7.4

the security concerns regarding Capture are external to it. This means the security that is implemented both on your network
and physical premises are critical to the security of your PlanetPress implementation.
Here are a few notable points with the security of PlanetPress Capture on a network:
l PGC Files, while not written in plain text, are not encrypted and are readable through either PlanetPress Production
(even a server that did not generate the document associated with it), or through third-party applications using the
Anoto SDK. This means if someone gains access to your PGC storage folder, they may be able to read the signatures,
checkmarks and other information contained in it and reproduce them on a document of their choice. It is always better
to secure this folder properly. You could also use third-party encryption software to secure the files, and decrypt them
as necessary for reprocessing.
l The transfer between the Anoto penDirector and PlanetPress Production is not encrypted due to a limitation of pen-
Director which does not support SSL connections. This means someone located anywhere between penDirector and
PlanetPress Production could use software such as a packet sniffer to retrieve its parts and recreate the PGC files. This
may be resolvable by create a secure VPN tunnel for each location where penDirector is installed instead of going
through regular remote HTTP server.
l The PlanetPress Capture database, since it can be external to PlanetPress such as on a MySQL server, will be depend-
ent on your own database security.
l The Anoto Digital Pens, since they may contain critical information, are just like physical sheets of signed paper and
must be kept secured. This is best done through training employees handling the pens to be aware of its value and con-
tents and act accordingly. This means that the security of the pen is just as important as the security of any existing
physical documents you may handle at the moment.
l The same rules apply to PDF files as with PGC files, especially when they contain a signature from the pen. If you are
already securing digital scanned copies of signed documents, the PDFs should be secured in similar ways.
However, remember that as with most security concerns, in order to be a “threat”, someone would have to have a high level
or working knowledge of either the Anoto SDK (which is not easily obtainable) or PlanetPress Production and PlanetPress Cap-
ture. In some situations this may be enough (security through obscurity) but we always recommend having the same level of
security for Capture files and documents as you would the rest of your sensitive information. In most cases, the procedures
in place are enough for this purpose.
20,000 Patterns
When reading or learning about PlanetPress Capture, you may have seen a number pop up here and there: "20,000 Patterns".
In order to better understand what this number means and what it entails for you, the user, this document will first present an
overview of a typical PlanetPress Capture implementation and then explain how the 20,000 patterns limitation can be cir-
cumvented in some cases. We will also touch upon the potential pitfalls of these workarounds as they are used.
THE NUMBERS
First and foremost, the 20,000 patterns is a fixed number - PlanetPress can only generate 20,000 unique patterns as this is the
number of patterns that we license through Anoto.
The 20,000 patterns are, however, not all available when generating documents. There are 8 "demo"patterns that are used to
generate documents when PlanetPress Capture is in demo mode (no license activated), and react the same way that the bulk
of the 20,000 patterns. Another single pattern is used to register pens in the database, and one last single pattern is used when
printing a "Preview"from PlanetPress Design. So in reality, the number of available patterns for document generation is
19990, but for simplicity's sake this FAQuses the round number "20,000".
Special Workflow Types