Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Securing your PDF Content

PDF files can contain information with varying levels of sensitivity.

You may have posters, flyers, calendars, etc. that you wish everyone to open, print and use as needed. Or you may have documents that only a few key individuals should be able to open. You may also have files that you want people to be able to view, but not change using a PDF editor (invoices or banking statements come to mind, as you don't want people to remove a couple zeros from a bill you sent them).

PDF files can be secured easily, restricting the options of most users. Please note that no encryption technology [wikipedia.org] is perfect, and there is software available that people can use to illicitly crack PDF files. The steps below can make it much harder for people to open or alter your documents, but they will not make it impossible.

This guide assumes that you have Solid Converter PDF installed. If you have not purchased the program, you can download a free 15 day trial.