How to unprotect a PDF

You’ve been trying and trying for hours now but… nothing to do! Sorry to say, really, but it’s pretty much useless for you to keep trying to open and print that PDF document you saved on your desktop! You simply can’t. Why? Well, the password you are asked for should suggest the answer. Whoever creates a PDF document can in fact associate a password to it to prevent it from being opened or printed (in this case we speak of “user password”) or, again, from its content being modified in some way (in this case second case we speak of “owner password”). To get around this, the relative secret word should therefore be typed. Alternatively, it is possible to resort to the use of some special tools able to eliminate these limitations.

Would you like to know more? Very well! So, let’s do this: take a few minutes of free time all to yourself, make yourself comfortable and read this tutorial of mine entirely dedicated to how to unprotect a PDF. In the following lines I will in fact show you some programs and services useful for the purpose that you can use on your computer to view, print and possibly even modify documents in PDF format on which it is not possible for you to go to act precisely due to the presence of a password which, evidently, you did not set up.

How do you say? Not being very practical in terms of computer science and new technologies, do you think this could be an operation out of your reach? Come on, don’t be a coward! Apart from the fact that, contrary to appearances, it is not complicated at all but then even if it were I don’t see what you worry about if I’m here with you, ready and willing to provide you with all the information and support. you need. Come on then, let’s not waste any more time chatting and let’s get to work immediately. Are you prone? Yes? Very well, let’s proceed! I wish you, as usual, good reading.

Warning: Removing protection from PDF documents that you are not authorized to view, print and/or edit can be a criminal offense. I do not take any responsibility for the use that you will make of the indications present in this tutorial.

Index

• Unprotect a PDF with user password
  • PDFKey Pro (Windows / Mac)
  • Portable PDF Unlocker (Windows)
• Unprotect a PDF with owner password
  • PDFCandy (Online)
• App to unprotect PDF

Unprotect a PDF with user password

Do you need to print a PDF document but you can’t do it because you would have to enter the appropriate password protection and are you therefore looking for a system that allows you to circumvent it? Then take a look at the ad hoc resources to unprotect PDFs that you find listed below. I’m sure you will find them very useful!

PDFKey Pro (Windows / Mac)

The first tool to unprotect PDF files that I want to advise you to use is PDFKey Pro . It is a program available for both Windows and Mac that creates an unprotected copy of the reference document in order to then allow it to be printed and copied without having to type in the appropriate password. It is in Italian and is very easy to use (you can do everything via drag and drop!) But, as the name itself suggests, it is a commercial solution (for a fee). Fortunately, it is possible to download a free trial version of the program so that you can evaluate its actual potential before proceeding with a possible purchase.

To download and use the free trial version of the software on your computer, connect to the PDFKey Pro website and click on the Download demo button . When the download is complete, open the executable file downloaded on your PC, click on Yes / Run , then on OK to confirm the use of the Italian language and then on Next .

If, on the other hand, what you are using is a Mac, open the file in .dmg format you just obtained and drag the program icon to the Applications folder through the window you see appear on the screen. Then access the Applications folder , right-click on the PDFKey Pro icon and select Open from the menu that appears, then confirm your willingness to open the application by going around the limitations imposed by Apple against unauthorized developers.

Once the program window on the desktop is displayed, select the Try the demo button and then drag the PDF file on which you intend to act on the Unprotect section . Alternatively, click on the File item at the top left, choose Unprotect … from the menu that appears and select “manually” the reference PDF.

Then wait a few moments for the selected file to be processed and you will find an unprotected copy of it saved in the same location as the source document with the _sprotected suffix below. If you want, you can change the location for saving unlocked files by selecting the Tools menu , then the Preferences … item and setting what you prefer from the Destination folder section of the processed files in the new window you see appear.

Portable PDF Unlocker (Windows)

The above program has not been able to satisfy you and you prefer to turn to a totally free solution to unprotect your PDFs? Then try  Portable PDF Unlocke r. It is a free software that allows you to remove passwords from PDFs quickly and easily. It is specific for Windows operating systems and, as the name can easily guess, does not require installations to function.

To download it to your PC, connect to the program download page and click on the Download Latest Version button  . At the end of the download, extract the contents of the package in fraction .7z just obtained in any potion, start the executable file Portable PDF Unlocker.exe  contained within it and click on Yes / Run .

Once the program window is displayed on the desktop, drag the PDF file you want to unlock directly into it and wait a few moments for it to be processed.

When the progress bar is completely filled you will be returned an unlocked version of your file with the suffix unpw.pdf in its name. The saving will be done automatically in the same folder as the source file.

Unprotect a PDF with owner password

Do you need to unprotect a PDF file because you want to change its content? Then the resources I have already reported to you are not suitable. Instead, the ones listed below are. These are online services that can be used from any web browser and operating system, without having to download absolutely anything on your computer. Try them and you will see that you will not regret it.

PDFCandy (Online)

The first tool I want reported is  PDFCandy . As anticipated, this is an online service that provides users with various useful tools for converting and editing PDF files in general, including the one that allows you to remove the password protection. It should also be noted that the use of the service is totally free and that no particular limits are imposed as regards the maximum file size and the number of documents that can be uploaded daily.

You ask me how to use it? I’ll explain it to you immediately. First of all, connect the web page of the tool offered by PDFCandy to unprotect PDFs and then drag the file saved on your computer on which you want to work directly on the right of the browser or click on the + Add file button to select it manually. If the PDF to unlock is on Google Drive or Dropbox, you can also upload it from there by simply clicking on the relevant icons on the screen and then logging into your account.

Once you have removed the protection from the PDF, you will find yourself in front of a new web page with the summary of the data relating to the unlocked file and with the Download file button through which you can download the PDF document without protection.

If you have not made any changes to the default settings of the web browser you are using, the file will be saved in the Downloads folder on your computer. If you want, you can also have the PDF archived directly to your favorite cloud storage services by clicking its onscreen icons.

App to unprotect PDF

Do you usually act as a smartphone and tablet and would you therefore be interested in understanding how to unprotect your PDF files directly from mobile? Then take a look at the special apps listed below. They are all quite simple to use. Some are free, others for a fee. Choose the one you think will interest you the most and download it right away on your device. Happy download!

• PDF Tools – Merge, Rotate, Watermark, Split( Android ) – Free downloadable app that integrates a whole series of tools for editing and creating PDF files. Among the various functions offered it also integrates a useful one for the purpose in question.
• Useful PDF( Android ) – Another app belonging to the category in question that allows you to intervene on PDF files by removing the write protection. It also allows you to perform various other operations such as reordering PDF pages, removing them, extracting images from documents, etc. Free.
• PDF Tools( iOS ) – Application for iOS devices that allows you to split and merge PDF files, convert PDFs to text files, and perform various other useful operations on the type of documents in question, including password removal. It costs € 2.29.
• PDF Password( iOS ) – As the name implies, this application does one thing but it does it great: it removes the password applied to PDF documents. It is also very easy to use and has a nice interface. It costs € 3.49.