Friday, December 5, 2008

Acrobat 9 and Password Encryption in PDF Files (256-bit AES vs. 128-bit AES)

One of the new features in Adobe Acrobat 9 is the ability to use 256-bit AES encryption when password protecting PDF files (instead of the 128-bit AES encryption that Solid PDF Tools Scan to PDF and Adobe Acrobat 7 and later do).

Although this does allow for much longer passwords than before (127 instead of 32), users with passwords less than 32 characters would be much better off using 128-bit AES encryption as the new encryption level makes it much easier than before for hackers to brute force passwords.

Fortunately, users of both Adobe Acrobat 9 and Solid Converter PDF to Word can simply keep using 128-bit AES encryption when password protecting files to retain the level of security they've had in the past.

Care for more technical details? Check out ZDNet and Adobe's blog posts on the subject.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Free Online PDF/A-1b Validation Service

We've launched a free online service for PDF/A-1b validation.

Solid Documents is a member of the PDF/A Competence Center, a cooperation between numerous world-leading companies and experts in PDF technology. PDF/A-1b is an ISO Standard for using the PDF format for the long-term archiving of electronic documents. Not all PDF files meet this ISO 19005-1: PDF/A-1b standard.

To verify that your PDF files are PDF/A-1b compliant, go to www.validatepdfa.com. Use the simple wizard to send us your PDF files via email. Attach the PDF files you want to validate and send. Our validation software will analyze your files and email you the results.

No installation. No hassles. Instant results.

Free PDF Validator uses the industry leading PDF/A validator from Solid PDF Tools. You can find out more about Solid PDF Tools here.