How It Is Installed
End-User Experience
Security Framework
Modules
Licensing Options
How it is installed:
The FileOpen plug-in for PDF (FileOpen.api) is installed automatically by Adobe Reader (and Acrobat Standard/Pro) the first time a FileOpen-encrypted PDF file is accessed. The plug-in may also be distributed by the publisher or users may download it directly from http://plugin.fileopen.com For detailed information on the plug-in please see the FileOpen PDF Plug-in FAQ.
Note: for document protection with no end-user plug-in, please see FileOpen Document Control
End-user experience:
Opening a FileOpen-encrypted PDF is no different than opening an unsecured PDF, from the end-user's perspective. There is no password entry dialog or delay (even though the plug-in is communicating with a server for permission in most cases). The PDF may be viewed "inline" in their Web browser or in the separate Adobe viewer. The Adobe Viewer will display icons indicating that the file is secured, and functions that you have disallowed through FileOpen will be grayed out (such as printing and copying of text).
Because the FileOpen Encryptor produces well-formed, standard-compliant PDFs, they may be delivered in the same ways as any other PDF (via http, email, cd-rom, etc.). The files will be recognized as authentic by content analysis systems and/or proxy servers and will not be intercepted by anti-virus programs.
The FileOpen plug-in for PDF does not interfere with premium features of Adobe Acrobat Pro, such as forms, markup, review, and digital signatures, as long as the document owner does not disable the requisite user permissions.
Except where explicitly permitted by the publisher, the files cannot be downloaded or used locally. No modification of the file content is allowed.
Security framework:
FileOpen controls and protects PDF content in the manner described by the PDF Specification, via a Security Handler. The FileOpen Encryptor applies industry-standard 128-bit RC4 or 128/256-bit AES cipher to native PDF files. The keys used by FileOpen's Encryptor are generated by the document owner and stored separately from the document itself on the server of that publisher, or FileOpen's server in our hosted solution. Only the document owner knows the decryption key, and keys are dispensed for decryption only for authenticated users; neither FileOpen Systems nor any third party has a "backdoor" way of opening the encrypted files. The client/server communication for key transmission is routed over SSL, at the discretion of the document owner. If offline permission is granted, the plug-in stores keys in a local file encrypted using RC4 with a 128-bit key.
More detail is provided in the documentation accompanying the evaluation version.
Modules:
- PDFEncryptor: Windows/Linux/Solaris/FreeBSD/HP-UX/J2EE (commandline binary and library for C/C++ linkage for all platforms; JNI for Win/Linux; Windows interfaces for COM/.NET1.1/.NET2; Java version)
- FileOpen plug-in (FileOpen.api): Windows Vista, XP, 2000, NT, 98; Mac OSX, 10.4 or later; Linux Kernel 2.4 or later (running Adobe Acrobat 9 or earlier back to Acrobat 4 (Win), 5 (Mac), 7 (Linux)). Client for Mac/Win is approximately 500 Kb.
Licensing Options:
FileOpen PDF Control is available as a Hosted solution, a licensed Server, or through individually licensed modules in the FileOpen Toolkit. Fully-functional evaluation versions are available on request.