Dropbox selective sync deleted files (thousands)

[ross06187]

it turns out if you have been using the dropbox selective syn feature your files may not have been as safe as you thought for a small number of users.

 

you will know if you are effected when you receive this email below with the subject "A note about Dropbox and Selective Sync"

 

 

There being nice about it and offering 1 years pro.  I was lucky as I am a PhD student this could have caused me some major issues.  But i am more tech savvy than most and have been worried about the cloud corrupting all my files since i started using it.  So I have been taking weekly archives of my 100gb drop box, so i would have always been covered but there going to be some horror story of lost photos ect.

 

i wonder just how small the user base is and how long the bug has been there.  I am a major dropbox user so i was probably one the more likely people to get the bug.  Lucky for me all the files were lost were related to a html based manual that i had taken a off line copy off, so i did not lose anything.  

 

some other reports below

 

http://petapixel.com/2014/07/31/cautionary-tale-bug-dropbox-permanently-deleted-8000-photos/

 

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8440985

 

New main stream reports

 

http://www.maximumpc.com/oops_dropbox_bug_selective_sync_inadvertently_deletes_files_2014

 

http://www.slashgear.com/dropbox-selective-sync-confirmed-to-have-selective-amnesia-13350384/

[swaylor]

lol.

 

ya ditch dropbox for box.net, spideroak, btsync, etc.

 

they popularized and made these file syncs so easy, but they just keep on screwing up.

[Fetzie]

It was going to happen sooner or later.

[rockking1379]

lol.

 

ya ditch dropbox for box.net, spideroak, btsync, etc.

 

they popularized and made these file syncs so easy, but they just keep on screwing up.

personally i use owncloud

[ross06187]

lol.

 

ya ditch dropbox for box.net, spideroak, btsync, etc.

 

they popularized and made these file syncs so easy, but they just keep on screwing up.

 

there have been very few screwup, i think dropbox being the biggest players gives them the biggest incentive for screwup not to happen.

 

I would not trust the smaller players to have the staff the knowledge or the cash to find and solve problems when they come up

 

There not really anyway of stopping computers screwing up, you just can't anticipate everything.

[Sidiox]

I actually really like Dropbox, its file syncing is way better the Onedrive. It automagicly detects other devices with Dropbox on your network and then uses the LAN to sync files, which is super smart, I love that feature and am really disappointed that OneDrive doesn't have that. 

Its really nice that they give the effected users a year of Pro

[Constantine]

There being nice about it and offering 1 years pro.  I was lucky as I am a PhD student this could have caused me some major issues.  But i am more tech savvy than most and have been worried about the cloud corrupting all my files since i started using it.  So I have been taking weekly archives of my 100gb drop box, so i would have always been covered but there going to be some horror story of lost photos ect.

 

i wonder just how small the user base is and how long the bug has been there.  I am a major dropbox user so i was probably one the more likely people to get the bug.  Lucky for me all the files were lost were related to a html based manual that i had taken a off line copy off, so i did not lose anything.  

 

some other reports below

 

You should have a local uni back-up for your PhD stuff and not just Dropbox. Multiple redundancies and all that you know

[ZacDaMan72]

I don't use Dropbox for important stuff, I just use it for viewing videos (modern family etc)

[ross06187]

Bump Now the story is more main stream new. lol  at least tec main stream news

 

http://www.maximumpc.com/oops_dropbox_bug_selective_sync_inadvertently_deletes_files_2014

http://www.slashgear.com/dropbox-selective-sync-confirmed-to-have-selective-amnesia-13350384/

[Heisenbleurgh]

This is why we backup our backup's backup's backup.