Q: I want to get a program that would edit PDF files. The one offered by Adobe are more expensive that I would like to pay. What names should I look for when I download these types of programs? What safe ones could you recommend?

Image credit: Adobe

A: Thanks for your question, Jesse!

Here’s the thing: PDF files are really not made for editing. We know you that there are tons of programs out there that supposedly will let you edit them, but none of those are worth your time. Most of the ones available online are scams that will infect your computer with viruses. And while you can technically edit PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro, but we don’t recommend spending the money on it.

As we said before, you really shouldn’t try to edit PDFs, because they are meant to be documents that show up exactly the same on every single device. You shouldn’t even think of them as living documents that you can change any time. Think of them as digital print outs instead — once you print them, you don’t want to change them. If want to annotate them, draw on them or sign them, we would recommend using a program like PDF Buddy.

But if you do need to change the actual text in a PDF, we would recommend trying to get ahold of the original document and changing that instead. If you then need a PDF file of it, you can create one by choosing “print to PDF” in the print menu of Windows 8, Chrome OS or Mac OS. If you’re using an older operating system, you will need to download a PDF printer like CutePDF.