RE: PDF modifications?

["Matthew Leeds" <mleeds () theleeds net>]

I believe you are mistaken. PDF files produced with Acrobat 5 and secured against being opened without a password can 
not be opened in this fashion. I would be willing to supply such a file for testing.

---Matthew
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 5/17/2002 at 5:29 PM João Sobral wrote:

> If you want to open a "protected" pdf, the best way is to use the
> Ghostscript, it simple removes any protection of the pdf file.
>
> http://www.ghostscript.com/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu [mailto:Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu]
> Sent: sexta-feira, 17 de Maio de 2002 13:51
> To: Dawes, Rogan (ZA - Johannesburg)
> Cc: 'Sumit Dhar'; Kurt Seifried; bad bob; vuln-dev
> Subject: Re: PDF modifications?
>
>
> On Fri, 17 May 2002 08:14:18 +0200, "Dawes, Rogan (ZA - Johannesburg)"
> said:
>
> > If the PDF is openable and viewable, but is "protected", so that you
> > can't select or print or annotate, that is easily bypassed with almost
>
> > any non-Adobe PDF viewer, such as xpdf, which simply elects not to
> > honour that setting in the PDF. The data is all there, because you can
>
> > view it, it is simply a case of the software choosing to not let you
> > select it. Find some software that doesn't honour those document
> > settings, and you are on your way.
> >
> > As I recall, there was some discussion about this issue on the xpdf
> > lists, or somewhere, about whether xpdf should honour the document
> > requests or not, but it is really moot, since the source is there,
> > just modify it to suit. I think that was the conclusion by the xpdf
> > developers, so they simply didn't bother honouring the setting.
>
> This must have been pre-DMCA. I would recommend that the xpdf developers
> not visit the US, lest they be Skylarov'ed.
>
> (The vuln-dev connection?  Consider why Alan Cox censored a Linux kernel
> changelog - but further discussion should probably be moved to a
> political list.  If you're in the US and of voting age, contact your
> Congresscreature and tell them you want them to support Rep. Rick
> Boucher (D-VA) in his attempts to fix the anti-circumvention clause of
> the DMCA).
>
> We now return you to your regularly scheduled vuln-dev discussion, which
> may be in violation of the anti-circumvention clause....
> --
>                               Valdis Kletnieks
>                               Computer Systems Senior Engineer
>                               Virginia Tech
>
>
>
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