Internet security is often talked about but when we think of online security, we often think about things like our credit cards or our email or even our social media accounts. An area we might overlook is our personal documents and records. These can come in many forms and for various reasons need to be kept secret. And what about PDFs? They are used for a variety of different types of documentation, some of them private, so how can they be kept safe? We’ll answer these questions in this document.

What are online PDF editors and why are they important?

PDFs are one of the most common forms of editable documents used today. They are used in different fields for many different purposes. Everything from education to medicine to travel has some element that requires documentation that might require a PDF, so understanding them and how they can be kept safe is vital for a number of industries.  There are several different online PDF editing companies including but not limited to LuminPDF, Adobe Acrobat, and Sejda. Each one has its own security apparatus. The safety concerns for each can change and can also change depending on how you want/need to use them since the use will alter the ability to protect documents.

While it is important to find the best way to edit PDFs online, to be able to know which one that is you must first understand the potential security risks to PDF files. While it might not seem so important for some mundane information written on some editable document to be found, changed, and/or stolen, this can cause a large amount of trouble since sometimes PDF documents have very valuable information written on them; everything from someone’s own personal information such as their date of birth and surnames to their signature and financial information. Also, different businesses use PDFs often so they must be confident in the knowledge that their and their client’s private information is not at risk. With identity theft, a major issue right now, having the ability to control who sees what and who can change what is not only responsible but necessary.

Always keep your confidential information safe

 

A lot of information we use is and should remain confidential. There are many ways and reasons to do so including for different types of businesses who store a vast amount of data that someone or some other elicit entity might want. There are things that can be done of course to keep documents secure. Firstly, the best thing to do is to use a well-known and popular PDF editor with a good reputation. While many of these might require you to pay, it is a good investment since not having secure data could end up costing way more in the long run if some nefarious agents acquire data that does not belong to them. Another way to keep a PDF secure is through encryption and applying a password to protect it. While this is not a sure-fire way to keep it protected 100 percent, a locked door is better than no door. While PDF security is a major issue for finance and personal security, there are other entities and industries that have reason to protect their information.

For tech companies, the risk is greater than most since they work almost exclusively online so do not always have the benefit of storing information in a tangible location but often use online-based data which if not stored or secured could fall into the wrong hands. Tech companies often work with sensitive research material and written code which many other individuals and companies might like to have access to for their own devices. In addition to this tech companies like all others very likely have PDF documents that exist online that are already filled out and in the event of a security breach, the information of clients and in some cases employees could be leaked online causing a devastating crisis for the company.

For educational institutions that use PDFs for almost everything, security is of the utmost importance since people’s private information including grades, addresses, and other private information can be stored there. It might not be critical as technology or national security but protecting students’ information when using online PDF editors is vital.

Another important industry that often uses fillable PDFs is the medical industry, which produces millions of documents every year about people’s private medical history and this information should always be protected so make sure the online PDF editor that is being used is secure and safe. This is especially true for the medical industry since securing files is not only responsible but often the law in most countries.

How to tell if an online PDF editor is safe

So how do we know a PDF editor is secure? The biggest question to ask really is how long they keep the information. It is often the case that online PDF editors do not store information long before deletion. This means that data can’t be retrieved later by a third party, which increases the security of the editor but also means you should save everything in an offline location to prevent it being lost.

When researching the utility of an online PDF editor, check for two things: Firstly, what do they do with the data? Because when using a free service they are making money in some shape or form and this could come from selling data which has been readily given away. Secondly, check your country’s law on data mining and what regulations apply since some countries are stricter than others.

There will always be risks when working online and this is especially true when putting private information online. So the best strategy is to do some research. Find an online PDF editing service with a stellar reputation and think about how and why you want to use their service. Although there are risks and potential issues involved with these online editors, that does not mean they are not extremely useful to a lot of people; however, just be cautious and do your homework and everything should be fine.