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Encryption without password

Forum Index > Security > Encryption without password
2011-03-02 09:52:51
rita collard
Registered: Jan 7 2010
Posts: 3

I am creating a premissions password such that the file can't be changed in certain ways. I am not adding a password to open the file. When I click on security properties, it says the file is encrypted.
 
My question is - after this doc leaves my server, and before it gets to my recipient's server, is this file readable by anyone? Or, is it encrypted along the route so that it is not easy to grab and read off the internet.
 
Thank you. I have read a lot and I can't find an answer to this question.
 
Rita

My Product Information:
Acrobat Standard 9.0, Windows
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2011-03-02 11:30:44
#1
UVSAR
Expert
Registered: Oct 29 2008
Posts: 1357
Without an "open" password, anyone who gets access to the file can read it. The contents *are* encrypted, but in a way that any compatible software can reverse. If you apply an "open" password the file is protected in transit, but you'd need to tell your recipient what it was via an independent means.

If the document is really important, bear in mind that permissions passwords are not secure - they are respected by Adobe software but many other PDF readers will ignore them and allow users to do everything they want. Permissions security is also trivial to remove, without needing to know the password.
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