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How Can You Recover Password for Encrypted PDF Files?

Found the downloaded PDF file containing the contents useful but cannot open it? Or have to turn a PDF file into Word format but found that the PDF file encrypted and thus cannot be edited, printed or modified? Or just forgot your PDF file password? Encountering such occasions, can we get rid of these password? Now let’s see something about recovering password for encrypted PDF files?

A Stern Warning: The PDF file decryption methods introduced in this article shouldn’t be adopted for illegal purposes and should only be used on the condition that you are the owner to the target PDF files.

Here's How to Recover PDF Password

1. Get PDF Password Geeker ready for use.

Download the trial version of PDF Password Geeker and then install it.

Free Download PDF Password Geeker

2. Run the PDF Password Geeker and click Open button or File menu > Open Files sub-menu.

3. In the Open File window, browse and select the encrypted PDF file and then click Open button to import it.

4. Set an attack type among the four and make corresponding attack settings.

a. Choose Brute-force attack when you totally have no idea of what your password is, you set a possible password range and password length for the program to proceed. For example, you select the range option “All digits” and set the password length from 1 ~ 6, then the program will try the combination of digits from 0~999999 to find out the possible password.

b. Choose Mask attack when you know or remember parts of what your password is, you set possible password range and make the parts you remember as a mask. For example, you remember you password is consisted of 8 characters, starting with 88 and then you can define the mask as: 88******.

c. Choose Dictionary attack when your password comes in the range of built-in AsunsoftDictionary, or you can use a dictionary generator to make a dictionary by yourself. Besides, you can select Smart mutations option, Try all possible upper/lower case combinations option or Convert to OEM encoding option.

d. Choose Smart attack when you know nothing about your password. No need to make any attack settings and the program will proceed automatically and smartly to find out your password. It is a highly recommended attack type to choose when knows nothing.

5. Click Start button or Attack menu > Start sub-menu to start recovering password for the encrypted PDF file according to the attack type you choose and the settings you made.

6. Click Copy button to copy the recovered password and then click Open button to paste the copied password in the Password Box to open the encrypted PDF file.

Note: Unlocking encrypted files are risky. It is possible that the files may be damaged if password recovering fails, so you can back up the files before password recovering just in case.