Locking it Down — How Secure are PDF Passwords?
In today’s digital world, protecting the sensitive information you share electronically is vital. Often, document sharing is done by way of portable document (PDF) files. They’ve transformed the way we share digital documents everywhere and anywhere. We upload them, download them, and email them constantly. They’re the go-to format for sharing electronic documents, ranging from tax forms to application forms, reports, business contracts legal documents, educational materials, and more.
To safeguard the confidentiality of documents, PDF passwords have become a common first line of defence. You can password-protect a PDF online and you can create passwords in an Adobe Acrobat application But is a password-protected PDF secure, and can they truly protect your sensitive data? Read on to learn more.
What you’ll learn
- Types of PDF password protection
- Strengths and weaknesses of PDF passwords
- How to improve PDF password security
Types of password protection in PDFS.
First, to understand password security, it’s important to be aware of the basics. There are two fundamental methods you can choose from to use passwords for protecting PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. One controls who can open and see your PDF files. The other restricts anyone else’s ability to edit, copy, and print your content.
In Adobe Acrobat, the different types of password protection and encryption are called —
- Permissions passwords.
Use a permissions password to limit the actions someone else can perform in and on your document. A permissions password is also sometimes referred to as an owner’s password or master password. By setting a permissions password in Adobe Acrobat you have control over who can edit, print, and copy your document.
- Document open passwords.
Use a document open password to restrict access to who can open the document itself. A document open password is also sometimes referred to as a user password. With a document open password, you create a PDF password that users will have to know and enter before they can open your document.
PDF passwords strengths and weaknesses.
PDF password security has its merits, offering protection to prevent unauthorized access and actions being performed in your documents. Nonetheless, it's essential to be aware of the vulnerabilities of password protection.
PDF password strengths.
Overall, PDF password protection is a user-friendly, convenient, and easily accessible security measure. The key strengths of PDF password protection are —
- Control over who can open your PDF.
Document open passwords in Adobe Acrobat prevent authorised viewing of your PDF documents. They ensure that only people with the correct password can open your files. They are useful for preventing people from viewing your private and confidential information.
- Control over who can change your PDF content.
Permissions passwords in Adobe Acrobat restrict certain actions, such as PDF editing, printing, copying, or rearranging a PDF document in any way. They are crucial for protecting intellectual property and controlling document distribution.
- Control over who can find your content.
Options within the permissions password settings allow you to encrypt the metadata in your PDFs. This is the information in your document properties that internet search engines access. If you want to prevent your PDFs from coming up in internet search results, encrypting your PDF metadata will prevent it from being indexed by search engines.
PDF password limitations.
PDF passwords offer a practical level of security for everyday use, but there are potential downfalls. They are just one piece of the ever-evolving security risks and options for protection in the digital age. Some of the weaknesses to be aware of with PDF password protection include —
- Using passwords that are not strong.
Short and simple passwords using common words and phrases are easier for people to crack by guessing or using password-cracking tools. Make sure only you can remove PDF security settings that you create. Create strong passwords, follow current advice on setting strong passwords and update your passwords regularly.
- Relying only on password protection.
PDF password protection is just one of the tools available to you to protect your documents. Combine password protection with other security measures such as document encryption and current best practices for PDF security. There are many layers of security and encryption settings you can choose from in Adobe Acrobat.
- Lack of knowledge about security issues.
As technology evolves, so do the methods of attack. This makes it crucial to stay informed about the latest developments in PDF security and implement the most effective solutions. Vulnerabilities in some encryption tools can also potentially compromise security. Be sure to use trusted applications and regularly update your Adobe Acrobat software and system to ensure you have the latest security features and protection.
How to improve your PDF password security.
To add PDF security, and enhance and improve the protection of your PDFs, consider these best practices —
- Use strong passwords.
Create multifaceted passwords to make brute force and dictionary attacks more challenging. Avoid using common dictionary words, standard phrases, and personal information. Add a PDF password following current security practices which recommend creating passwords with 10-12 characters using random words or phrases and a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Change and update your passwords regularly.
When you create a password in Acrobat check the progress bar that shows the status of your password from Weak to Best as you add characters.
- Choose the right type of PDF password security.
Think about which password security feature is most appropriate for you. Do you want to prevent people from opening your PDF files? Set a password that users need to enter to view a document. Do you want to prevent people from making changes to your PDF document? Set a password to lock in what other people can and can’t do in your files.
- Use added encryption.
The “Encrypt with Password” option in the “Protect a PDF” tool in Adobe Acrobat scrambles the contents of your PDF file into unintelligible cipher text. So, even if an unauthorised person or hacker cracked your password, they wouldn’t see the correct data from your document. Using encryption with your password is another layer of security.
- Create security policies and use certificate security.
Create user security policies for individuals and/or your organization and certificate security. In Adobe Acrobat’s “Security Settings,” select “Certificate Security” to create and save policies that you can use to apply the same security settings to all PDFs you create. Creating user policies can streamline the security process and ensure you apply security settings to documents in the same way every time.
- Redact and sanitize your documents.
To further protect sensitive data, use the “Redact a PDF” tool in Adobe Acrobat to remove or hide confidential information before saving and sending your PDF. Redacting blanks out text or images or you can block the content with different colours. Use the “Sanitize document” feature here to remove hidden data and metadata that you don’t want to share.
- Use additional protection in your Microsoft Office Applications.
It’s simple and easy to convert to and from other file formats, such as Word to PDF, Excel to PDF, PowerPoint to PDF and more. Select from the document protection options in your original Microsoft Office Applications as well.
- Customise your PDF protection.
Use the “Protect a PDF” tool in Adobe Acrobat to customize your security settings. Explore them. Check out what you can do with a free trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro.
- Keep up to date.
Use the “Check for updates” feature in your Adobe Acrobat application regularly to ensure you’ve got the latest security enhancements.
Related content.
Want to know more? Keep upskilling and check out some of our other articles on PDF passwords and PDF security —