at 5:29 am #105210
      Andre Vandal
      Member

      I know you can add some sort of security to PDF but are they really secure?

      There are site online that unlocks PDF, you just need to upload it and you get it back unlocked at no charge.

      I’m wondering if there is a way to secure it where even those sites can’t unlock it but the client can still use it without having to do something extra.

    • August 12, 2018 at 8:01 pm #109531
      Steve Jenks
      Member

      As far as I am aware the majority of PDF security, passwords etc can be bypassed by simply opening the PDF in Apple’s Preview, then re-saving it.

      It has certainly worked for me many times over the years!

    • August 13, 2018 at 3:26 am #109533
      Theunis De Jong
      Member

      There are two main levels of security for a PDF.

      The first is “viewable but not editable” — supposedly what you are using now. This is, by necessity, a very simple lock, else you could not read it.

      The second is “only open with a password”, and that has much stronger security. But then you need to know the password as well.

      PDF security is no stronger or weaker than just about any software security, and that, in turn, is not “better” or “worse” than the lock on your front door: it keeps out the occasional door knob jiggler, but it does not guard you against a determined burglar with a crowbar.

    • August 14, 2018 at 12:06 pm #109671
      Andre Vandal
      Member

      Thanks for the information, I basically solved my situation by making a picture of the pages so that the content cannot be modified.

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