Negosentro.com | Why PDF Signature Security Is Important For Every Business | For any business to succeed these days, it is now essential to be able to adapt and work electronically. With digital business documents acting as an integral part of any workflow, being able to secure them is a basic requirement.
Many businesses use the Portable Document Format (PDF) as a first step. The PDF is an excellent digital medium for exchanging important and confidential information.
From contracts and agreements to reports and statements, a PDF document can secure any content of significance. The information remains intact and professionals can continue to conduct business without missing a beat.
Yet because digital workflows are now the norm, it follows that businesses should be extra vigilant with their document security. Even PDF text and content can now be edited for minor revisions. Thus, as a second step, all companies should be able to sign PDF, adding electronic and digital signatures to PDF documents.
Why PDF Signatures?
As a company, you must constantly adapt to protect yourself, the clients you work with and your reputation. You may think that PDFs are secure enough, but being able to electronically and digitally esign PDF is important. Some of the most common reasons for signing PDF files include the role you fill with regards to the business document:
- You’re a decision maker who approves contracts.
- You’re the author confirming the contents of the document.
- You’re signing on behalf of someone else.
- You’re giving your consent for others to use and view the document’s information.
The above roles are crucial to verifying the contracts, agreements and policies your company deals with. You can imagine the damaging consequences if someone made an unauthorized edit to a contract’s terms or disclosed personal information without the authority of a signature to do so.
At the heart of an efficient PDF workflow is a comprehensive PDF tool, one that also includes the ability to sign PDFs.
How To Sign PDF
Complete PDF suites like Able2Extract Professional 14 ensures that content can be authenticated without having to step outside of the digital workflow.
Not only does it convert, create and edit PDFs, but Able2Extract can also electronically sign a PDF with a signature image or digitally sign a PDF with a digital certificate.
To electronically sign a PDF, the process is easy and everything happens in a user-friendly interface. Once you have your PDF open in the software,
- Open the Digital Signatures side panel by selecting PDF Review Panels from the View menu.
- Click on Choose Signatures… from the panel.
- Check the Add Signature Image option in the dialog that appears and click on Create….
- Draw, type or import your signature image. Then click on the Add button.
- Click on the Sign button and then click to place your signature on the page.
- Lastly, save your PDF by clicking on the Save icon in the Command toolbar.
To add a digital cryptographic signature, the process is the same, but check the Digitally Sign the Document option before you click on the Sign button. When an external device that has your digital certificate is inserted into your computer, the software will detect it and you can select the certificate and apply it to the PDF.
Verify Signed PDFs
Able2Extract Professional 14 also provides a simple, streamlined way of verifying cryptographic signatures that come attached to the PDF documents you receive.
This can be done easily with a quick glance at the PDF document tab to see if a document has been altered since being signed. The display of a padlock icon indicates if it has been signed, and the color of it – green (valid), orange (valid with some minor problems) and red (invalid) – can indicate the status of the digital signature.
A simple click on the PDF signature in the Existing Signatures section of the side panel will provide you with more information on the PDF signature and the digital certificate.
You can also use these PDF signing functionalities in conjunction with the PDF security options that Able2Extract provides: password protection, encryption, and file permissions.
Conclusion
With a PDF signature added to your PDFs, you can confidently make decisions to move your company forward. Business users looking for user-friendly, yet advanced PDF security features on a budget have turned to Able2Extract Professional 14. Try it free for 7 days and let us know what you think.
