Update: Dropbox: Why You Need This Program

When I recently purchased a new computer, I immediately installed several programs that I would hate to live without: Firefox, Evernote, OpenOffice, and Dropbox. All of them are free programs.

Dropbox is available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and now for the Apple iPhone. I have come to depend on this program. If you use one computer, this program can be useful. However, if you use two or more computers, such as a desktop system and a laptop system or perhaps one computer at home and another at the office, I'd consider this program to be indispensable.

I wrote about Dropbox in some detail in the 27 September 2009 newsletter, and that article is still available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/09/Dropbox-why-you-need-this-program.html. Today, the producing company announced some changes to Dropbox.

First of all, there is a new version of Dropbox for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. I read the announcement and immediately downloaded and installed the free iPhone application. Now I can view all my stored files on the iPhone. Even better, I can snap a picture with the iPhone's camera, and within seconds the picture is replicated to my other computers, assuming those others are powered up and connected online. If not, the picture and any other new files will be copied to the other computers whenever they are powered up and connected. A copy is also stored on the servers at Dropbox.com.

The Dropbox program for iPhone and iPod Touch includes viewers for all the common file types. I can use the iPhone to access any of my stored files, including .DOC word processing files; .TXT text files; .JPG, .GIF, and .PNG images; .PDF files; and even PowerPoint's .PPT files. I can read those files on the iPhone's screen. I admit looking at PowerPoint slides on the tiny iPhone screen is a bit strange, but it works well! I could even give a presentation to one person this way.

Next, the Dropbox application has now moved to a new web address: http://Dropbox.com.

Finally, Lee and Sachi over at Common Craft recently made a video that explains Dropbox in plain English. It may help you explain Dropbox to your friends and family. The video may be found at http://www.Dropbox.com/link/19.Q3aavde51R.

Dropbox now has more than 3 million users with several thousand more being added every week. If you try this program, you'll see why.

Dropbox is one of my favorite programs. It works on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and now on Apple iPhone and iPod Touch systems. It is available free of charge and will store up to two gigabytes of data at no charge. Additional storage capacity is available for a modest fee.

You might want to read my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/09/dropbox-why-you-need-this-program.html and then watch the video at http://www.Dropbox.com/link/19.Q3aavde51R. Finally, to download the program and start using it, go to http://www.Dropbox.com.

Comments

[Eduardo Fisher]

I couldn't agree more with you on this point. I set up Legacy 7.0 to read files from My Dropbox, and I store many of my ebooks, scans, and other sources in My Dropbox. Not only does this give me access to my research no matter which of my computers I am using, but it also provides me with two levels of back-ups--one on my second PC and one in the Dropbox cloud.

[Gloria Ishida]

Just went to the "new address" (using Firefox) and Google Safebrowsing ) indicated that www.dropbox.com had in certain instances over the past 90 days been infected by malware.

I'll take no chances and wait.

[Dae Powell]

Happy Veteran's Dae! Sempre Fidelis!

Happy Dae·
http://ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[Pam]

I have been loving it for a few weeks but Trend Micro has chosen it -- as of TODAY, mind you -- as high risk and I can't use it anymore, because I keep getting popups every two seconds. I hope DropBox can fix whatver issue has occurred so I can continue to use it. I wrote Trend this morning.

[Dick Eastman]

I doubt if Dropbox can fix that. It sounds like a problem with Trend, called a "false positive." In other words, Trend is lying to you.

[Claire Bettag]

I read this in a review in MacUpdate:
"When you use Dropbox, you're handing your personal data over to the developer. What happens to it after that is not under your control. You may or may not care about this lack of privacy, but don't be misled into thinking it doesn't exist.

The documentation cited below says that data is encrypted in transmission (using SSL) and in storage on the servers. "Online access to your files requires your username and password." But the Dropbox admins *know* your username and password. They may have a policy of not allowing their employees to access customer data, but it's just a policy; you're relying on them to enforce it. In some circumstances, such as under subpoena or after a sale or liquidation of the company, the policy may be unenforceable. In no way is it the same as if the client application were to encrypt the data locally before uploading, using a key known only to you. Then they *could not* read your data even if they wanted to. (Nov 6, 2009)"
What do you think, Dick?

Second: Except for price, how is DropBox different from the iDisk features available with MobileMe? If I use MobileMe and only one computer (a laptop) and an iPhone, do I really need Dropbox? seems like it just duplicates services. What am I missing?

