No matter your industry, there’s likely several documents on your computer that contain sensitive information about your business or clients – especially if you work with forms and other documents that require signatures.

Password protecting your PDFs keeps need-to-know information away from prying eyes, limiting security concerns for your organization.

How to Password Protect Your PDFs Step-by-Step

Keep reading if you’re working with documents that have an interface similar to Microsoft (like Nitro Pro)!

1. In Nitro Pro, click on the ‘Protect‘ tab, then select ‘Password Security‘.

2. Choose which actions you want to password protect.

You’ll have two options for your password protection: “open password” and “permissions.”

Selecting the “open password” box will require users to enter a password each time they open the PDF. No one without the password will be able to open or view the document.

By selecting the “permissions” option, you’ll be able to choose which actions users can and cannot do without a separate password. For example, you could password allow anyone to view and comment on the file but keep editing and signing password protected. The restricted functions – those protected by the additional password – will be greyed out and inaccessible to the user until they enter the password.

3. Once you have set your passwords and selected the actions for which they’ll be required, select ‘Finish’ to activate the password protection.

(Note that if you forget the password you apply there’s no way of recovering it – so make sure to keep your passwords documented in a safe place!)

It’s that simple. With just a few clicks, you’ve added an extra layer of security to your files.

For more advanced password security settings, see our user guide. Need even more protection?