EBook authors and publishers have for long suffered the effects of the piracy of their intellectual property; so it is about time that effective software is developed to stop or discourage pirates from sustaining this trend. Some of the functions that authors desire in PDF security software for their eBooks include the capability to share them securely, control their use, and a platform that lets them see when and the frequency with which their eBooks are viewed and printed. They also desire a PDF eBook security software suite that can stop document copying, sharing, modifying, saving, inhibit screen grabbing and print screen, stop printing to file, image printer or PDF format, and block access to documents.

Power is nothing without control, or so the wise men said, and in PDF eBookprotection it is desirable to not only have the capability to stop, but to control the various functions that are relevant to documents. The right PDF security software is therefore one that lets the publisher decide if in the first place his/her document can be viewed, and if so the number of views allowed, when it can no longer be viewed (expire), and if it should be viewed only online or if offline viewing is also possible. It should also enable the document owner to decide whether his/her creative can be viewed in thin and/or virtual environments. These controls are essential for authors who make their eBooks available on subscription basis.

Nowadays, eBooks are widely used for online training courses and as such lecturers may need to make copies of such documents for use where computers are not available. In such situations the ability to just allow or stop printing is not entirely adequate as we may need to control the number of prints that can be made. The application of PDF security software featuring a watermarking capability (of which the user’s and system identity information is dynamically displayed on the printouts) can serve as an effective deterrent to making unauthorized copies of the protected document.

An appropriate PDF security software suite is one that can communicate with a licensing server to confirm whether the user is licensed to access and/or use your creative. This, as part of DRM controls, means that your document is protected regardless of where it resides. Going back to the subscription issue mentioned earlier on, it is useful if the eBook PDF protection application can be integrated into your existing ecommerce system so as to facilitate safe and instant delivery of licenses to authorized users. Last but not least, the eBook protection software licensing system should not be password-based as passwords can be forgotten, revealed to unauthorized parties, or even be exposed using password-cracking tools.