Redacting PDF documents safely/securely

Hello. Once again, I am need of some help. As some of you may know by now, I work at a law firm in CO. Your assistance and direction have helped me with video clips and various conversions. For that, I thank you. Now, I need help in another area. I need to redact senstitve information from documents that are to be produced (given) to the other side. I figured the quickest way to do so many pages was to scan them into the computer. Then, redact teh ifnormation, press print and away we go. Issue is I have no idea how to correctly redact the information. From what I read, if I use Adobe Professional (which we have), I can only blacken out the words using pen or highlighter. But all anyone would have to do is convert back to Word and the "redacted" words would be visible again. I read this in several websites. Other than spending $250 for a prgram (boss is cheap), is there a free redacter software or some other way to get the same result? Thanks.

 

Well, I had to look up redact in the dictionary. It's not a word I'm familiar with. I wonder whether I'm the only person with this problem. Can you clarify what you mean when you use that word? My impression is you simply mean you need to blacken out certain words in a document before you can produce (give) it to the other side. Is that it?

And, I gather you plan to covert the document to PDF format before conveying it to the recipient. Right? And, you would start the preparation of the document to be conveyed by taking the source document, marking through certain words with a marker to black them out, and then scan that modified document into your computer. Right?

So, I'm puzzled by this comment: "But all anyone would have to do is convert back to Word and the "redacted" words would be visible again. I read this in several websites." I see absolutely no way the recipient could do that. Can you cite the websites where you read that that could be done? Anyone else care to share your insights on this?

 

Example of article supporting the fact that the idea you came up with does not work: http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/2005/12/redacting_pdfs.html.

Second, if the document is in Word, there is no problem with just replacing the word with Xs. The issue is we get the documents in PDF format or hardcopies. If we get in PDF, we still have to download and review pages one ata atime. I just finished a 600 pager.

I am looking for a software that will search out words and black them all at once rather than one at a time. Then, the program must also not allow anyone to convert the document back into Word and expose the words. PDFs and TIFFs do in fact reveal the information if the documents were redacted using TIFF or PDF software.

As for "well, just counts the letters and use the context to see what it could have been..." is not absolute. For instance, we take out witnesses names. Without any reference to that person, how would you guess the name from the context? You can't. That is our main goal: to protect the identity and any info that could lead to the identity.

As for the NSA article, I read that already. As it states, Word is not the best method nor is PDF or TIFF standing alone.

What I did was this: I scan the document in TIFF. I use the search button to find the word I need blackened. Then, I print the document out. Then I scan again in PDF or TIFF. But that takes ALOT of time. Hence, I am looking for a software that searches the entire document at once and we're done. Again, Word will not work because we get documents in either PDF or hardcopy only (which as explained, I convert to TIFF for searches).

Ideas?

Thanks

 

I read through http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/2005/12/redacting_pdfs.html and noticed comments about printing PDF to PDF as a way to redact (am I using the word right?) a document. In other words, a printing of a PDF to a PDF document only prints what you see on screen in the print preview window.

I don't have Adobe Acrobat but I do have two freeware (for personal use) versions of PDF conversion programs installed in my computer. Those programs are PrimoPDF and pdf995. Installing such a program adds a "printer" to your "printers" in Windows Control Panel.

 

Thank you for your assistance. I will be checking out those programs for my own use as opposed to the office's.

I was looking at that PDF to TIFF to PDF to clean it but was hoping for a more streamline process. Looks like short of finding a scrubber, I will end up using that process for now.

Thanks and take care.