[Sherry Marine]

How safe is Dropbox? I understand that an earlier version of LimeWire (a music sharing program), unknowingly to most users, allowed others to access ones personal information, including banking and tax data. I'm not computer savvy enough to understand how that happened, thus the reason for my question. Does Dropbox, or the Dropbox server, open some sort of public portal for this type of invasion of privacy? I first downloaded Dropbox to my desk computer and then to my laptop - but when I open it from my laptop, the majority of it is gibberish and does not retain any formatting. My desk computer has Reunion 8 and my laptop uses Reunion 9 so maybe that is the problem. The only file I have put in Dropbox is my Reunion 8 program and genealogy info. I would appreciate any information that would help me better understand, and hopefully continue to use Dropbox. It appears to be a wonderful program and I appreciate your recommendation. Your newsletters are a huge help to me on my two favorite interest - genealogy and Mac computers. Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.

[Linda]

How is DropBox different than something like MobileMe?

[Linda]

So are you saying that everything, including programs like iPhoto and genealogy databases, automatically syncs, just as it is within my software files? I'm asking for clarification, because until this point, there's been no quick way to keep those kinds of programs synced between my desk computer and my laptop. I've been transferring files via Time Capsule (Mac), but iPhoto files lose their organization within albums in the transfer. It's too time-consuming to replace my genealogy files every week on the laptop, so I'm looking for the magical answer to this problem. Will DropBox really do all this, even if my genealogy software (Reunion) has no "Save" button to click?

[Caroline Gurney]

Thank you for posting this, Dick. I missed your earlier article about Dropbox and have now gone back and read it.

For most of the past year I have been using Syncplicity for this purpose, mainly to keep my TMG project in sync on my PC and laptop. As you know, a single TMG project is made up of a multiplicity of files, not all of which may be changed during any one data input session. All went well using Syncplicity until the (inevitable) day when I made two conflicting updates on the two different machines whilst one of them was not online. Once it was back on line, Syncplicity could not reconcile the differences and started saving all changed files with an "as edited on" addition to the name.

First I knew was when Syncplicity informed me I'd gone over the 2GB file storage limit. Turned out my TMG project had bloated to a massive size because Syncplicity had added hundreds of "as edited on" versions of each file. It was impossible to sort out - my attempt to do so by deleting all but the latest version of each file simply corrupted my TMG project beyond repair. Fortunately I keep good backups so that was not a problem. I uninstalled Syncplicity and went back to using Backup / Restore within TMG to keep my project in sync on the two computers.

Have you used Dropbox to keep a TMG project in sync and, if so, have you encountered any issues? From what you have written it seems that there would be problems similar to Syncplicity in the event of conflicting updates on the two computers. Dropbox would safely backup the multiple versions of conflicting files but there would be no way of knowing which combination(s) of those files should be put together to resolve the conflict. Or am I missing something?

[Dick Eastman]

---> Except for price, how is DropBox different from the iDisk features available with MobileMe?

The two programs are very different. In my mind, they both started out with the same functionality and then Dropbox added many more features that are not available in MobileMe.

The biggest difference is that MobileMe does not automatically sync files amongst multiple computers (although you can sync them manually).

MobileMe does not keep multiple VERSIONS of each file.

MobileMe does not allow you to undo changes to files.

MobileMe does not work on Linux

MobileMe costs $99 a year and stores up to 20 gigabytes of data. Dropbox is FREE for up to 2 gigabytes of data storage (which is sufficient for many people) or $99/year for up to 50 gigabytes of storage space.

- Dick Eastman

[Dick Eastman]

---> So are you saying that everything, including programs like iPhoto and genealogy databases, automatically syncs, just as it is within my software files?

Dropbox stores and replicates files. It doesn't know and doesn't care what kind of files they are. I use it to sync genealogy databases as well as several thousand word processing documents and it works well at that.

- Dick Eastman

[Karen Parker]

I have had a problem with TMG on Dropbox because of of all the files TMG uses. I finally had to limit it to saving only my backup files. If I entered a large quantity of data at one sitting it would take too long to upload everything and then I could not use either of my desktops or my laptop because the files were not up to date. I prefer to work on my files late in the evening when everyone is out of my way so when I shut down I don't have time to hang around for all of this to upload. I cannot leave my computers running when I am not using them as I live in an area where there is a lot of lightning and frequent power outages, I learned early on to disconnect completely when not in use. I commute between two houses and thought this would be an ideal way to keep my files up to date but I could not work on them the last day I am at either house because it did not all get uploaded. As it is right now my backups are on Dropbox and Backblaze.

[Dick Eastman]

The FIRST time you backup files with Dropbox or Mozy or Backblaze or most any other backup program, it will take many hours, possibly even days, because it has to back up everything. After the initial backup has been made, all future backups only upload the new files or the files that have changed.

I back up TMG files and a a few thousand other files. The first time I backed them up with Dropbox, it required two or three hours. Every backup I have made since then requires a few seconds.

The same will be true with almost all backup programs.

