Passwords and security settings for your PDF documents
webPDF lets you protect PDF documents with passwords and configure security settings.
What does password protection mean for a PDF document?
Depending on the selected protection mode, a document cannot be opened or edited without a password. A distinction is made between:
- User password (also called open password): required to open and read the document.
- Owner password: used to restrict actions such as printing, editing, and copying content.
Setting password protection in the webPDF portal
First, upload the PDF document you want to protect to the web portal. Then select the file and click the lock icon in the right sidebar to open the security settings.
Set passwords to:
- protect document opening (user password)
- protect document editing (owner password)
You can also restrict editing/printing options and allow specific changes. In addition, you can choose the encryption level for password protection.
The 256-bit AES method provides the strongest encryption, but requires Acrobat version X or newer.
The portal also gives you an overview of all active security settings for the selected document.
Summary - Adjust security settings
With webPDF, you can configure permissions such as:
- insert/delete/rotate pages
- fill and sign form fields
- comment
- copy content
The chosen encryption level determines the algorithm and strength of password protection. In practice, you need to balance security strength and viewer compatibility.
Real confidentiality protection is achieved primarily through the user password, because it encrypts the PDF content. Without it, the file cannot be read.
By contrast, the owner password relies on PDF viewers respecting permissions. If a viewer ignores those restrictions, owner-password limits can be bypassed.
Certificates do not prevent content changes, but they make modifications detectable and traceable.
More information on PDF passwords and security settings
https://www.webpdf.de/en/pdf-password-protection-and-security-settings