How to Verify Digital Documents’ Authenticity in 3 Easy Ways

While sending documents online is extremely convenient and has become a new standard, security risks tied to online document exchange must be mitigated.

Ensuring the documents you send and receive are valid is a necessary step, and you need to check if: 

• The documents weren’t tampered with (changes in formatting, text, images, etc);
• The sender is legitimate (official email address);
• The files have “traveled safely” and their privacy is intact (CC and BCC, NDAs).

Below are three easy ways to ensure document authenticity: requiring no technical knowledge or complex authentication protocols — so anyone in your company can secure their documents.

1. QR Code Verification

A QR (quick response) code is a type of two-dimensional barcode that consists of characteristic black squares on a white, square background. The squares can be arranged randomly, or in various shapes and colors, and contain logos and symbols, to showcase creativity and branding.

QR codes store information readable by smartphone cameras, making them the most practical authentication choice if many people need to scan the QR code.

The most frequent use case is a QR code that contains a URL that takes you to a desired webpage: restaurant menus, websites, social media pages, payments, contact info, and various marketing purposes.

How to use QR codes for document authentication

QR codes are fairly simple to use for document authentication; there are plenty of free QR code generators online that require you to:

1. Create a unique document verification page;
2. Generate a QR code that leads to the verification page;
3. Download the code in the desired format (JPG, PNG, SVG, or EPS);
4. Paste or attach the code to the digital document.

Virtualbadge.io has a cool hack you can use to add a QR code to your document even faster:

1. Open our certificate designer, and add your document with the Add Background button;
2. Drag and drop a QR code;
3. Download — the document is ready to go!

If you handle plenty of digital certificates and badges that need to be authenticated, you can automate the whole process with Virtualbadge! 

Our users can create unique digital credentials in bulk: QR codes are generated with a single click in our certificate/badge designer, along with corresponding validation pages for each recipient. 

Credentials are copy-proof even when printed, and authentication info can be stored safely on your or our servers. 

The process is simple:

1. Design your credential
2. Upload a CSV with recipient information
3. Send

That’s all there is to it!

And you can try it for free!

2. Digital Signatures 

The “online twins” of hand-written signatures, digital signatures are frequently used to authenticate digital documents. 

For businesses that operate on an international scale or local ones that seek convenience, digital signatures are the usual way of ensuring the documents are legitimate. In addition to convenience and requiring no physical presence of any party involved, digital signatures improve document handling security, reduce paperwork, and speed up bureaucratic operations. 

Digital signatures work through a cryptographic process:

• When you sign a document digitally, algorithms create a hash, best described as a unique digital fingerprint of the document; 
• The hash is encrypted by the signer’s private key — private keys need to be protected, otherwise the documents can be compromised;
• Document recipients use the sender’s public key to decrypt the signature and verify it; the decryption compares the resulting hash with a newly computed hash of the received document. If both hashes match, the document is authentic and hasn't been altered since it was signed.

This way, digital signatures are embedded in the very document to prevent unauthorized alterations. Document handlers are aware of every change to the document: even minor tweaks corrupt the unique hash value of the document, making the signature invalid upon verification.

This way of document authentication has some drawbacks. In some cases, local legislators don’t legally recognize digital signatures, and demand either physical signatures or another layer of security: digital signatures connected to personal IDs.

How to add a digital signature to a document

You can add your signature to a document with an easy, 3-step process:

1. Create your signature in the Virtualbadge platform, or upload your own: it will be saved for future use;
2. Upload the digital document, certificate, or a badge;
3. Paste your signature and download your document/credential.

No tech, no fuss — just a simplified digital credentialing platform anyone can use, and your bulletproof documents.

3. Alphanumeric ID / Verification Code

An alphanumeric ID/code is a string of letters, numbers, and symbols with randomized punctuation similar to automatically generated passwords.

Each document comes with a unique code: the code needs to be encrypted and linked to the document in a similar way to digital signatures.

When someone needs to verify the document’s authenticity, they can use the code by entering it into the specific field on a verification portal/website.

How to protect documents with a verification code

1. Open our Free Certificate Generator and upload your document with the Add Background button;
2. Paste the document text onto the certificate form;
3. Add unique details (including ID number) in the Dynamic Text field;
4. Save and use your documents!

Virtualbadge users can verify the document authenticity on the accompanying, automatically-generated verification page.

Use Virtualbadge.io to generate secure documents and digital credentials

We designed our platform to help you skip the complicated authentication protocols, tech jargon, and processes that slow you down.

In just a few clicks, you can create bulletproof digital documents, certificates, and badges — and use verification pages that go along your digital assets. The design tool is simple, yet gives you rich customization options: upload your own design elements, or use pre-made templates for certificates and badges.

See how easy it is with a 7-day free trial!

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