#pdf security software

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PDF Document Security Tricks : Keeping Website Data Secure In 2020

PDF is a commonly used document format for both desktop reading and online reading. However keeping the data within PDF secure is commonly misunderstood because many think that simply password protecting normal PDF will prevent anyone from accessing information that you may want to keep private and restrict to employees or otherwise privileged users. Unfortunately normal PDF cannot be secure and passwords can easily be extracted and shared.

When securing PDF documents for desktop reading it is much more secure when using DRM to limit access, especially DRM based on unique computer identity rather than a token file that can shared. Of course for any PDF security software to be secure and safe from exploits, the PDF file needs to be encrypted and a proprietary PDF reader used to validate the user's computer identity and allow access only when the author's requirements are met. Consequently generic PDF readers are not recommended and as a precaution, should not be able to decrypt and display any securely protected PDF. The same applies to secured PDF for online reading from a web page. The PDF file needs to be encrypted and its unlock password and keys protected. Consequently any online PDF viewer based on JavaScript alone will never be able to keep its unlock key secure, and again, the only recommended reader should be a proprietary web browser or browser plugin that will provide the only means of decrypting the PDF file and displaying its contents. To ensure that the PDF file itself cannot be downloaded and displayed on another web site, using encryption based on the domain name of the website can ensure that the PDF file can only be read from the intended website. For online reading, employing DRM similar to that used for desktop reading can cause conflicts and troubleshooting access failures can be a tedious and confusing chore. So in such cases, DRM is best left out of the PDF file and instead applied by access controls managed by the website itself. For example with CMS like WordPress and Moodle one has the choice of many different types of membership plugins, some integrated with pay to see and periodic subscription renewal, and some specifically designed for online tuition and course enrollment. Regardless of whether you use a PDF security software to encrypt and manage access rights to your PDF, or use a site protection software to protect normal PDF when embedded on web pages, care is needed when selecting the PDF viewer and the methods of display on the page, because while the PDF may be securely protected from copy while on display, the link to the PDF file's location, where it is stored online, can still be easily obtained and the file downloaded directly, thus evading any copy protection that may be applied to the web page. To prevent direct downloads when embedding normal PDF on web pages, it most recommended to "stream" the file so that the file's data is sent to the browser without providing the download link to visitors. Also, the PDF viewer that is displayed on the web page needs to be a custom viewer so that it is not accessible by Adobe Reader's plugin which provides permanent options for save, print and copy that cannot be removed or disabled. There are some interesting WordPress plugins that will take the PDF file and dissemble its contents for restructure and display on the web page as HTML to avoid using Adobe Reader resources. But be careful to disable those copy options in the viewer's toolbar. The security of any PDF protection or site protection software will be greatly enhanced by limiting visitor access to the ArtisBrowser web browser, because unlike all popular web browsers, the ArtisBrowser is specially designed to protect website content. While using the ArtisBrowser, view of source, copy-n-paste, save and print can be controlled by the site owner and data cannot be extracted from browser cache or memory.

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Is Your Online PDF File Secure? Try ArtistScope PDF Security Software To Protect Your PDF With Full Encryption Security.

PDF security software takes many shapes and forms. But how secure are they from those who may want to copy and redistribute with authorization or promote the data and media within them for their own purposes?

Sure, the PDF software vendors may claim it to be protected using "military strength" encryption, but is it really secure? Or have those buzz words been simply borrowed from a competitor's website? And how has it been encrypted? Is the password to unlock that encryption simply stored in the encrypted (unprotected) header of the file? Or is the unlock key protected from extraction and embedded into the software of a proprietary reader? Can it be used for desktop reading only, or can it be used online as website protection software? Because there is one thing that you can be sure about is that if it is using a generic PDF reader then you are wasting your time thinking it is protected. And if the desktop reader app or the method used to display it on a web page is based on JavaScript then it can never be considered to be secure.

One needs to question all of these things when considering whether a PDF security software is worthwhile using, or if it is simply another knock-off imitating yet another copy protection software. Any PDF software that is indeed secure will be available for full evaluation without obligation.

