PDF Digital Signature FAQ

Can I digitally sign automatically generated PDF Documents?

Yes, even in server mode that is possible. First you should install the certificate to be used for signing. In case you are being asked which store to use you should opt for the user store. Once you configured/installed the digital certificate you should reconfigure the Aloaha PDF Suite Service to login as that user which owns the certificate

Which type of digital Signatures is Aloaha using?

Aloaha is using standard Adobe PPKMS Signatures which are encrypted as PKCS#7

Do I need a special Software to verify digital signatures?

No, an installed Adobe Reader 6 or higher is enough. Please note that Adobe 6 Reader cannot display all Digital Certificate Properties. It is suggest to verify digital signatures with Adobe Reader 7. To display and validate time stamps Adobe Reader 7 is required! Should you require a signature validation protocol please have a look at our freeware signature validator.

When I press Signature Properties in Adobe Reader 6 I get an error. What can I do?

There are 2 possible solutions. Basically Adobe 6 Reader has some problems to display the properties of a signature of encrypted PDF files. Either you upgrade to Reader 7 or you encrypt OR sign your documents and you avoid of doing encryption AND signing.

What does Digital Rights Management (DRM) mean?

DRM means that you can define what can be done with the PDF documents created by Aloaha.

Aloaha allows you to set permissions for your documents. You define if the document can be edited, if its possible to print it or to extract content.

DRM is very important for example if your company is seeking ISO2000 Certification or if you need to send confidential documents.
For example you wrote a document and need to send it for review but you do not want to allow the recipient to be able to extract or to print the document.

Can I choose Certificates from other stores than the current user store?

Yes, from build 2.1.80 onwards you can change the certification store with a small registry entry in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Aloaha\pdf
Just create a value certstore. Per default certstore has the value 0 or 2. Please find other values below:

1: LOCAL MACHINE STORE
2: CURRENT USER STORE
3: ACTIVE DIRECTORY USER STORE
4: SMART CARD USER STORE

How can I verify that my PC/SC Reader can read my smartcard?

Download a test tool from http://www.aloaha.com/download/cstore.zip. Unzip it and call export.bat. The resulting keys.txt contains further information. Please send that file to our support.

Can I encrypt a PDF Document with the certificate of the recipient?

You would need the Aloaha PDF Crypter

What is the advantage of time-stamping a PDF document?

A cryptographic time-stamp on a document provides independent proof that the document existed at a given a moment in time. If the time-stamp is applied as part of a signature creation process, then this provides an independent proof that the signature was created at a particular time. This protects against the signer later repudiating the signature as a result of a subsequent key compromise. Time-stamps are therefore vital where a non-repudiation service is required.

What do the digital signatures and timestamps look like?

In this case the exclamation mark shows a warning that signature was not the last operation on the document ? the timestamp was appended after the digital signature. The signature appearance can be customized to suit organization policy & needs.

Is it possible to define the contact information of the signature?

Yes, just set it in HKCU\Software\Aloaha\pdf\signer or HKLM\Software\Aloaha\signer.