PDF Security for document protection

How to lock a PDF document from being printed

 

lock pdf document

 

Whilst Adobe Acrobat and similar PDF creation/manipulation programs let you set file permissions to lock a PDF document from being printed, these permissions can be easily removed.  A simple search on Google for the term ‘remove pdf password’ produces loads of applications that will remove printing restrictions for a small sum or for free.  If you think your documents can be locked against printing using a password protection system then you are just fooling yourself.  Any file permissions you apply can be removed so you might wonder why you bothered to apply any security to begin with?

If you really want to lock a PDF document from being printed you need to use PDF security software that does not use passwords or cannot be easily compromised.  For example, if you rely on PDF security software that uses plug-ins to Acrobat Reader, you may find that installing another plug-in that provides print manipulation capabilities circumvents the PDF security plugin and enables users to print a supposedly locked document.  The same is true of systems that rely on JavaScript which can be easily manipulated in the browser.

Locklizard uses dedicated secure Viewer software so that PDF documents locked from being printed cannot be circumvented by plugins.  We don’t use passwords or JavaScript but instead employ public key technology and US Government strength encryption to protect your PDF files.  There are no passwords for users to enter (so no entry of attack, or method of sharing) and no insecure JavaScript running that could be manipulated to remove print protection.

With Locklizard PDF security software, you lock your PDF documents from being printed using the Writer software, and once these controls are set, users cannot change them.  If you want to allow printing then our PDF security software prevents users printing PDF documents to file drivers (XPS, PDF, etc.) so that your protected documents cannot be converted to unprotected PDF files.  You can also limit the number of times users can print (and change this number at a later date without having to re-protect the PDF file again), log print requests, and expire documents once a certain print limit has been reached.