PDF Form Protection – lock form fields, stop editing, secure submission
Protect IP
Securely distribute PDF forms – protect form content & data:
Stop unauthorized access
Stop form content from being altered
Lock and encrypt form fields & data
Restrict Use
Control how your PDF forms are used:
Stop editing, copying and screen grabs
Stop printing or control the number of prints
Lock use to devices and locations
Set Expiry
Set PDF forms to automatically expire:
on a fixed date
after a number of days use
after a number of views and/or prints
Revoke Access
Revoke access no matter where your forms are located:
revoke a form for all users instantly
revoke individual user access to single, multiple, or all PDF forms
revoke access automatically after a number of views and/or prints
Watermark
Add dynamic watermarks to viewed and or printed pages. Dynamic variables (date/time, user name, company name, email address) are replaced with actual user and system data when the protected PDF form is displayed and/or printed.
You only have to protect a PDF form once in order to customize it for multiple users.
Protect revenue and increase ROI – reduce losses and costs
Take control over your IPR, prevent theft and misuse
No cost per form or user – one fixed price for unlimited use
Free Trial & Demo
“Fantastic product… outstanding support.”
“We would recommend Locklizard to others”
“The clear leader for PDF DRM protection”
“Our ebook sales have gone through the roof”
“Simple & secure – protects IPR from theft”
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PDF form security issues
PDF forms are an easy way to collect user data, but they suffer from multiple security issues:
Form content (text and fields on the form) can be easily modified.
Submitted field content can be altered after submission. Adobe Acrobat and other PDF editing software enable users to save fillable forms after data has been entered and edit it later – there is nothing to stop third parties from removing or editing this data either.
Digitally signed PDF files are not as secure as you might think. Objects that are being or have been signed may contain references to elsewhere in the PDF document or to somewhere outside the document where the content has not been digitally signed, and that content can be altered.
The Adobe Solution to PDF form protection
Adobe Acrobat (and other PDF editing software) enable users to flatten the PDF by using the ‘Print to PDF file’ option, which creates a graphic image of the document inside a PDF file. This can help stop users from altering field data after submission (although someone could still edit the graphic image or use an OCR tool to make it editable again). However, you may not want users to be able to print and copy the form, especially if you are selling a PDF form and want to stop it from being edited and resold by someone else.
For an example of how easy it is to edit a secured PDF form that was protected by Adobe, follow along below:
Go to the SmallPDF unlock PDF tool and upload a protected form.
Tick “I pinky swear that I have the right to edit this form and remove its protection” and press “Unlock PDF!”
Press the “Download” button and open the unprotected file in your PDF viewer/editor of choice to modify it.
That’s all a user needs to do if they want to unlock your PDF form. They can now do whatever they like with it, including distributing it to unauthorized users or changing its content.
Stop PDF forms from being edited or form data modified after submission
Protect form content from copying and saving
Locklizard’s DRM controls ensure users cannot copy your forms. It:
protects 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)
saves fillable PDF forms as read only
prevents PDF forms from being saved to unprotected formats
For additional PDF form security, you can lock PDF forms to country and IP locations.
Protect PDF form & form fields from editing
Safeguard PDF Security enables you to lock a PDF form and its fields so that form content cannot be edited and modified.
It automatically saves fillable PDFs as read only so that form content is always protected.
Form fields cannot be modified – only data can be entered by a user.
The Safeguard Secure PDF Viewer does not make any functionality available to users that enables them to edit form content. Your form will therefore remain the way you intended it to be.
Control or stop printing
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:
limit the number of high-quality prints allowed
enforce color documents to be printed in black & white or grayscale
log each time a form is printed (when and where this occurred)
watermark printed content with user-identifiable information (using dynamic watermarksthat insert user and system information at print time) to discourage photocopying and subsequent distribution
Locklizard automatically prevents printing to file drivers so that users cannot print to unprotected PDF files and other digital document formats.
Control form expiry
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 you do not have to spend time administering them 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.
Secure PDF form submission & form field encryption
Secure PDF form submission is an important part of form security since it ensures data that has been entered by a user cannot be modified after submission.
With a normal PDF form, form data is sent in plain text because 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 advises users not to enable JavaScript in PDF files due to PDF security issues – it is regularly used by hackers to gain access to computers.
