How to "unlock" a secured PDF file

February 24th, 2009
This is article describes how to "unlock" a secured PDF file, and gain full access to print it, modify it, and copy selected portions of text from it, without paying anything to buy any of this (so called) "pdf cracking software".

You are going to need the help of the Evince Document Viewer that comes with Ubuntu Linux. If you are already using Ubuntu Linux, good for you! If you are not using it, you can ask a friend of yours with Ubuntu installed to help you. Otherwise, you can dive in deep water and try the Live CD that will do the job for you (no installation required).

A "secured" PDF file will look like this if you open it in Adobe Reader:

midsun.png



Boot in your Ubuntu Linux (or boot from the Live CD if you don't want Ubuntu Linux installed). Open your locked PDF from Ubuntu using the standard document viewer, Evince. From the menu go to File → Print... From the printers list select Print to File:

midsun-print.png



Enter the output filename and make sure that you have selected PDF as Output Format. Click Print and you will get a verbatim copy of the original file, only this time it will be free of any restrictions. This is one more practical example that demonstrates how Ubuntu Linux can significantly improve your life...

15 Responses to “How to "unlock" a secured PDF file”

  1. Andrewzs Says:
    Hello,

    I have a problem with this procedure. I have original secured .pdf document in which I can choose TEXT and so it seems that this PDF was made directly from text. BUT, when I print this document to file in Evince I get PDF, where I CANNOT choose text and cannot do OCR on it, because the quality (so it says) is too low. And OCR option isn't really good option, because I have text in Slovenian language, which I would like to copy directly from .pdf. What do you think about this?

    The file is located here: http://www.sistory.si/publikacije/pdf/biografika/Primorski_slovenski_biografski_leksikon_13.pdf

    Btw, great tip :)
  2. giannis Says:
    Yea, I tried it myself and I see what you mean.
    Well, this specific PDF looks like an exceptional case, because it seems to contain scanned text and digital text at the same time (and that's why you're able to select text in the original), but this additional information seems to be trimmed in the pdf-printing process. I tried with both Evince in Ubuntu and BullZip in Windows and both created a PDF with non-selectable text.
    Sorry but I have no idea what you should do in this case :-(
  3. Andrewzs Says:
    Thanks for the effort,
    greetz from Slovenia. :)
  4. lukerazor Says:
    Works OK but you lose the index information :(
  5. Celso Timana Says:
    My wife came to me with a PDF that she couldn't print. Since I am Linux Freax I didn't want waste money buying some Windows tools. I just googled around and ... boom ... I found this article.

    Thanks, within few minutes I managed to print the file.
  6. nmd Says:
    In case you don't have Ubuntu ... just use http://www.pdfunlock.com to unlock the file!
  7. alex Says:
    I heard that evince is about to release a windows version, too.
    This method works great, but the output is usually much larger in file size, and there seems no way to handle it.
    Ωραίο site, well done Γιάννη.
  8. vivyno88 Says:
    PDF authors often restrict their files using PDF security features preventing users from copying, editing or printing the contents, and like every other protection this can also be easily bypassed, there exist several methods to crack or unlock PDF files,but if you are looking for a simple and fast way to just bypass the restrictions of the PDF file,Advanced PDF Password Remover 5.0 by Advanced pdf converter will be the best option.
    http://www.advancedpdfconverter.com/products/pdfpasswordremover.html
  9. Angel622 Says:
    pdf password recovery 5.0
  10. Angel622 Says:
    http://sn.im/vu1a3
  11. Zhuismile Says:
    I found this PDF Password Recovery is very useful.
    http://sn.im/wtptw
  12. Joe Says:
    OMG u rock my world! this worked PERFECTLY!!!!!
  13. John Says:
    Thanks, I also found this to be a great tip and time saver.
  14. Me Says:
    Great! I owe you one. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the world. :)
  15. Deivis Adames Says:
    Excelente! Me funcionó en ubuntu 10.04

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