PDF Form Protection – lock fields, stop editing, securely distribute

Locklizard’s DRM controls ensure users cannot copy your forms:

• protect form content from being copied (users cannot copy and paste content to other applications)
• stops screen grabbing tools (so users cannot take high quality screenshots)
• prevents PDF forms from being saved to unprotected formats
• stops users sharing PDF forms – forms are locked to authorized user’s devices

For additional PDF form security, you can lock PDF forms to country and IP locations.

Safeguard PDF Security enables you to lock a PDF form and its fields so that form content cannot be edited and modified.

The Safeguard Secure PDF Viewer does not make any tools available to users that enables them to edit form content.  Your form will theefore remain the way you intended it to be.

Disabling printing (this is applied by default) is an important aspect of secure PDF form distribution as it ensures printed copies cannot be made available to unauthorized users or forms scanned back in and altered.

However, if you want users to be able to make printed copies then you can:

1. limit the number of high quality prints allowed
2. enforce color documents to be printed in black & white or grayscale
3. log each time a form is printed (when and where this occurred)
4. watermark printed content with user identifiable information (using dynamic watermarks that insert user and system information at print time) to discourage photocopying and subsequent distribution

Locklizard automatically prevent printing to file drivers so that users cannot print to unprotected PDF files and other digital document formats.

Setting a PDF form to expire can be useful if your form is part of teaching material or a competition (say a quiz) where you want to time limit access.

Expiry controlled forms stop being available automatically – so stopping access to them does not have to be administered manually.

Safeguard PDF security enables you to securely distribute forms that automatically expire:

• on a fixed date
• after a number of days use
• after a number of views
• after a number of prints

So you have full control over how long your secure PDF forms can be viewed and printed.

With a normal PDF form, form data is sent in plain text since it is part of the PDF document.  This means that it is not protected when stored on a server.

Encrypting form fields (encoding form fields) ensures they cannot be modified after the form has been filled out and submitted.

Some companies use JavaScript to encrypt form data, but even Adobe advise users not to enable JavaScript in PDF files due to PDF security issues – it is regularly used by hackers to gain access to computers.

Locklizard store PDF form data in an XML file which can be encrypted separately when the form is submitted.  This ensures sensitive data like credit card information is always protected.

There are going to be times when you have distributed forms that are no longer valid or contracts with third parties are no longer active.

Locklizard enable you to instantly revoke access to PDF forms for all or individual users, or revoke user access to all or individual forms in one go so that they are no longer accessible.

Being able to revoke access is an important feature of secure PDF form distribution since it ensures you retain full control over user’s access to documents regardless of where they are located.

There may be occasions when you want to see if a PDF form you have distributed securely has been viewed and/or printed, and where, when and how often this occurred.

Locklizard enables you to track and monitor PDF files so you can identify any suspicious activity and instantly revoke access if required.