The CopySafe PDF Protection software suite is available as a free download to convert and protect PDF for evaluation in the desktop reader. CopySafe PDF also caters for online web page display. In fact today it is the only PDF security tool that can be used on web pages that is safe from all avenues of copy and exploit. Unfortunately web page display requires a license for "domain lock" which is not available for demo purposes because the encryption key is based on the website that will display the protected PDF. However the demo download does provide a ready-made example that can be displayed at "localhost".

If a test server is not available on your local computer for running a test site at http://localhost then you can always visit the online examples that have been prepared for CMS like WordPress, Moodle, Drupal, Joomla and DNN. Those examples will show how protected PDF can be displayed and how secure they really are while displayed on web pages. Plugins are available for each of those CMS to add protected PDF to pages from their inline page editor.

Exploring CopySafe PDF Protection software demos will show why CopySafe is the preferred choice by professionals and the industry standard where the protection of intellectual property and livelihoods is paramount. Regardless of whether you are distributing by email, download or on disk for desktop reading, or publishing online and using CopySafe as website protection software, you will find that CopySafe solutions are the most sophisticated and most secure copy protection solutions that have ever been imagined.

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How To Protect Your Digital Photos From Being Copied? 10 Best Ways To Secure Your Image.

In this article we look at the many different methods of copy protecting images online rated from 1 through to 10 which provides the best protection.

Some  methods are simple tricks that anyone can create and some require image protect software.

1. Add Copyright Notice Or Digimarc

Photographers often use the Digimarc plugin in Photoshop to add an extra tag to their images with a Copyright notice and ownership details. Although not evident when viewing the image, it can be seen when clicking the file to view properties. However such tags are not a deterrent to most. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save a new image without the same file properties.

2. Spliced Images

Sliced or segmented images can make saving of your image most difficult because the culprit will usually click to save and then later find that they only saved a part of the image. Image splicing can be a tedious chore because after slicing, they will need some HTML for a DIV or tableset to hold them in position. However there is software available that can automate that task. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the whole image.

3. Disable Hotlinking

Hotlinking refers to the use of your images on other websites by simply using your link resource. However hotlinking can be prevented by the checking the origin of the page that is displaying the image, which can be done by modifying your .htaccess file to check the referrer and rewrite conditionally. Or you can use one of the many PHP or CGI scripts available for link protection. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the image as seen on the page.

4. Embedded Images

Similar to hotlink prevention, "streaming" an image to display on the web page will look the same, but when saving, all that can be obtained is a reference to the script included to display the image. For more info on image streaming search for PHP ImageJpeg function or for Windows Server look for FileSystemObject examples. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the image as seen on the page.

5. Transparent Overlay

Overlaying a transparent image over the main image can prevent users from right clicking on images to save them, because when they do, all they get to save is the transparent overlay. Some CMS such as WordPress will have plugins for such methods but anyone can create the same effect creating a clear image saved as either PNG or GIF to preserve its transparency. Then that transparent image can be positioned over the image and held in place by using CSS. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the image as seen on the page.

6. No Right Click JavaScript

By disabling the right click context menu you can remove options for select, copy and paste commonly used by visitors to collect images. Here JavaScript is used to remove the context menu, and while it has been used in many CMS plugins for "content protection", no-right-click only removes the MouseOver options while leaving those options in the web browsers toolbar. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the image as seen on the page.

7. Display As Background Image

Normally images are displayed on web pages by using the <image src> attribute which display the image at that attributes location. However by creating a DIV or tableset in HTML and setting the image as the background for that item, when a user clicks on the image they cannot select it to save or view its properties. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the image as seen on the page.

8. Watermarking

Watermarking is a good deterrent for image theft because your name and Copyright statement can be emblazed anywhere on the image. Not many will want to display your name on stolen images. Watermarks can be added in the image creation stage or by using watermark software to embed text or an image onto existing images in batches by folder. Or you can use a CMS plugin like those for WordPress that can apply a watermark dynamically as the image loads. While watermarks are a strong deterrent to image copy, unfortunately they can ruin presentation and any atmosphere that might otherwise be achieved.

