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Prevent forwarding of pdf files

Community Beginner ,
Jan 28, 2018 Jan 28, 2018

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I have been tasked with ensuring that our copyrighted and secured pdf publications (sent via Dynamics 365) cannot be forwarded by the original recipient.  I am aware of other products available that fulfill this function, but I was wondering if Adobe already has a product to do the same?  Encryption with digital ID is impractical when there are from 20 to up to 200 subscribers receiving the file. If nothing is available through Adobe, I would like to hear of any recommendations?

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Security digital signatures and esignatures

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LEGEND , Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

You need to be very clear that "do not forward" is impossible. What some products offer is a control over who can OPEN a file (DRM). The forwarded copy is therefore useless, but it is still forwarded. This must be made very clear to stakeholders.

You seem concerned about administrative overhead so be aware that DRM solutions, if they are to actually product files individually locked and accountable to users, will likely have significant administrative cost. In this regard using digital certifica

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2018 Jan 28, 2018

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Which other products doesn't allow forwarding PDF files?

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 28, 2018 Jan 28, 2018

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I am currently looking at lock lizard, but have not had a response as to suitability for mail merges where more than one recipient receives the same email.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

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Adobe has also a DRM solution.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

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All I am aware of is digital ID Encryption, which would necessitate contacting each and every subscriber to allow an encryption password to be set. I am bulk emailing through a CRM where one email template is used with one attachment and it is not feasible to contact each and every subscriber for digital ID encryption.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

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I mean the LiveCycle Policy Server:

http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle.html

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

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Forgot to mention that it does not seem to apply to forwarding emails containing the pdf.

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LEGEND ,
Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

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You need to be very clear that "do not forward" is impossible. What some products offer is a control over who can OPEN a file (DRM). The forwarded copy is therefore useless, but it is still forwarded. This must be made very clear to stakeholders.

You seem concerned about administrative overhead so be aware that DRM solutions, if they are to actually product files individually locked and accountable to users, will likely have significant administrative cost. In this regard using digital certificates, which you describe as "impractical", is no worse than anything else, I suspect. 

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018

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Thank you for the clarity of your reply MVP

As you correctly ascertained, the main aim is that only the addressee of the email can open the file and save it, with forwarding resulting in the next recipient being unable to open, read or save the file.  I was rather imprecise with my original explanation.

Thus far I have also determined that the financial costs of a DRM solution seem prohibitive, as well as administrative as you stated, especially for a small business with a small team.

The main aim is to protect our IP for the unique publications we sell, which securing and 'watermarking' of a PDF is insufficient in this instance.

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LEGEND ,
Jan 30, 2018 Jan 30, 2018

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For the two reasons you identify it’s more common to use a third party (“publisher“) to deliver the DRM. This too has a cost.

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Community Expert ,
Oct 19, 2019 Oct 19, 2019

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I recommend no one use this website. See my review of it here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/Acrobat/how-to-prevent-pdf-files-save-locally-or-forward-the-to-anyon...

In short, the protection it offers is easily overcome and it is not clear who (or what) is behind it, that you're giving access to your sensitive files to...

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