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 enables 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 users’ access to documents regardless of where they are located.
Logging form use
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 PDF files so you can identify any suspicious activity and instantly revoke access if required.
How do I secure PDF fillable forms / lock PDF form after filling out using Safeguard PDF Security?
How to save fillable PDF as read only or PDF form as read only
To save a fillable PDF as read only (protect PDF form from editing and protect form content from being copied):
In Windows File Explorer, right-click on the PDF file that contains the form (the PDF could consist of just a form or multiple document pages and a form) and select the ‘Make secure PDF‘ option.
Select the DRM controls you want to apply (access, expiry, etc.).
Press the ‘Publish’ button.
Safeguard PDF Security will automatically save the fillable PDF form as read only, lock the PDF form against editing and modification, and prevent the PDF form from being saved in unprotected formats. Once a form is protected, users can only enter data in the form fields provided.
Safeguard PDF Security supports basic forms functionality. Custom user JavaScript is NOT supported to prevent forms from being exposed to AcroForm vulnerabilities.
Why lock a PDF form with Safeguard PDF Security?
Locking PDF forms and form fields with Safeguard is more secure than Adobe password protection & simple.
Secure PDF form submission & distributing a PDF form securely
With password-based systems such as Adobe PDF password protection, users can share PDF forms and their passwords with others. In other words, PDF password protection does not enable you to distribute a PDF form securely.
Locklizard uses public key technology with a secure and secret key transfer mechanism so that keys are never exposed to users and interfaces, where they can be readily exploited. Document keys are locked to authorized devices within a keystore, so if the keystore is copied to another device it will fail to work.
Locklizard’s PDF security stops users from sharing protected PDF forms with others and enables you to securely distribute PDF forms without fear of them being passed on to unauthorized parties. This is especially useful if your IPR is the form itself and you want to protect revenue generating content from being pirated and misused. It’s also ideal if you want to protect form content from unauthorized disclosure and modification.
Locklizard provides total and secure PDF form distribution and even enables you to encrypt form data on submission for additional security.
Why Locklizard for Secure PDF Forms?
Save fillable PDF as read only: securely lock, distribute & submit PDF forms without passwords
Locklizard provides total PDF form protection with US Gov strength AES encryption and public key technology to ensure your forms, form fields, and data remain protected no matter where they reside.
Our DRM PDF Security products enable secure PDF form distribution without insecure passwords or plug-ins, and enforce access, location, expiry, and usage controls.
Secure PDF form submission – form data can be encrypted on submission so that it cannot be modified after the form has been filled out and submitted. Form data is stored encrypted on the server so that it always remains protected.
No keys are exposed to users or interfaces and PDF forms are only ever decrypted in memory (no temporary files are created that could be easily copied) – see our DRM technology.
Documents are protected on your computer so there are no unprotected copies uploaded to the cloud where they could be compromized. Distribute protected PDF forms just like any other PDF file – by email, upload to a website, etc.
We don’t use JavaScript so we are not exposed to the multiple AcroForm vulnerabilities.
Our easy-to-use administration system provides simple user and document management and unlike passwords, keys are transparently and securely managed for you.
Read our customer testimonials and case studies to see why organizations use Locklizard PDF security to protect PDF forms, lock form fields from editing, distribute & share PDF forms securely, and enable secure PDF form submission.
FAQs
How do you edit a secured PDF form?
It depends on how it is protected. If it uses Adobe Acrobat security, you can simply upload the form to any PDF password removal service and modify it. If instead the form was converted to an image, the best course of action is to run it through Acrobat’s OCR tool to make the content editable again.
In PDF forms protected with Locklizard, users can only enter data in form fields. They cannot edit any other part of the PDF. They will be unable to remove editing restrictions or screenshot it to run through an OCR tool.
How do I make a PDF form secure for free?
You can’t. Good security requires constant assessment and improvement by experts, who do not work for free. Free PDF from protection tools usually just add easily removable editing restrictions or flatten the PDF into an image, which can be run through an OCR tool to be made editable again. If you want PDF form protection that works, your best option is a paid PDF DRM solution like Locklizard Safeguard.
Is it possible to secure forms online instead?
