Updated 28-Jun-2024
Dropbox is a cloud storage and sync service, with additional editors/apps, such as Paper and Showcase. For various reasons, those additional Dropbox apps are not useful for our use cases. However, storage and sync are excellent in and of themselves, and generally superior to Google Drive which is the only real alternative.
What Dropbox gets Wrong
One thing that is maddening about Dropbox is that when renaming a folder, all files and sub-folders within the folder are re-synchronized. This can be a huge undertaking (in terms of time required, not to mention wasted bandwidth. - Dropbox Rule #1: Try not to rename folders Another thing is the slow Microsoft Online Editors for Word and Excel. These can be very tedious to use, and there is more limited functionality than found in native editors for desktop operating systems. - Dropbox Rule #2: Use a native editor on Word and Excel documents when possible. Preview for Word and Excel do not support Indic Scripts (Fonts). This means that any Thai vowel, tone mark, or silent mark will not show properly in preview (but will when editing). This is a very odd limitation, and is based on a very poor preview functionality. In contrast, nearly all other editors support Indic Scripts (South and Southeast Asia-style fonts), with the only other known exception being
Backing up Multiple Folders with Symlinks
Besides what is in the main Dropbox folder (which can be some or all of the contents), there are times when folders in other locations are needed to be included in a backup. To do this, simple create symlinks (symbolic links) from the command line. Aliases created in the Finder do not work as symlinks, so the command line is needed (or some third party app, so unnecessary). The following example points to a folder on an SDCard:
ln -s /Volumes/jm-music/iTunes-Library ~/Desktop/Dropbox/iTunes-Library-symlink
ln= link-s= symbolic/Volumes/jm-music/iTunes-Libraryremote link destination~/Desktop/Dropbox/iTunes-Library-symlinklocal link location
Dropbox vs. Google Drive for Mobile Devices
Dropbox is one of the most widely available cloud storage providers in terms of support by third-party mobile apps. While Google Drive has increased its coverage, and Microsoft lags a bit behind, Dropbox is reliably the foremost access provider for cloud storage. As well, the Dropbox app can backup images/video from mobile devices automatically.
Dropbox Desktop Sync Performance
Dropbox is a much better application for synchronization of files, in terms of stability, reliability, and resource utilization (at least on OSX). Google Drive synchronization is a nightmare of processor utilization, hangs, and error messages.
Dropbox Security Audit in Four Steps
Storage in the Cloud does not magically remove the need for security, and especially that rare creature, the security audit. From a post over at Labnol, we learned how to do a Dropbox security audit, which is important for obvious reasons. However, this requires vigilance and a repeated review, something scheduled in your calendar. Note that the user interface at Dropbox changes over time so these steps need to be updated regularly. - Last updated 18 October 2017
Step 1 - Run the Security Checkup
Run the Dropbox security checkup which reviews devices/browser, connected apps, and suggests a password change, as well as review of two-step authentication settings.
Step 2 - Review Devices and Browsers
Check the [devices and browsers which access Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/account/security. Anything suspicious?
Step 3 - Review Connected Apps
Review the connected apps enabled to access Dropbox. Anything suspicious?
Step 4 - Review Available Space
Check the Dropbox plan and space used/available. After all, availability is one aspect of security.