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A co-worker zipped up some .PDFs into a self-extracting executable and sent it to me as "FILES.EXE" No problem, right? Except he used something called Andorra or similar to compress them, which also as a bonus encrypted them.
I downloaded the same program and used it to open the .exe...the log tells me there are in fact five PDF files, but it appears to extract them, decrypt them, turn them into AFP files, and then choke on its own tongue.
AFP seems to be the proprietary format of the encryption/compression program; does anyone have any idea how I can get the PDFs?
Hint: Said co-worker is on vacation and I can't get ahold of him.
ETA: NUMBERSLUT
Wow, sounds like a clueless coworker. "Oh, not everybody uses Andorra? And I thought you knew the password...."
a tutorial on how to break pdf encryption. i have no idea if this works:
[link]
By the way, this site is amazing for breaking even locked-down pdfs into usable Word files. (No idea what it could do with encryption, though I'm guessing not much.)
[link]
My bad, it's Androsa, not Andorra. The password appears to be the one that everyone on our project uses for project-related documents.
le nub, thanks, but it's not the PDF encryption. He used Androsa rather than Acrobat's encryption, so the PDF breakers won't even recognize the files.
I think my plan of action is two-pronged at this point: 1) kick the encrypted files up the mgmt chain to our boss; 2) coat coworker's desk with vaseline.
Does it get as far as creating AFP files? I do see there are a number of AFP to PDF conversion programs out there.
Can you print it to another .pdf file? I have done that to rescue strangely encoded .pdf files.
Does it get as far as creating AFP files? I do see there are a number of AFP to PDF conversion programs out there.
I do end up with AFP files. But when I try to run a conversion program (I've tried three) the converter tells me that "filename.afp is not an AFP file."
But when I try to run a conversion program (I've tried three) the converter tells me that "filename.afp is not an AFP file."
I hate that error message. Similar ones have left me pounding the desk and screaming "But it says it's a ____ file!"
