
Advertisementĭropbox’s direction and attitude have been clear for a while now: Updates are one thing, but many users (your author included) feel like there was a lack of consent here. wrong, especially with no notice whatsoever.

DROPVOX APP INSTALL
Using this mechanism to silently install a bigger, more bloated, completely different version of the Dropbox app onto people's computers seems.
DROPVOX APP UPDATE
Part of using Dropbox means installing the sync app to your computer, and to keep everything fresh and up to date, Dropbox has the ability to silently update this app from time to time. It's a file manager.Ī big part of the appeal of Dropbox is (was?) that it's a dead-simple product: it's a folder, in the cloud! Put your stuff in the folder, and it seamlessly gets backed up and synced to all your other computers. The middle panel shows your Dropbox files, and the right panel shows a file preview with options for comments and sharing. You can search for files, sort by name or date, and do all the usual file operations like cut, copy, and paste. You can now "star" folders as important so they show up in the left panel (again, like a Slack chat room). It kind of looks like Slack, if Slack was a file manager. a file manager? Instead of the minimal sync app, the Dropbox icon now opens a big, multi-panel, blue and white window showing all your Dropbox files. Recently, though, a number of users on Twitter and at the Ars Orbiting HQ have reported silently being "upgraded" to this radically different version of Dropbox. The company announced its "New Desktop Experience" in June, and previously it was opt-in. Original Post: Hey Dropbox users, how has Dropbox been for you lately? Major changes are coming to the Dropbox desktop app. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused." The issue has been resolved, though there might be a short lag for some users to see resolution. Due to an error, some users were accidentally exposed to the new app for a short period of time.


"We recently announced a new desktop app experience that is now currently available in Early Access.

It's also critical to change passwords periodically in case a situation similar to the 2012 Dropbox hack happens again, for example.Update 4:06pm ET: Dropbox says this was a mistake. Important: Make sure your passwords are complex and difficult to uncode, and create different passwords for different services to prevent a large security breach from happening. This eliminates the risk of Dropbox itself accessing your files with the company's own encryption key or handing your information to government authorities. You can encrypt and password-protect documents created in Microsoft Office, for example, or with a third-party app. Simple human error is also a risk - Dropbox allows users to store files in easily exposed public folders, for example, so it's important to be careful about where files are placed.Īnd for the ultimate in security, both from accidental public folder disclosures as well as hacks, security experts like 's Chief Editor Gabe Turner suggest using file-level encryption on important files stored on Dropbox. Two-factor authentication is an easy step you can take to ensure Dropbox remains secure.
