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Today, Mytour will guide you through the process of securing your PDF documents with a password to prevent unauthorized access. You can utilize several free online services for this task, or opt for the paid version of Adobe Acrobat Pro if available.
Steps
Using SmallPDF
Open SmallPDF's protection page. Visit https://smallpdf.com/protect-pdf/ using your web browser. SmallPDF allows you to password-protect your PDF files, ensuring they cannot be opened without the correct password.
- If you wish to lock the editing options of your PDF file with a password, use PDF2Go.
Click on Choose file (Select file). This red link is located in the middle of the page. A window will pop up.
Select the PDF file. Navigate to the folder containing the PDF file you wish to password-protect, then click on the document.
Click on Open (Open) at the bottom right corner of the window. The PDF file will be uploaded to the SmallPDF website.
Enter the password. Type the password you want to use in the "Choose your password" field, then re-enter it in the "Repeat your password" field below.
- The passwords entered in both fields must match to proceed.
Click on ENCRYPT PDF → (Encrypt PDF). This red button is located below the password field. The password will be applied to the PDF file.
Click on Download File Now (Download the file now). This button will appear on the left side of the page once the PDF file's password has been applied. The password-protected PDF file will download to your computer. From now on, whenever you want to open this PDF file, you will need to enter the correct password you set.
Using PDF2Go
Open the PDF2Go website. Visit https://www.pdf2go.com/protect-pdf/ using your web browser. Similar to SmallPDF, PDF2Go allows you to protect your PDF file with a password; additionally, this software also locks the editing of the PDF document, meaning no one can alter the content without knowing both passwords.
Click on Choose File. This option is located near the top of the page. A window will appear.
Select the PDF file. Navigate to the PDF file you want to password-protect, then click to select it.
Click on Open at the bottom right corner of the window. The PDF file will be uploaded to the website.
Scroll down to the "Settings" section in the middle of the page. You will set the password here.
Enter the password. Type the password for the PDF file into the "Enter user's password" text box, then re-enter it in the "Repeat user's password" box below. This is the password you will use to open the PDF file.
Disable permissions for the PDF file. Click the No bubble under the headings "Allow Printing?", "Allow ing?", and "Allow Modification?".
Scroll down and enter the editing password. Type the password you want to use to lock editing actions on the PDF file into the "Enter owner's password" and "Repeat owner's password" text boxes near the bottom of the page.
Click on SAVE CHANGES (Save changes). This green button is located at the bottom of the page. PDF2Go will begin applying the password to the PDF file.
Click on Download File. This light green button is located at the top left of the page. The encrypted PDF file will download to your computer. Every time you want to open or edit this PDF file, you will need to enter the correct password.
- You can also click Download ZIP File in the middle of the page if you want to download the PDF document as a compressed folder. This may be the only option for PDF files with exceptionally large sizes.
Using Adobe Acrobat Pro
Ensure you have the paid version of Adobe Acrobat. You cannot edit PDF files (including adding passwords) when using the free Adobe Reader.
Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat. Click File in the top left corner, select Open... from the dropdown menu, choose the PDF file, and then click Open at the bottom right of the window.
Click on View (View mode). This menu option is located at the top of the Adobe Acrobat window (on Windows) or screen (on Mac). A dropdown menu will appear.
Select Tools (Tools) from the dropdown menu. A pop-up menu with additional options will appear.
Choose Protect (Protect) from the pop-up menu. Another menu will appear.
Click on Open in the final pop-up menu. The "Protect" tool window will open.
Click on Encrypt in the middle of the window.
Click on Encrypt with Password (Encrypt with password). The encryption options page will open.
Check the box "Require a password to open this document." This option is located under the "Document Open" heading. The password input field will become available.
Enter the password. Type the password you want to use into the "Document Open Password" text field.
Select the compatibility level. Click the "Compatibility" dropdown menu and choose the minimum version of Adobe Acrobat you want the file to be compatible with.
Check the box "Encrypt all document contents." This option is located in the "Options" section. This will prevent others from extracting information from the PDF document.
Click on OK at the bottom of the page.
Re-enter the password when prompted. Type the document password again, then click OK. Your changes will be confirmed and applied to the PDF file. From now on, you will need to enter this password every time you want to view the PDF document.
Tips
- When setting a password for a PDF file, you should follow the same rules you typically use for email or computer passwords. This will help protect the PDF file from educated guesses or lucky attempts.
Warnings
- PDF files can be opened using specialized software. Even if you have password-protected your PDF document, it is advisable to store the file in a secure and private location.