9. Encrypted Image with Domain Lock

Encrypted images cannot be viewed like normal images and require a custom viewer to first decrypt the image and then display it on the web page. When encrypted for domain lock, those images cannot be displayed  away from your website even if they use the same viewer, making them safe from company staff and your webmaster. Taking a screenshot using PrintScreen will save the image as seen on the page.

10. Screenshot Protection

Images can be saved by taking a screenshot using the PrintScreen keyboard button or any one of a plethora of screen capture software. However screenshots can be prevented by using image protect software and site protection software specially designed for "copy protection".

Summation The methods described in parts 1 to 9 offer no protection from screenshots. But the method described in part 10 does prevent screenshots. However there is only one such solution that can be used for online images because there is only one web browser that it still capable of actioning at system level to prevent screen capture. ArtisBrowser can be used with the ArtistScope Site Protection System (ASPS) and all of the CopySafe solutions that cater for the different types of media. that can be copy protected by site protection software. ASPS is the best site protection software, but unfortunately it does require Windows which can be ideal for classrooms and corporate intranets. Otherwise you have to make do with watermarking.

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What level of PDF security is needed to protect your online PDF document ?

There is so much PDF protection software available today that one wonders what they all offer to justify their use? PDF security seems to be a lucrative industry, judging by what some are charging for their services, so perhaps that is the attraction for software developers. Otherwise why are there literally hundreds of solutions available to DRM protect and copy protect PDF?

Do all of those solutions work and how secure are they? Well, when considering that simple password protection is touted by many as DRM one can wonder what other buzz words are used to exaggerate the effectiveness of simple solutions, most of which neither prevent copy nor prevent sharing. But I suppose that in the end it is up to the document author and his requirements. In some cases simple password protection can suffice, but even then, how secure does that password protection need to be because most solutions using password protection are easily exploited. In fact there is a plethora of software available online to do just that. Encryption and its strength is the key to keeping any PDF document secure because without encryption the document's contents cannot be protected. Requiring that the PDF document be decrypted and requiring the correct password to do so prevents unauthorized access to the document. However password protection is not the most effective PDF security as passwords can be shared. Anyone can send a copy of your document to others with the password and you as the author would be none the wiser. That is where real DRM comes into play. Some DRM requires a token file to be stored with the document but token files can also be shared. The only way to properly prevent sharing is by locking the PDF document to the user's computer and to do that either the token file needs to check the identity of the user or the call-to-home DRM checks the user's computer identity. Such computer identity can be either by detecting the users MAC address (network card identification) or by the serial number of their hard drive. Now when I say "lock" the document doesn't get fused to anyone's hardware, but instead, their unique computer ID is used to verify that the user is indeed who they claim to be. To do that the PDF reader needs to be able to retrieve that ID and compare it to the one either nominated in the token file or the one recorded against their account in your online DRM database. Hopefully by now we have arrived at the conclusion that most PDF readers are incapable of doing anything like what we have just discussed. So how secure are they really? For a pointer in the right direction, check out the CopySafe PDF Protection software which does all of this and very much more. In fact, unlike most PDF security software, CopySafe PDF Protection caters for desktop reading and also online web page display. CopySafe copy protect solutions cater for all types of media including images, PDF, video and web pages and for those using dedicated or virtual servers the ArtistScope Site Protection System (ASPS)  will most securely protect all media that can be displayed on a web page. ASPS provides the best security as site protection software that has ever been imagined.

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Why You Need to Secure Your Everyday PDF Document !

While PDF is a commonly used file format for everyone, publishing PDF without security can pose problems and invite unwanted abuse of your property. Sure, everyone can read PDF and they can do so on almost any type of device.  But that is where your problems can begin. If assuming that PDF can damper data-mining then realize that if search engines can read the contents of your PDF document via a simple link to it, then data-miners can also extract the contents of your PDF in entirety, including all text and images.

How any sort of data mining becomes a problem is usually because that data will be copied and published under the guise of a new author, whether it be to serve fodder to search engines to attract visitors and thus profit from advertising banners, or to blatantly plagiarize and publish as their own after changing product and company names. Copy writing for brochures and product pages takes time and requires skill to do it properly, so what far too many are doing these days is copying someone else's investment and after making minor changes, and use it to promote their own product. After all, if a competitor has a better product and ticks all the boxes, why not use their documentation and imitate their features?  Such theft will apply to anything that can be used to promote their product including descriptions and especially images. So while you may have paid for the rights to use image stock photography, content thieves will be attracted to your images because they are from image stock and who will know that they did not pay for usage rights.

