Re[2]: Editable PDFs

["B. Gillessen" b.gillessen@xxxxxxxx]

Adobe Acrobat provides for two types of password protections: One password
for opening files and another one for certain restrictions to handle
the file's content.

The first (encryption) password is quite secure (provided that you have
chosen a long phrase, containing also numbers etc. and which could not
be easily hacked with a brute-force attack). Without this password it is
nearly impossible to open the file and see anything from its content.

The second (file protection) password lets you set restrictions which
restrict printing, paste & copying, saving under different name etc.
In an ideal world (Do I really have to say that the world is far away
from being ideal?) this password would be quite a nice thing. However,
send me any of these "protected" files and you will get it back unprotected
within less than a minute ... (There are several programs available which
are intended to lift this password protection.) Up to version 4 of Adobe
Acrobat it has also been possible to do a simple patch with the
acrobat.exe, and having done so - it's magic! - the program does not care
anylonger about any of these file protections. Therefore, this type of
password is *very* unsecure.

Bottom line: Whoever can read a pdf-file can also copy, print, edit and
redistribute it. (But I would not worry too much about this: Whoever can
read a pdf-file can also transcribe it and redistribute the transcription.)

B. Gillessen


At 19:02 15.09.2003 cmadsen@xxxxxxxx wrote:

> Patricia,
> I can't create a PDF to test this. But if you want to send me a
> password-protected PDF, I can experiment for you.

> Chris

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Patricia M Godfrey" 
> To: 
> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 12:25 PM
> Subject: Editable PDFs


>> Daniel Say's post about PDF Converter for Microsoft Word is rather
>> alarming to me. My professional association puts our small booklets about
>> topics of interest to freelance editors, and we are planning to switch to
>> storing and distributing them as PDFs, instead of sinking $ in paper
>> inventory. We're already concerned about the possibility of someone's
>> reprinting and reselling them without our knowledge or permission, but if
>> people can convert and change them...? I know Acrobat has a
>> password-protecton scheme. Would this defeat that? It seems odd that the
>> control freaks in Redmond would be party to this.
>> Patricia
>>
>>