A basic rule of protecting any kind of file is that if you can read it at all on your screen (as you can when you enter the correct password in Adobe Reader) then the file is not really secure. Yes the file is secure against people who don't know the password, but it isn't secure against Deborah Planet because she knows the password.
The fact that Adobe Reader won't let you save the file and leave off the password protection is just a feature within Adobe Reader. Other software, such as Adobe Acrobat Pro or PDFUnlock, will save the file and leave off the password protection. A description of some of the methods may be found at http://www.wikihow.com/Unlock-a-Secure-PDF-File
When choosing a program to remove the password protection, make sure the output is a pdf. Sure, Microsoft XPS viewer will remove the password, but the output will be a .xps file, which the page separator can't read. Whichever program you choose, I suggest looking around the Internet for reviews to make sure it is safe and effective. |
