PDF DRM

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Zarathustra

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Why would you be sending them this information in the first place?


EDIT:
Putting this into context... if you did something as annoying as what you have just described this is what I would do:
  1. Take a screenshot of every page
  2. Crop every screen-dump with a picture editor
  3. Paste each edited screen-dump in Word - one picture per page
  4. Export the document as a PDF
  5. DRM very easily overridden
 
Last edited:
You can achieve this by using Acrobat Professional and limiting the PDF file in the Export/Save Options.
 
We would be selling the content.

So, in other words, a person would pay for the content of the file.

I would however like to prevent this person from just simply forwarding the file to numerous other recipients without them paying for it.

In this case, caring isn't sharing.

I need to be able to limit it to more than the person not being able to print it etc. but rather to expire the file after a specific time, lock it to that specific user etc.
 
Zarathustra said:
We would be selling the content.

So, in other words, a person would pay for the content of the file.

I would however like to prevent this person from just simply forwarding the file to numerous other recipients without them paying for it.

In this case, caring isn't sharing.

I need to be able to limit it to more than the person not being able to print it etc. but rather to expire the file after a specific time, lock it to that specific user etc.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind it depends on the PDF viewer. I use LINUX and a lot of PDFs with even passwords are 100% viewable with the most basic LINUX PDF viewer.
 
I hate to break it to you, but if it can be viewed on their screen, it can be copied one way or another to a drm free document.

Your best bet is to give your customer/client a website you make that you can take down later. Do the usual password access control and encryption etc. Set up unique stock/order/services codes to that customer, then when someone else orders using that code you know who shared it.
 
cbrunsdonza said:
Keep in mind it depends on the PDF viewer. I use LINUX and a lot of PDFs with even passwords are 100% viewable with the most basic LINUX PDF viewer.
Click to expand...

+1 I've found this as well.
Personally I would be really p'sd off if I paid for something and it had heavy drm. But if you are really worried you could post it on a secure website and give access to that instead for a limited time. Yes they can always find a way around, but any digital media can be over ridden
 
I've seen some sites which have PDF files embedded in a Flash/Java viewer on websites. It seems to be the best way to thwart someone taking the document.
 
agentrfr said:
I hate to break it to you, but if it can be viewed on their screen, it can be copied one way or another to a drm free document.

Your best bet is to give your customer/client a website you make that you can take down later. Do the usual password access control and encryption etc. Set up unique stock/order/services codes to that customer, then when someone else orders using that code you know who shared it.
Click to expand...

I agree. If you don't specifically tell people this, then the probability that they would rather just share the link than copy and save it as a file and share that file is greater, and you can catch them more easily.

I know some ebook sellers give you an unrestricted ebook (i.e. no DRM), but they print you email / user ID / name on every page. This means that if you share it and it ever comes back to them, they know who gave it away.

Just remember, there's no way to completely restrict sharing - rather just live with it!
 
With PDF? Not possible...

I have successfully removed every kind of DRM from PDF files in my lifetime, over 100 documents.
 
Okay, so after much searching, almost having a heart attack @ pricing etc.

Here is a workable solution, not perfect, but free & highly configurable:

http://www.drumlinsecurity.co.uk/

Basically converts the PDF into a proprietary format with their own viewer.

Although screen capture can be disabled, I suspect that graphic tool software would still allow one to bypass this.

However, this solution is easy to use & will slow down or stop most non-IT/technical users.
 
Zarathustra said:
Okay, so after much searching, almost having a heart attack @ pricing etc.

Here is a workable solution, not perfect, but free & highly configurable:

http://www.drumlinsecurity.co.uk/


Basically converts the PDF into a proprietary format with their own viewer.

Although screen capture can be disabled, I suspect that graphic tool software would still allow one to bypass this.

However, this solution is easy to use & will slow down or stop most non-IT/technical users.
Click to expand...

Graphic tool software? No way Zara - all that's needed is the PrtScrn button on your keyboard
 
@eehellfire, I have tested it, the Javelin viewer disables the [PrtScrn] function/button if the [Disable Screen Capture] option has been selected when authoring a file.

However, again I have tested it, either a standalone or one from within a graphic software package, bypasses this.
 
Zarathustra said:
@eehellfire, I have tested it, the Javelin viewer disables the [PrtScrn] function/button if the [Disable Screen Capture] option has been selected when authoring a file.

However, again I have tested it, either a standalone or one from within a graphic software package, bypasses this.
Click to expand...

If you take the focus off the window, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to PrtScrn
 
If the guys using PrintScreen to scrape the screen will probably want to print it in order to read it, the image quality with be very pixelated.
 
Incidentally, if you are worried about people sharing docs I hope you have reports on user's IP addresses. Does the site allow multiple logins?
 
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