 Re: Locking PDF files?
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
|
Take my words back! PDFprotect crashed when trying to deprotect a PDF requiring a password to open. But looks like PDF key can do it (crack the password), and also can remove all kinds of PDF protection. For $39 it seems no PDF could be left protected...
Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
|
|
Re: Locking PDF files?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
|
I still think he only meant the security settings in print to PDF. No Fermat here... BTW, I know of a real story of a person who submitted FLT proof in the 60s or 70s to the Soviet Academy of Sciences, and it was rejected based on the fact that some mathematical apparatus was used that Fermat could not have known. ArXiv was not there at that time...
Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
|
|
Re: Locking PDF files?
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 1 |
Making a file "read only" by setting Mac permissions doesn't affect the file if it's emailed, only affects the file if it's read on a Mac, is defeated by changing the permissions or copying the file to a disk that has permissions disabled (by default, external drives have permissions disabled), and doesn't prohibit copying the contents of the file to the clipboard.
PDF files can be password-protected, and the password-protected PDF can be limited in many ways, including setting permissions for copying, modifying, and printing. However, there are programs circulating the Internet which strip the password from protected PDFs.
Really, the only realistic protections are legal. If you have a copyrighted PDF and your client steals it without paying you, sue them. if you can't afford to sue and you don't trust your client to pay you, drop that client and do business with clients you DO trust.
|
|
Re: Locking PDF files?
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4 |
Making a file "read only" by setting Mac permissions doesn't affect the file if it's emailed, only affects the file if it's read on a Mac, is defeated by changing the permissions or copying the file to a disk that has permissions disabled (by default, external drives have permissions disabled), and doesn't prohibit copying the contents of the file to the clipboard.
PDF files can be password-protected, and the password-protected PDF can be limited in many ways, including setting permissions for copying, modifying, and printing. However, there are programs circulating the Internet which strip the password from protected PDFs.
Really, the only realistic protections are legal. If you have a copyrighted PDF and your client steals it without paying you, sue them. if you can't afford to sue and you don't trust your client to pay you, drop that client and do business with clients you DO trust. The above points are on point. So are several others made throughout this thread. Once the file is out of your hands, all bets are off. For a bit of legal protection, make sure that you send/email yourself a copy of the file emailed to client — essentially a legal receipt for the mailing. Then, if necessary, you turn everything over to your lawyer/solicitor.
|
|
Re: Locking PDF files?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
|
Your last point is a valid one! The e-mail also has a date; I am not sure one can modify it for their benefits. And Tacit's comments are right on the money too.
Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
|
|
 Re: Locking PDF files?
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4 |
The solution was right here on the Mac. It works, too. At the click of a button, no printing or copying allowed, no extra software necessary, all built into the OS.  At the click of which button? Do you own Acrobat Pro or something? (it doesn't come built into the OS) It seems that this query was never answered. It would be nice to know what solution (built into Mac OS X) deals with the 'locking' problem.
|
|
Re: Locking PDF files?
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15 |
Wouldn't your post have been better directed at Bensheim?
Actually, though, Alex answered the question in post #19082 (above)...the one directly below Bensheim's smug brush-off of Hal's request for the info.
The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.
In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
|
|
Re: Locking PDF files?
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 4 |
Post #19082 slipped right by me. Thanks for pointing it out.
|
|
|
|
