If you value your work and important business data, you will want to avoid having it fall into the wrong hands. Here’s how you can protect your PDF files so that they don’t get into the wrong hands:
Download a Reliable Program
The first thing you need to do to password protect your PDF file is to download a reliable program with the tools necessary to password protect it.
Adobe Acrobat is such a program. It comes with many features for PDFs. It allows users to view, edit and protect documents and allow users to view their documents online. The first step toward password-protecting your documents is to ensure that you have the program.
Open Your File
The next step to password protect PDF is to open your file. Once you have the file open, you will want to choose the menu item “Tools” and then choose the “Protect” feature. This will allow you to place a password on any document you would like to protect from other people.
Create a Password
The next step toward password protecting your document is to create an effective password. You should choose a password that other people cannot figure out easily. You don’t want to make it too difficult for you to remember, but you also don’t want to make it easy for someone else to guess.
A good rule-of-thumb practice is to make a password that has a good mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters if you’re allowed to incorporate them into the document. Special characters are characters such as exclamation points and pound signs. They are difficult for random would-be hackers to guess.
Save the Document With the Password
Once you think of the password you want to assign to the document, you can save it. You’ll need to click “OK” and then click “Save” to save your entire document. You’re now done with the process of password protecting your PDF.
Tips for Password Protection
You should always ensure that you use the best practices possible when you are creating passwords for your PDF files. Long passwords are less likely to be hacked and infiltrated than shorter passwords are.
Also, you may want to change the passwords on your documents after a certain amount of time. It’s a common practice that many people do with various documents and website pages.
You may want to change your passwords every 90 days to make sure you protect their integrity. It never hurts to change things up a little bit.
Other Protective Features
Password protection isn’t the only security feature Adobe Acrobat has. You can also take advantage of a heap of other features such as licensing and encryption. All the features in Adobe Acrobat work together to ensure that your documents are always as safe as possible.
Now you know how to protect your PDF files. Use the tools mentioned above to ensure that your PDF files stay protected at all times.
