Adobe Document Encryption Guidelines and Compatibility Matrix

Reference: http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/QuickKeys/Acrobat_DocumentSecurityAlgoAll.pdf

Product Version

Acrobat X (AES-256) Compatible Format (Recommended Choice)

Acrobat 9.0 and Later (AES-128, AES-256) Compatible Format*

Acrobat 7.0 and Later (128-bit RC4, AES-128) Compatible Format (Recommended Minimum)

Acrobat 6.0 and Later (128-bit RC4) Compatible Format

Acrobat 5.0 and Later (128-bit RC4) Compatible Format

Acrobat 3.0 and Later (40-bit) Compatible Format

Acrobat X or higher (Recommended Version)*

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Acrobat 9.0

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Acrobat 8.0

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Acrobat 7.0

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Acrobat 6.0

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Acrobat 5.0

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Acrobat 4.0

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Acrobat 3.0

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

*Note: in Acrobat X there is no longer an "Acrobat 9 and later" option on the list because the 256-bit AES implementation used in Acrobat 9 was flawed.

Microsoft Office Document Encryption Guidelines and Compatibility Matrix*

Product Version

Office 2010/2013 Compatible Format (The default encryption algorithm is AES 128-bit. AES 192-bit and AES 256-bit are supported.) (Recommended Choice)

Office 2007 Compatible Format (The default encryption algorithm is AES 128-bit. AES 192-bit and AES 256-bit are supported) (Recommended Minimum)

Office 2003 Compatible Format (128-bit RC4 Encryption)

Office XP Compatible Format (40-bit RC4 Encryption)

Office 2000 Compatible Format (40-bit RC4 Encryption)

Office 97 Compatible Format (40-bit RC4 Encryption)

Office for Mac 2011

(Recommended Version)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office 2010/2013

(Recommended Version)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office for Mac 2008

No

Yes
(AES 128-bit, recommend for read-only purposes, not recommended for editing)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office 2007 SP2

Yes
(If CompatMode set to 0)**

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office 2003 with Office 2007 SP2 Compatibility Pack

Yes
(If CompatMode set to 0)**
(AES 128-bit, use for read-only purposes, not recommended for editing)*** 

Yes
(AES 128-bit, use for read-only purposes, not recommended for editing)*** 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office 2003

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office XP

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office 2000

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Office 97

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

*Note: Encryption functionality is available on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. However, not all Office suite products have encryption functionality (e.g. Outlook, Publisher, etc.).

**Note: Documents that are saved as Open XML Format files and encrypted by using Office 2010 can only be read by Office 2010, Office 2007 SP2, and Office 2003 with the Office 2007 SP2 compatibility pack. To ensure compatibility with all previous versions of Office, you can create a registry key (if it does not already exist) under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\<application>\Security\Crypto\ called CompatMode and disable it by setting it to 0. The values that you can enter for <application> represent the specific Office application that you are configuring this registry key for. For example, you can enter Access, Excel, PowerPoint, or Word. It is important to realize that, when you set CompatMode to 0, Office 2010 uses an Office 2007 compatible encryption format, instead of the enhanced security that is provided by default when you use Office 2010 to encrypt Open XML Format files.

Reference http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179125.aspx#section3

***Note: If your organization uses the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats to encrypt Open XML Format files, you should review the following information:

  • By default, the Compatibility Pack uses the following settings to encrypt Open XML Format files:
    • Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider (Prototype),AES 128,128 (on the Windows XP Professional operating system).
    • Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider,AES 128,128 (on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista operating systems).
  • Users are not notified that the Compatibility Pack uses these encryption settings.
  • The graphical user interface on earlier versions of Office might display incorrect encryption settings for Open XML Format files if the Compatibility Pack is installed.
  • Users cannot use the graphical user interface in earlier versions of Office to change the encryption settings for Open XML Format files.

Reference http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179125.aspx

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