How to Corrupt a PDF File so That It Can't Be Opened (Step-by-Step Guide)
So you've got a file that you don't want to share with anyone, correct? Most possibly, it is a PDF containing confidential information that you wish to keep hidden. Don't worry; you can accomplish this by corrupting a file.
If you want to corrupt a PDF file, you don't need any paid tools or excessive knowledge of computers to pull off this task. In this article, we will discuss some of the easiest ways to corrupt a PDF file so that it can't be opened.
First of all, we suggest you make a copy of the PDF file you want to corrupt, so you don't lose any data un-intentionally. Still, if somehow any data of your PDF file is lost during corruption, we have a simple way to repair the PDF file and get back your data.
So, stick till the end to get all of your questions answered:
How to Corrupt a PDF File with Notepad
If you think that corrupting a PDF file will involve some techy steps and you will need some ultra-high-tech tools to carry out this operation, you are at a big mistake. You can corrupt a PDF file in less than 30 seconds (we bet for it). Just follow these steps:
Note: Ensure to corrupt the original file copy to avoid any data loss or problems.
Step 1. Right-click on the PDF file you want to corrupt and open it with Windows built-in notepad.
Step 2. You will then face a ton of unusual commands you have never seen before.
Step 3. Just select 15-20 lines of these commands and remove them.
Step 4. Close the notepad file and save changes.
How to Corrupted a PDF File on Purpose Using Corrupt a File.Net
Well, corrupting the PDF file and getting an extension is not a new technology. You can take an online file corrupting tool for easy PDF corruption. Corrupt a file.net (https://corrupt-a-file.net/) comes to the rescue. This tool can corrupt Word, Excel, archives, MP3, and other common file types. Just submit your PDF files and corrupt them easily.
Here is how you can corrupt a file using this free online tool:
Step 1. Open their website and scroll down to: Select the file to be corrupt.
Step 2. Navigate your file and upload it to the website.
Step 3. Click on the corrupt file and let the online tool do its thing.
Step 4. Your file will be corrupted within seconds, and you can download it for free.
How to Repair Corrupted PDF Files That Are Needed
Sadly, you were corrupting the PDF file and somehow forgot to backup the original file, and now you are in a complete mess. Hours of hard work are corrupted. But wait! There is always a way back, so is in this case. You can easily retrieve and restore the corrupted files through the Qiling file repair tool.
This file recovery tool can easily repair your corrupted PDF file and allow you to use it. Moreover, the best part about using this file repair tool is getting the file in its original format. All the headers, footers, formatting, and headings will be the same as before and nothing will seem different.
Apart from PDF repair, Qiling file repair software still has great abilities to fix unreadable content in Word document or fix Excel cannot open the file issue.
Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery, select file types and click "Next" to start.
Step 2. And then scan disk with corrupted documents. This software enables you to fix damaged Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF files in same steps.
Step 3. Qiling data recovery and repair tool will scan for all lost and corrupted files. You can find the target files by file type or type the file name in the search box.
Step 4. Deep Data Recovery can repair your damaged documents automatically. After file preview, you can click "Recover" to save the repaired Word, Excel, and PDF document files to a safe location.
More Guides on Corrupting a PDF So It Won't Open On Mac
Corrupting a PDF file on a Macbook contains more steps than the usual Windows Corruption. However, it is still not a difficult one. If you are an old Mac user and know something about extensions, it will hardly take you a few minutes to easily corrupt your PDF file.
On Mac, there are always extensions written at the end of the file name. If it is a PDF file, it must contain an extension named PDF. If you can't see the extension name against any file, it means you have disabled the Show extensions option and have to enable it manually.
Just click on "Finder > Preferences > Advanced" and tick the box at the front of "Show all filename extensions". As you can see, all the extensions are now visible.
The next step is to select the target file. When you have found the right file, rename it and change its extension to PDF. For example, change the PDF format to .docx and click "Save". Congrats! You have successfully corrupted the PDF file on your Macbook.
Furthermore, you can rest assured that no PDF viewer on Mac will be able to run or open your file because it was never a PDF file.
Wrapping Up
Corrupting a PDF file is like a walk in the park. You can do it without following any complex steps or paid tools. You can do it yourself or use the corruptmyfile.net site to do it for you. Moreover, if you have accidentally corrupted an important PDF file or some virus corrupted it, you can repair it in both cases using the Stellar file recovery tool.
It is one of the best tools to repair a file you corrupted mistakenly. So, sit back relax and follow the above-mentioned methods to corrupt your PDF file.
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