No. There are two ways to secure forms online: by uploading a document to a tool to be protected, and by embedding the form into a webpage. There are currently no online protection tools that offer security that is not easily bypassed, and uploading your sensitive files to somebody else’s server is not a good idea anyway.
Webpages,are easy to manipulate via the browser’s developer mode, which can be used to modify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Can you protect a fillable form in Microsoft Word?
After you create a fillable form in Word, you can make it read-only. However, this read-only protection is only designed to prevent accidental editing and can be easily removed. For more information, see Why you should not password protect a Microsoft Word document.
Does Locklizard let me prevent editing while allowing fields to be filled?
Yes, users cannot edit form content but fields can be filled in. Form fields remain fillable by default and their contents can only be saved to a separate .xml file so that you can choose whether to import them or not once the form is returned to you.
If you want to stop users from interacting with the form at all (i.e. make it non-fillable), you can flatten it before encryption.
How does Locklizard ensure secure PDF form submission?
Apart from using an HTTPS connection, you can encrypt form fields so that information entered in a secure form is encrypted on submit. Only those that are authorized at the receiving end will be able to decrypt the form data.
Customer Testimonials
We needed to deliver e-book versions of our handbooks while not compromising on security and digital rights. Safeguard PDF security is easy to use and intuitive.
The implementation was painless and we now have a greener, more secure way of distributing training manuals.
Locklizard’s PDF protection is exactly as described – the features are highly effective and I would give it 5 stars.
I would recommend Locklizard to others - their security is simple to use and fit for purpose. It meets common needs of businesses who have information they want to protect.
We would be happy to recommend Locklizard to any company needing a flexible way to secure PDF files.
Safeguard PDF Security has provided us with a very workable solution for sharing of information in a secure fashion. The support has been excellent and very accommodating.
We can cut accounts for a user five minutes before his class starts and he is ready to go. Happy smiling customer, while we still have security and personalized watermarking.
I have immense respect for the product and Locklizard provide great customer satisfaction and service.
We would recommend Safeguard to other companies for its security, cost and ease of use. It does what we expected it to do and more.
Ease of use is a bonus and the implementation was very easy. The product manual is excellent and Locklizard staff are very accommodating.
We sell a highly valued educational product in an open and competitive market so it was important to ensure we had effective security to protect our digital rights.
We highly recommend Locklizard - a professional company with a competitive and professional PDF Security product.
We would absolutely recommend both Locklizard as a company, and Safeguard PDF Security. It has transformed our study materials to the next level.
Not only did this increase sales, but we also believe that it has increased our customers’ ability to learn, which is even more important!
We would recommend Locklizard Safeguard to other companies that need to protect PDF reports. Customers have found the process of accessing the protected documents to be seamless.
Implementation was easy and technical support has been very responsive to requests for help.
Our company would without reservation recommend Locklizard. Their document DRM software opens up delivery of our new products in a timely fashion while knowing that the content will remain secure.
The return on investment to our company has been immediately evident.
We use Safeguard to make sure that documents cannot be opened outside our local network or from a unauthorized computer in order to copy or print the documents.
It is the most feature rich, affordable, & simple to use PDF security product on the market.
Safeguard PDF Security is simple to administer and meets our needs, consistently delivering secured manuals to our customers with ease.
Return on investment has been elimination of many man hours, printing resources and postage – it is estimated that costs decreased by 50% or more.
We would really recommend Safeguard PDF Security to every publishing company for managing ePubs or e-books securely. It is easy to secure PDF files and simple to distribute them to our authorized customers only.
Locklizard also provides a good customer support experience.
The ROI for us is incalculable. We have the security of knowing that our proprietary documents are secure. This is the entire value of our company.
I would most certainly recommend your PDF security product and already have. The ease of implementation was surprising.
We can now sell our manuals without the need to print them first, saving time, money and helping safeguard the environment.
We would recommend Safeguard PDF DRM – it is the perfect solution to sell and send e-documents securely whilst making sure someone cannot copy them.
We would recommend Locklizard to other companies without hesitation.
Their PDF DRM products provide a manageable, cost effective way to protect intellectual investment and they are always looking for ways to improve them. Moreover, their staff provide an excellent level of support.
Free Trial & Demo
PDF form security issues
The Adobe Solution to PDF form protection
How to edit a secured PDF form
Why lock a PDF form with Safeguard PDF Security?
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