When working with sensitive information, it’s important to protect it when sharing documents online. That way, you can prevent unauthorized access to your files if your accounts are compromised.
How can we do this? Well, password-protecting PDFs before sending them as email attachments helps to protect this sensitive info – otherwise, people could access, copy, or distribute your confidential information.
Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to protect a PDF file with a password, but it costs money and may not be compatible with your device. Fortunately, there are multiple other options to use if you don’t want to use Acrobat.
In this article, we will discuss why Acrobat shouldn’t be your priority when securing a PDF file with a password, and then we will look at two alternatives you can use that provide this security.
Why Shouldn’t You Use Acrobat to Password Protect PDF Files?
Acrobat comes as a free PDF file reader tool used to view, print, sign, and annotate PDFs. It enables you to limit access to a PDF via passwords; however, you can’t password protect your PDF online.
It is possible for you to lock your files and send them via an email attachment, but recipients have to download it then enter the correct password to view the content.
For many, Acrobat is not an ideal PDF password protection solution due to security flaws, cost, compatibility, and the fact it may make your computer heavy and slow to run too.
How to Password Protect a PDF File Without Acrobat
There are different methods you can use to secure PDFs with a password, either offline or online. If you want to encrypt a PDF file for email and then require users to enter passwords when accessing it on the local computer, you can use Microsoft Office’s built-in encryption tool.
If you intend to upload PDF files to your WordPress site and secure them there, install the Password Protect WordPress Pro plugin.
Use Microsoft Office’s Built-in Encryption Tool
Microsoft Office allows you to password protect a PDF file exported from a Word document. To get started securing your file on the local computer:
Open a Word document via Microsoft Word. Next, click File and choose Save As. Select Browse where the PDF will be saved.
Pick PDF (*.pdf) from the Save as type dropdown. Then, hit the Options button.
Enable the Encrypt the document with a password option then click OK.
Enter and reenter your password and click OK.
This should ensure your file is protected. If you or others want access now, they’ll have to enter the correct password in order to view it. This method is great if you share the computer with others but don’t want them to go through your private files.
However, you also have the option to add it to your WordPress website and then wrap the file with a password form, which can help you to share these files easily with others. The WordPress CMS doesn’t come with this feature to password protect your files though, so to do so, you need a third-party plugin.
Use Password Protect WordPress Pro and Prevent Direct Access Gold
While the PPWP plugin enables you to cover a PDF file with a password form, PDA helps with download management. In other words, you will have your file protected with two security layers: a password form and a private download link.
When users fill in the correct password in the form, they can access the PDF with its protected URL. They are permitted to use the link and download the file within a certain period of time or a number of clicks. Follow these 4 steps to lock a PDF file on your WordPress site:
Step 1: Install PPWP Pro and PDA Gold plugins
Download the PPWP Pro plugin and head to Add New under Plugins in your WordPress dashboard.
Next, click Upload Plugin and open the zip file that you’ve just downloaded.
Enter the license key which is sent to your email address and activate the plugin
Take the same steps to download the PDA plugin.
Step 2: Embed the PDF file to your WordPress content
PDA Gold allows you to protect the file URLs within in your WordPress Media Library, while PPWP Pro requires you to insert the file to a page and post, and then password protect the file section. A secure file on your post will look something like this:
Here’s how to insert your PDF to a page or post then protect it with PDA Gold plugin:
Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard, then visit the Media page then click Add New
Go to Pages or Posts and edit your desired page/post or create a new one.
Click Add Media under the post title in the edit screen
Select your PDF file and copy its URL;
To add your password-protected PDF to your WordPress content, insert the file using this shortcode format:
Your Content
[ppwp passwords=123 headline="Protected File" description="Enter password to unlock and download this file" cookie=1 download_limit=1]
<a href="your-file-URL">Your file name</a>
[/ppwp]
Your Content
The shortcode parameters are explained as follows:
- passwords – The password users must enter to access your file. Create a strong password with at least 8 characters, including numbers, letters, and special characters.
- cookie – The expiration time (in days) after which users will have to re-enter the password.
- download_limit – The maximum number of times users can download the file after entering the correct password. Once this limit is reached, users won’t be able to download the file even with the correct password.
If you prefer visual instructions, check out this video
Conclusion
We’ve covered 2 solutions to lock your PDF file with a password – you can secure it offline using Microsoft Word, or if you intend to share your PDF files on the WordPress site, the PDA Gold and PPWP plugins make it easy for you to do so whilst securing your files with a password.
