How to Secure a PDF in 2 Ways

Audrey Goodwin

2023-04-13 17:06:35 • Filed to: How-To-Windows • Proven solutions

It is tiring when unauthorized people gain access to your documents without permission. It might be you are dealing with sensitive or personal documents and you require that they are not compromised or viewed for privacy or security reasons. If you find yourself in this mayhem, the sure solution is to secure PDF with a password. However, you need an appropriate tool on how to secure a PDF document. In this article, we shall take you through a step-by-step guide on how to secure PDF files with passwords.

Part 1. How to Secure a PDF with Password
Part 2. How to Secure a PDF with Signature

Part 1. How to Secure a PDF with Password

Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is the best all-in-one PDF software you can think of. This program has a collection of amazing features that makes the way we interact with PDFs not only easy but full of fun. Whether you are a newbie or an expert, PDFelement is a total no-brainer. PDFelement allows users to create and convert, annotate, print, edit, compress, perform OCR, protect, and share PDFs with ease.

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Step 1. Open PDF File

If you have already downloaded and installed PDFelement on your computer, the first step is to launch the program. When the primary interface is displayed, hit the “Open files” icon to access the file explorer window. Here, browse the PDF file that you want to secure and hit the “Open” button to upload it to the PDFelement window. Alternatively, you can drag the PDF file and drop it on the program’s interface.

Step 2. Secure PDF Using Open PDF Password

Now, the uploaded PDF file will open on the PDFelement window. Head to the “Protect” section on the toolbar and then click the “Set Password” option from the Protect sub-menu. The program will automatically display the “Security” dialog box. At the top of this security dialog box, enable the “Open Password” option by checking the respective checkbox. This will activate the “Open Password” field to allow you to enter your desired password for opening the document before it is being accessed.

Step 3. Secure PDF Using Permission Password

Once you have inserted the open password for your PDF document, you can now proceed to add the permission password. This option makes a document demand a password when someone wants to print or make changes to the document. To apply a permission password, simply tick the “Permission Password” option and enter the desired password within the “Permission Password” field. Also, proceed to select the target print and changes permission by clicking and selecting on the respective buttons. When you are satisfied with the selections you have made on your PDF document, it is time to save them to avoid being discarded. Just go to the “File” menu and hit the “Save” button.

Step 4. Save Secured PDF File

When the password is successfully created for your document, navigate to the “File” menu and select “Save As” from the sub-menu to save the changes you have made to your document. Once the changes are saved, close the file and navigate to the same folder. Open the file and you will be prompted to enter the open password. Also, when you try to print or make certain changes, you will be asked to first provide the permission password.

Part 2. How to Secure a PDF with Signature

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Step 1. Open PDF File

Run PDFelement on your computer to open the primary interface. Now click the “Open files” icon at the far left of the icons displayed on the interface and you will be directed to the file directory window. Here, choose the PDF file that you want to protect and click “Open” to import it to the PDFelement interface.

Step 2. Sign Document

When the PDF file successfully loads, navigate to the toolbar and hit the “Protect” button. You should see a couple of options displayed under the toolbar. Ignore the other options and click the “Sign Document” tab. now draw the region that you want the signature to appear on your document. Once done, the “Sign Document” dialog box pops up. Here, sign in with your ID and respective password. You can also click “New ID” to generate one. Within this dialog box, also select preferred customizations for your signature. Click “Sign” to add the signature to your PDF.