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Protect Your PDFs
Digital files can end up in the strangest places. Before you send another PDF to a client, coworker, or anyone else, find out how and when to password-protect your work.
Written by Joel Geraci on July 23, 2008
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The next time you distribute a PDF (by email, posting on the Web, etc.), think first about what it contains. Anything sensitive? Or are there parts of the PDF -- a logo sketch or one of your photographs, for example -- that you don't want floating around on the Internet?
Using Adobe Acrobat, you can apply a simple PDF password that prevents people from copying text and graphics or from printing. And when called for, you can even require a password to open your file.
In this short, easy-to-follow video tutorial, you'll learn how to protect your files from tampering. Click on the image below to open a separate window with the video.
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Doesn't work
I routinely crack the supposed "protection" in pdfs, mainly to trim out the gumpf from the valuable stuff I'd like to use as reference. A password is not enough to lock out anyone wanting to access the content.
It shows a great deal of naïvety to take Adobe's security claims at face value.
Preview software/PDFs
I followed the instructions and they work when opening the .pdf in Acrobat but not in Preview. In Preview, I was still able to 'grab' selections and windows. Is there a way to disable these functions in Preview by changing the .pdf security settings? Thanks