(Archived) Evernote, security & encrypted PDFssss...!!!

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I've expanded my horizons on encrypted/password protected PDFs. (Not by choice but b/c our accountant, who is trying to go all electronic this year, doesn't have someone savvy enough to unzip zip or rar files.(teeth gnashing))

YES, PDFs can be ENCRYPTED. YES, PDFs can be encrypted for FREE! Just b/c a PDF is password protected does not mean it's encrypted.

From what I can tell, PDF Xchange viewer is fully functional & FREE for most uses. It's been my preferred PDF viewer for about a year but this version allows ENCRYPTION.

The downfall I've encountered most recently (outside my workforce) with ZIP and/or RAR files is that the recipient needs an "unzipper". Yah, it may be free. It may be totally awesome at what it does & highly recommended by many tech sites & totally ad free. But if they (the more clerical staff at say, your accountant's office) don't have the skill set to find/download/install a free unzipper, you're back to square one. (sigh)

SO...I found PDF Xchange. I've used their lite viewer for about a year & love it. But this version is free for most instances & allows you to not only password protect but also ENCRYPT (they are NOT the same thing!) PDFs. What's the advantage? Most people have a PDF viewer. (At least more so than unzippers). They don't need to be savvy enough to find a free/highly recommended unzipper. You JUST need a PDF viewer & the password.

SO...if you password protect/ENCRYPT PDFs, that allows you to add sensitive data to your EN account & not have to be overly concerned if the EN servers ever got hacked. (Not that I think they would.) I'm definitely going to be doing this with many of my sensitive docs, which I've always hesitated to put on the EN servers.

NOTE: when encrypting, I select the option for Acrobat 7 & higher b/c it seems to be a good compromise between good security along with people using older versions of PDF readers.

NOTE: Encrypted PDFs will not be indexed...and that's the way it should be!

NOTE: when viewing an encrypted PDF from my iPhone...no can do. But for me, that's ok. I have other options at my disposal b/c I'm normally not going to be needing to view a sensitive document on my iPhone. Seriously, if it's a sensitive document, most people/companies/corps allow enough time to get back to a real live computer (of some sort - even if it's accessing it remotely).

[dan7000 26]

Isn't unzipping supported natively by XP and later Windows versions?

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

It may be. Sometimes it's just dealing with the person on the other end's skill set. IYKWIM.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I found it ironic that a CPA firm is filing electronically, sends out your taxes via email with an encrypted PDF attachment & requires you to sign & return PIN authorizations as well as signed state tax pages so they can file electronically. YET they don't have the ability to unzip zip files or unrar rar files (both very common) a bit annoying. Speed bumps on the road of life, I guess.

And I learned something in the process. So it's all good.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

NOTE: when encrypting, I select the option for Acrobat 7 & higher b/c it seems to be a good compromise between good security along with people using older versions of PDF readers..

Added note: No valid reason (I can think of) that a recipient uses a very old viewer, since they have always been free.