These forums are now Read Only. If you have an Acrobat question, ask questions and get help from one of our experts.

restricting pdf from copying/sharing

mlr
Registered: Jun 27 2008
Posts: 2

my internet information service is going to be pdf based and i need to find a reliable way to restrict use of the pdf once they are downloaded. for example i need to restrict use of the pdf to the computer it was downloaded to - no copying or sharing. and - i see so many options on the internet to remove encryptions that i wonder how secure a process that is if that is Acrobat's solution. help? ml

lkassuba
ExpertTeam
Registered: Jun 28 2007
Posts: 3636
Acrobat has several different types of security methods -- providing a wide range of capabilities. They are: password security, certificate security, and LiveCycle Policy Server security. Password security is a simple way to share documents where password sharing is possible. The password security encryption algorithm varies by security type and product version (i.e., 128-bit RC4, 128-bit AES for Acrobat 7 or 8, 40- and 128-bit RC4 for Acrobat 5 and 6). RC4 encryption is used in a wide variety of applications including WEP (securing wireless networks) and SSL (secure socket layer). The AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is also widely used but is a based on a different encryption model. Both contain inherent strengths and weaknesses.

However, if your goal is to restrict copying and sharing of PDFs, then you'll need to look beyond password security to either certificate security (if you have a controlled user environment) or LiveCycle security. Password security doesn't control unauthorized copying or sharing of PDF content.
For a more detailed discussion of the security features in Acrobat you can check out the [url=http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/doc_security_user_guide.pdf]Document Security User Guide for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader[/url]

Lori Kassuba is an AUC Expert and Community Manager for AcrobatUsers.com.