How can I prevent unauthorized copying of a PDF file from a CD/DVD
I have createde 1 1500-page reference document, converted to PDF, with more than 5,000 internal links.
I desire to make it available on a CD/DVD.
I wish to allow a reader to print any desired pages, but NOT to cut-and-paste or drag-and-drop the total document onto another disc, hard drive, or other media. I desire to prevent it being copied.
Software/Hardware used:
Pagemaker for base document, converted into PDF with Acrobat-9
I desire to make it available on a CD/DVD.
I wish to allow a reader to print any desired pages, but NOT to cut-and-paste or drag-and-drop the total document onto another disc, hard drive, or other media. I desire to prevent it being copied.
Software/Hardware used:
Pagemaker for base document, converted into PDF with Acrobat-9
ASKED:
April 8, 2010 11:14 PM
UPDATED:
June 17, 2010 3:30 PM
Answer Wiki:
Not sure if it's possible but try adjusting the file properties by right clicking and deny all options except read. That <i>MIGHT</i> work..
If someone want the contents bad enough they will find a way around it like they do copyrighted movies, and the movie industry has a lot more to lose.
To see all answers submitted to the Answer Wiki: View Answer History.
You could use some technique to prevent users from copying the entire disc, but I think it would be really difficult to prevent users from copying individual files.
I would suggest starting with a basic review of the technological difficulties involved. The Wikipedia article on Copy protection seems to be a useful starting point. In some of the fundamental senses described in the article, it simply isn’t possible to guarantee copy protection.
You might, for example, succeed in restricting actual Adobe Reader from copying; but will the same technique work if PDF-XChange Viewer is used by the consumer? Who knows?
Tom
I would say that it is almost impossible to fully restrict copying.
If the material is so important, and users are allowed to see it, they could just press ‘PrtScn’ and save the snapshots of the parts they are interested in.
This topic for prevention of copying CD/DVD keeps re-occuring. As was explained in previous forum questions, if the disc can be read, it can be copied.
If this is a major security problem, then encrypting the disc contents and providing a different key to each user will only slow down the procedure of copying the data. Once the key has been used, the data is then open to printing/copying.
You can’t prevent the user from copying the pdf/data files if they can open the files.
They can always redirect the print to a file. then they will have access to it and no copy protection will stop that.