Ultimate Guide: How to Encrypt A PDF Document?
11 July 2023 Senior Product Manager
Summary
Learn how to protect your important files with PDF encryption methods. This article covers practical and easy-to-use techniques to safeguard your content from theft.
Table of contents
PDF (Portable Document Format) files are designed to be quickly and easily shared on the web. Whether it is Windows, macOS, Linux or mobile phones, PDF files can be supported, and the content and layout display can be kept consistent when opened on different devices. PDF files are suitable for storing important and sensitive information, such as enterprise contracts, customer information, etc. In addition, when using or creating PDF, you can choose to encrypt the operation, which can better protect the content of the document than other document formats. When you encrypt a PDF, the document can only be opened or edited by entering the correct password.
There are two types of PDF passwords, one is the owner password, and the other is the user password. The so-called owner password means that you can set a password to prevent others from printing, copying or modifying text, adding or deleting pages in the PDF file. And the user password (or called open password), this password is used to prevent others from opening or viewing your PDF, only the correct password can be opened. This kind of encrypted file is generally difficult to crack, and professional cracking software is needed, and it may not be able to crack successfully.
After understanding what PDF file encryption is, the following will start to describe in detail the various methods of encrypting PDF files.
There are many types and choices of PDF encryption software. In order to save everyone’s time, the following will recommend some of the most simple and easy-to-use PDF encryption software.
Renee PDF Aide, it can help you quickly encrypt PDF files and improve the security of PDF through password protection. In addition to setting the password to open, users can also choose to disable editing permissions such as PDF printing, modification, form filling, and signature. The software uses the AES256 encryption algorithm with high key strength, so there is no need to worry about data being easily stolen. The operation of using Renee PDF Aide to encrypt PDF is very simple, and it also supports single file encryption or batch encryption of files, even novice users can quickly operate.
System requirements: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 (32-bit and 64-bit versions).
Hot Topic - ADsRenee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool 
Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners
Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark
Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms
Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch
Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.
Easy Use with simple steps
Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark
Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms
Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download, install and open Renee PDF Aide, click (PDF toolset).
② Click (Add Files) to import one or more PDF files.
③ Click the (encryption & decryption) tool in the upper menu bar. Then select (encrypt PDF file), enter the encryption password and perform other permission settings. After setting, click (Convert).
To encrypt PDF files, all you need is PDF editing software. The best PDF editor out there is Adobe Acrobat DC, but it’s not free and costs a lot more than other software. Adobe Acrobat DC provides two types of encryption, one is an “open” password that requires users to enter a password to open a PDF; the other is an “edit” password that restricts printing, editing, and copying of content in a PDF. Also, if you need to edit and create PDFs professionally and comprehensively, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a good choice.
Adobe Acrobat DC is an electronic word processing software developed by Adobe, which can be used to encrypt, create, edit, export, organize, share or sign PDFs. Adobe Acrobat DC software is more expensive to purchase, so it is more suitable for enterprise use. If you don’t need other more advanced PDF editing functions, it is recommended that you use other free PDF encryption software.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat DC software. Click (File) > (Protect with Password). Alternatively, choose (Tools) > (Protection) > (Protect with Password).
② Choose whether to set a PDF view password or edit password according to your own needs. After entering the password, click (Apply). When the operation is complete, Adobe Acrobat DC displays a confirmation message stating that the file was successfully secured with a password.
Unknown to many, there is an option to encrypt documents when creating PDFs in Microsoft Word. Just open the PDF in Word, and go to its property settings to encrypt it with a password.
Note: If the file is too large it may take longer to load, and the layout in Word may not look exactly like the original PDF, especially margins, columns, tables, page breaks symbols, footnotes, endnotes, frames, track changes, and special formatting options.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the PDF file to be encrypted in Microsoft Word, and click (File) > (Save As). Then in the Save As window, select (PDF (*.pdf)) from the Save as type drop-down menu, and name the PDF file.
② Click (Tools) > (General Options) at the bottom of the window. In the pop-up window, enter the encryption password, you can set (password when opening the file) and (password when modifying the file). After entering the password, click (OK) to save and exit the window. Finally, choose where to save the new PDF file and click (Save).