There is no doubt that the Internet has become a free for all where scams and theft run unchecked. But there is a lot that you can do to prevent becoming a victim and protecting your intellectual property. By using PDF protection software you can limit who can access your PDF documents by applying either password protection or DRM controls that can lock documents to a user's computer to prevent sharing. Top of the line solutions will also prevent copy, save and print if so desired and being encrypted,  their data cannot be extracted and mined by search engines and downloaders.

If publishing PDF online as embedded PDF objects some PDF protection software can also cater for web browser display. Or you can simply publish the same data and images as web pages while using a  site protection software. Solutions like the ArtistScope Site Protection System (ASPS) will prevent all copy and save and its web pages cannot be data-mined because ASPS provides a secure tunnel between web site and web browser that cannot be decoded by anything but the ArtisBrowser, which of course prevents all copy and data extraction, even from browser cache and memory.

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Best Site Protection Software To Install With More Features !!

Site Protection Software is a broad term that covers various methods of copy protection for website content. 

These methods include access rights management, data security and the prevention of copy and downloading where necessary. If you search for copy protection software online, you’ll get hundreds of results that do not protect anything. ArtistScope copy protection systems are easy to deploy, and they provide the most secure and impenetrable protection for copyrighted content. Download and get a 14-day Free Trial !!

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Want To Protect Your PDF Document ? Use ArtistScope PDF protection software & get a free trial !!

Safeguard your PDF document with ArtistScope PDF protection software. Our PDF protection software is available as free trial software for protecting PDF distributed by email, download and on disk. To evaluate what is the most secure PDF security available today, download & get 14 days for free.

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How To Copy Protect PDF Using PDF Protection Software On Drupal Websites

Drupal is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in which it is very easy to copy protect PDF using PDF protection software for school lessons and online courses. Although not as popular as WordPress which is available with low cost hosting plans, Drupal offers connoisseurs enterprise level security, site scale and enhanced performance via its caching plugins.  As with WordPress,  Drupal has a great variety of free modules for adding and extending the services that can be run from your website. The Moodle CMS can provide more sophisticated course management because it is specially designed for that end. However Moodle is not easy to use and it is not very useful as a doorway to your courses or for anything promotional.

PDF makes for an easily managed file format for study lessons that can be read on the desktop and online from web pages. For anyone providing online tuition and coaching, copy protection needs to be considered because one needs protection from plagiarism and by preventing sharing and authorized distribution, one can protect their livelihood and what can be a huge investment in lessons and course material.

ArtistScope provide the CopySafe PDF Protection software which caters for three different modes of distribution such as for desktop reading with password protection, desktop reading with DRM controls to prevent sharing and online reading from web pages. In fact CopySafe provides the most secure and most effective protection from all methods of copy, and the only copy protect solution that can properly protect PDF in all modes of distribution.

ArtistScope also provides a module for using CopySafe PDF Protection on Drupal web pages. The module installs like any other Drupal module, enabling site owners and teachers to upload encrypted PDF for display on any web page. Lesson pages can be created using the usual Drupal editor to create pages and place embedded PDF on the page at any position while setting height and width of the reading area and nominating individual protection settings for each page.

Access to the online courses can be managed from within the usual Drupal member login system or by using a one of the modules designed for course level and student grades. Although many people assume that reading online from a web page can be more secure because the user doesn't actually download the PDF document to their computer, that is a false belief, because in all cases the document is read on the user's computer. The only difference is that the document can be saved to the users choice of location for desktop reading while it gets saved to the user's web browser cache for online reading.

The choice of providing lessons in PDF format for desktop reading or online reading will be governed by site design and policy. Both options work and are easily managed with the PDF protection software and Drupal modules that ArtistScope provides. For obligation free consultation about how to best copy protect PDF for your project, please use the email contact form at artistscope.com.