The LockLizard iOS Viewer is more secure, saves precious bandwidth, and does not use up valuable server resources when compared with other DRM products, according to a company statement. Competing iOS solutions store protected documents on a remote server, decrypt them at this location, and then deliver them page by page down a ‘secure’ connection.
In contrast, the LockLizard iOS Viewer stores and decrypts protected PDF documents locally on the device, as the company noted, for all the same reasons Adobe does so on a PC. Documents are decrypted in memory one page at a time to speed up processing and support devices with limited memory. Users are then quickly provided with a fully functional PDF document to view. By decrypting directly in the device, performance is independent of network and other bottlenecks, and searches within the document can take place even if the network connection is lost.
The LockLizard iOS Viewer is a completely new application, building on the look and feel of the iOS platform, to take secure PDF viewing to a new level, said the DRM specialist. It is designed as a standard iOS app, and readily installs into that environment, cleanly integrating with Apple controls and requirements for app behavior. This means users can enjoy the same iOS methods and controls they are familiar with, and installing the LockLizard iOS Viewer employs the same process as with any other app.
At the same time, publishers and corporations that need to exert control over their intellectual property can readily extend their reach and coverage to the tablet (iPad) and mobile (iPhone) platforms. LockLizard has integrated their granular DRM controls into the LockLizard iOS Viewer to provide a similar level of protection found on the Mac operating system. Licensing specific devices to use LockLizard protected files is fully implemented on iOS platforms, as are controls such as start and finish dates, number of views, locking document use to specific locations (IP address ranges), dynamic watermarking, logging document use, and so on.
In addition to enforcing its own DRM controls, the LockLizard iOS Viewer will detect and refuse to run on devices that have been jailbroken, since this could compromise security.
LockLizard’s Viewer for the iOS supports versions 5.0.0 and above and is available as a free download from Apple’s App Store.