On Mac computers, you can use Preview to encrypt PDFs. Preview is a free Mac application that provides easy PDF editing and encryption. If you have no other higher editing needs, I believe that the preview program can satisfy you, and Mac users can use it immediately without installation.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① In the “Preview” program on the Mac computer, open the PDF file that you want to add a password to protect. Click (File) > (Export to PDF) > (Show Details). .
② Then select (encryption), enter the password and re-enter to verify the password. Finally, click (Save) to complete the PDF encryption operation.
If you need to encrypt a large number of PDF files, it is recommended to use Renee SecureSilo, to encrypt all files in one step. Renee SecureSilo is a software with high encryption security. It uses advanced AES256 encryption technology, which is difficult to crack the password, which can well protect the privacy of personal files. Using this software, users can encrypt and lock a large number of PDF files into a virtual disk. In addition to encrypting and protecting files in private disks, Renee SecureSilo also provides the functions of hiding files, disguising files, and encrypting password wallets, and the operation steps are also very simple.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download and install Renee SecureSilo. Open it after the installation is complete, in the software interface, set a protection password for the program and click (OK).
② Click (Encrypted File) > (Create Private Disk).
③ Set the name and save path for the private disk, click (Next) to create a virtual disk.
④ After creating the private disk, set an access password for the private disk and click (Next).
⑤ After the setting is complete, select the size range of the disk, and then click (Next) to complete the creation of the private disk.
⑥ In “Encrypted Documents”, click (Open Private Disk), enter the password, and click (Open). After opening the private disk, you can put the PDF file to be encrypted into the disk to realize the encryption protection of the file.
In addition to encrypting with the above-mentioned PDF encryption software, you can also encrypt files online, which can be done quickly on the browser.
Sejda Online PDF Editor is a web-based PDF editor that can be used to work with multiple PDF files at the same time. The biggest advantage of using an online PDF editor is that PDF file encryption can be completed online without downloading and installing any software, but when encrypting files, you must ensure a stable network connection, otherwise the encryption will fail. In addition, this online encryption tool provides PDF document editing service of 200 pages or 50MB per hour for free.
Online encryption link: https://www.sejda.com/encrypt-pdf
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Click (Upload PDF files) to select files from your computer to upload. You can also import PDF files from Dropbox or Google Drive.
② After uploading the PDF document, please enter the encrypted password in the password input box. In addition, you can also click (More options) to set the relevant permissions of the PDF, for example, you can restrict printing or prohibit filling in forms, comments, modifications, and even select encryption algorithms. Finally, click (Encrypt PDF) > (Download) to download the encrypted PDF file.
If you are looking for a completely free but efficient and excellent PDF encryption tool, then LightPDF is a good choice. In addition to PDF encryption, it also provides various other PDF editing functions, including conversion, compression, rotation, merging and splitting, etc. Use LightPDF to quickly encrypt PDF, and the operation is very simple.
Online encryption link: https://lightpdf.com/zh/protect-pdf
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the LightPDF online encryption link in the browser, click the (select file) button or drag in the PDF file, and upload the PDF to be encrypted.
② After the PDF document is uploaded, enter the encryption password in the (password) and (re-enter password) input boxes, and then click (encrypt) to start document encryption. When finished, click the (Download) button to save the file to your computer.
Soda PDF is another free and easy-to-use online PDF encryption website. By encrypting PDF files through this website, it can prevent illegal access and effectively protect confidential documents. The website uses the highly secure AES 256 encryption algorithm, which can greatly reduce the possibility of PDF files being cracked. The encryption operation is simple and suitable for all kinds of people. For specific operations, please refer to the introduction below.
Online encryption link: https://www.sodapdf.com/password-protect-pdf/
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the Soda PDF encryption link, select the confidential PDF file to be protected, and then drag and drop it to the web page. Of course, you can also upload PDF files from your computer or using a cloud storage service (Google Drive or Dropbox).
② After uploading, enter the password you want to use to protect the file, confirm it, and click (PROTECT). Although the tool supports passwords of any format and length, it is recommended that you use longer and more complex passwords so that your files are more secure. Finally, click (Download & View in browser) to download it to your computer, or send it to an email.
