Did you know that cybercrimes went up by 600% during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The rise of work work-from-home culture has made it easier for hackers to access confidential business information and for sensitive information to leak.
If you’re regularly communicating, collaborating with co-workers, or sharing work documents over email and other channels, the least you can do is lock your PDF files.
Locking or password-protecting a PDF file is a simple and easy solution to keep your private information secure.
In fact, it’s one of the most useful data management practices if you work in an organization where information is essential in your daily operations.
As we’re about to cover below, there are many different ways you can encrypt your PDF documents and important information.
In this post, we’ll cover all the different ways you can lock your PDF documents. Whether you want to do it with Adobe Acrobat, on a Mac, remotely with your mobile device, and more.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- 2 Main Types Of PDF Password Locks And Secure PDFs
- How To Lock A PDF Document From Editing (Adobe Reader, On Mac With Preview, On Mobile, Online)
- How To Unlock A PDF Document If You Forgot Your Password
- How To Password Protect Your Google Docs?
2 Main Types Of PDF Password Locks And Secure PDFs
There are 2 main types of password locks you can use to secure your PDF: open and permission passwords.
Here’s what’s the difference between an open and a permission password.:
PDF open password (user password)
A document open password (also known as a user password) is a password type that restricts people from opening or viewing a PDF document.
This is the password that any PDF viewer prompts you to input when you open a certain document.
Permissions password (owner password)
A permissions password (also known as an owner password) is a password type that sets restrictions on a PDF document’s usage.
For instance, on printing, content copying, editing, commenting, etc. You’ll be prompted to provide this password if you try to make any changes to a certain document. It is an extra level of protection on top of the PDF open password.
How To Lock A PDF Document From Editing (Adobe Reader, On Mac With Preview, On Mobile, Online)
You can lock a PDF from editing by putting an owner password on it.
There are multiple ways in which you can achieve this. Some of the major ways to lock a PDF from editing include doing so with Adobe Reader, Preview, a free online PDF tool, and more.
Below, we’ll cover each method for locking a PDF from editing.
How to password protect a PDF document in Adobe Reader
In order to password protect your PDF in Adobe reader, you’ll require the paid version, i.e., the Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
Once you have it, follow the following steps to password protect your PDF from editing:
Step 1: Open the PDF Document
Open the PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. If it’s set as your default PDF viewer, then your document will open automatically in it.
If not, then open Adobe Acrobat, go to ‘File’, click on ‘Open’, navigate to the PDF that you want to password protect, and click ‘Open’.
Step 2: Open the Protect Tool
Once the file is open, go to the ‘Tools’ section, and find the ‘Protect’ option. Click on it.
Step 3: Create User and Owner Password
In the ‘Protect’ tool, click on ‘Encrypt’. A dropdown will appear, choose ’Encrypt with Password’.
Tick the ‘Require a password to open the document’ option, and enter a strong password next to ‘Document Open Password’.
Now, tick ‘Restrict editing and printing of the document’.
A password will be required in order to change these permission settings, and enter a password next to ‘Change Permission Password’. You can play around with the permissions by clicking the dropdown next to ‘Printing Allowed’ and ‘Changes Allowed’.
Step 4: Confirm Passwords
You will be prompted to confirm the Document Open Password. Click ‘Ok’ to confirm the document open password.
Step 5: Save the PDF
Your password setting won’t be saved unless you save the document. A new window will pop up to remind you of this, click on ‘Ok’, and then press Ctrl + S to save the document.
Looking for more ways to edit, manage, or manipulate your PDF documents with or without Adobe Acrobat?
Be sure to also read:
- How to Edit PDF Files And Documents Without Adobe Acrobat
- How to Make a Fillable PDF Form Without Adobe Acrobat
- How to Rotate PDF Pages and Files In Adobe (Online or Offline)
How to lock a PDF file on Mac with Preview
You can password-protect a PDF in Mac without requiring any external software. The Mac’s built-in PDF viewer, Preview, allows you to set both owner and user passwords. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open PDF in Preview
Head over to the PDF file that you want to password-protect. Double click on the file to open it in Preview. If Preview isn’t the default app, then right-click on the file name, select ‘Open With’, and select ‘Preview’.
Step 2: Export the PDF
Once the PDF file is open in Preview, click on ‘File’, and select ‘Export’. You can either update the current PDF file or you can save it as a different file through this option.
Step 3: Create Password
Click ‘Permissions...’, which is at the bottom of the Export window.
Tick the ‘Require Password To Open Document’ box, type a password, and verify it in the next tab. Select whichever permissions you require. Now, input a password in the Owner Password, and verify it by re-typing it.
Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘Save’ to save the new password setting.
Wondering what are some other edits you can do to PDF documents on Mac with Preview?
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