How To Protect A PDF From Being Altered

Periodically there may be need to have a PDF in such a way where it is disallowed for it to be altered in any way. For example, if you have a home-based business and have a contractual agreement that customers need to print, sign and mail back to you, the document must be in such a way where it absolutely cannot be changed.

This is simple to do with the freely available PDF Creator. It will work with any word processing application as it makes a pseudo "printer" for making PDFs.

Here’s how it’s done.

First, get PDF Creator and install it.

Second, launch your word processing application and open the document you want to protect.

Third, click File then Print and select PDF Creator (it will be listed as a printer even though it writes to a PDF file), like this:

Fourth, on the next screen click the Options button:

Fifth, click Formats (which is a green colored word) on the left, then PDF (underlined word) on the left, then Security tab on the right, then check the boxes under Disallow User to for Copy the text and images, Modify the document and Modify comments, like this:

When finished, click the Save button.

You will go back one screen. Click the Save button again.

At this point you will be prompted to save your PDF file. Title and save it wherever you like.

You will be prompted to enter an Owner Password at this point.

Enter a password you will remember, then click OK.

Note: This does not require anyone who downloads the PDF to enter a password to open the file. This is only for you in case you wanted to modify the PDF directly, which you don’t have to since you’re editing with a word processor. Regardless, the password is required as it cannot be unchecked from the previous option screen.

After save, your PDF will open up in the default reader.

Whether you’re using the Adobe Reader or FoxIt, you will notice that text cannot be copied or altered. It can be selected, but on attempt to copy, that option will be purposely grayed out.

From the security options we set, the only thing the user is allowed to do is print – that is unless you checked the box to disallow printing as well.

I want to point out that it’s not impossible for someone to modify a protected PDF – but any attempt to do so would be quite difficult and stick out like a sore thumb.