After encrypting a PDF file, if you still need to convert the PDF format or edit the content of the PDF file, it is recommended that you use Renee PDF Aide. The software is free to use and has powerful and versatile features that help you quickly convert and edit PDFs.
Renee PDF Aide can perform fast format conversion operations on PDF files. The software has a simple interface and rich functions, and supports conversion of multiple file formats. You can add multiple PDF files with one click, and the software supports batch conversion of multiple PDF files. Its conversion rate is up to 80 pages/minute, which can quickly increase your productivity. This software can convert a variety of different document formats, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, pictures, etc. The following will take the conversion to Word format as an example to illustrate.
Hot Topic - ADsRenee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool
Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners
Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark
Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms
Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch
Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.
Easy Use with simple steps
Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark
Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms
Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After installing Renee PDF Aide, open it.
② Select (Convert PDF).
③ In the upper menu bar, select the document format to be converted, such as Word, Excel, picture, etc., and then select the save location of the target document.
④ Click the (Add File) button to add the PDF file to be converted. After the file is added successfully, the information of the file to be converted will be displayed in the conversion list, click the (select page) list to select the page for file conversion. Finally, click the (Convert) button to convert. When the prompt conversion is over, the software will display the total number of converted files and the number of successfully converted files.
Before encrypting PDF files, you can edit, modify or print them. Renee PDF Aide provides a variety of powerful PDF editing functions, through which you can merge, split, add watermark, rotate and other operations. Although there are many functions, the user interface is simple and the operation will be very simple. After opening Renee PDF Aide, you can click (PDF Toolset). After entering, you can see a clear editing interface, and the most commonly used PDF editing operations will be introduced below.
1. Split PDF files
If your PDF file is too large or has unwanted content, you can split it. With Renee PDF Aide Converter software, you don’t need to convert it to other editable file formats and then split it.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset).
② Click (Split) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
③ Then, select one of the split modes. You can choose (split into multiple smaller files) or (keep specified pages).
④ Finally, click “Convert” to export the file and save it to the specified location.
2. Merge PDF files
When you have multiple related PDF files, you can choose to merge them into one file. The merging method is very simple, and can be realized with one click through the Renee PDF Aide tool.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset) > (Merge) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
② In the drop-down box on the right of “Pages to Merge”, select (All) or (Use Generator). After clicking (using the generator), you can manually select the pages to merge, or use the various automatic merge options provided by the software.
③ Finally, click (Convert) to export the file.
3. Rotate PDF files
If there is an error in the PDF file you downloaded from the Internet, the content of the entire PDF page has been rotated. In order to read it normally, you need to rotate it to a normal angle.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click (PDF Toolset) > (Add File), and upload the PDF file.
② Click (rotate) to select the angle to convert, such as 90, 180 or 270 degrees. Also, you need to choose which pages to rotate, all pages or some pages.
③ Finally, click (Convert) to save it to the specified location.
4. Decrypt PDF files
Sometimes we forget the password or the PDF downloaded from the Internet is password-protected. In addition to entering the password to open it, you can also use the Renee PDF Aide tool to try to crack the PDF password.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click (PDF Toolset) > (Add File), and import one or more PDF files.
② Click the (Encryption & Decryption) tool in the upper menu bar, and then select (Decrypt PDF file). You can optionally click (Modify) to enter possible password characters. Finally, after selecting the file output location and other output settings, click (Convert).
5. Add watermark to PDF files
In some important documents, in order to protect the content of the document from being stolen, we usually need to add an exclusive watermark to the PDF file to indicate the source or owner of the document.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click (PDF Toolset) > (Add File), and upload the PDF file.
② Click (Watermark), please choose (Add Watermark (cover surface)) or (Add Background). This means whether the watermark floats above the text, or is added to the bottom of the text.
③ Select the watermark file to be added, and click (…) in the “Watermark File” column to open the watermark file.
④ Select the page to be modified, all or part of it. Finally, click (Convert) to save it to the specified location.
Download Renee PDF Aide for free and try to convert and edit PDF files!
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