- Dick Eastman

[Sharon]

I just got back from a trip to Europe. I had emailed copies of all my confirmations, notes, etc. to use on my iPod Touch. This would have made it a whole lot easier. I just installed it and can see how it would work for travelling, however I do not understand how it syncs.

"Dropbox isn't like a typical network drive. When you move a file to your Dropbox, a copy of it remains on your computer, so you can always access your files even if you are offline. Dropbox works in the background and will automatically sync any new changes the next time you are online."

I move files to it and they are GONE from the originating folder. If I copy a file and later change it, I don't see anything happening automatically. I will play with it and see if I can get this part to work. If not, I've still got a solution for file sharing with the iPod touch. Thanks, Dick!

Sharon

[Claire Bettag]

Thanks for the responses re MobileMe, Dick. Can you respond to the security question (see the quotation I posted yesterday from MacUpdate)?
Many thanks! This is very helpful info.

[Dick Eastman]

---> I move files to it and they are GONE from the originating folder. If I copy a file and later change it, I don't see anything happening automatically.

I have several thousand files in the DropBox folder, including every single newsletter article I have ever written plus several hundred other word processing documents plus a few hundred pictures. I have Dropbox installed on several computers, including Windows and Macintosh systems. When I place a new file in the Dropbox folder, assuming the computer is connected to the Internet at that moment, the file gets copied to Dropbox's servers within seconds. The original copy remains in the Dropbox folder.

If my other computers are powered up and connected to the internet at that moment, the new file gets copied to each and every one of those computers within ten or 15 seconds.

The original file remains in the original Dropbox folder and copies of it are placed in all the other computers' Dropbox folders.

If one of my computers is powered off at the time, such as my laptop, the fle is "queued up" on Dropbox's servers waiting for that system to connect. Some days or even weeks later I might turn the laptop computer on and connect to the Internet. All the files that are queued up and waiting for that system are then immediately copied to the Dropbox folder on that system.

All this is automatic; I don't have to click on any icons or push any buttons. The original file remains in the original computer's Dropbox folder and copies of it are replicated to all my other computers that have Dropbox installed.

Thanks.

- Dick Eastman

[Dick Eastman]

---> Have you used Dropbox to keep a TMG project in sync and, if so, have you encountered any issues?

Yes, I do have all my TMG files (with multiple TMG databases) backed up and replicated via Dropbox. So far, it has worked perfectly.

- Dick Eastman

[Dick Eastman]

---> How safe is Dropbox?

I think that is explained well in the documentation on the Dropbox.com site. As the Dropbox documentation states, "Your files are actually safer while stored in your Dropbox than on your computer in some cases."

Here are some other excerpts from the Dropbox documentation:

Dropbox uses modern encryption methods to both transfer and store your data.

* Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite
* All transmission of file data and metadata occurs over an encrypted channel (SSL).
* All files stored on Dropbox servers are encrypted (AES-256) and are inaccessible without your account password
* Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers
* Online access to your files require your username and password

{End of quote}

And here is perhaps the most important statement:

* Dropbox employees aren't able to access user files, and when troubleshooting an account they only have access to file metadata (filenames, file sizes, etc., not the file contents)

In this case, I trust Dropbox's public statements. I have no concerns about security when using Dropbox.

- Dick Eastman

P.S. Many years ago, I served in the U.S. military where I was a crypto technician and was responsible for security for online computer systems that handled some of the most sensitive information imaginable for the Strategic Air Command and other organizations. I am INTIMATELY familiar with encryption techniques.

[Roger Moffat]

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20091001143504539

has another tip for Macintosh users who use Mac OS X and BootCamp on their machines. Set up DropBox on the Windows machine and the Mac OS X machine and files created in 1 will be available to the other.

Roger

[Ian Singer]

I must be missing something. I set up dropbox on my desktop computer with its folder being on the desktop. I then put a shortut to my documents in it. When I go online the files are not on the website except for a list of deleted ones.

I then did the same with my laptop. When I click on the laptop dropbox folder the desktop files are not there.

[Dick Eastman]

You did something wrong. The Dropbox folder is not supposed to be on the desktop.

I'd suggest you uninstall, then install again and take all the default settings. Don't change anything. I have now done that on five different computers and it has always installed perfectly. The total time required for installation is less than a minute after the file is downloaded.

- Dick Eastman

[Ian Singer]

I uninstalled dropbox on my desktop and laptop and did a complete reinstall by default. It installs as a folder under my documents on XP and has a shortcut in it to my documents. Going online it shows no files so it is not picking up anything. It says they are backed up but nothing at all shows on the website and that is same for both computers so neither computer can share data as it is not there to share. Hints??

[Dick Eastman]

That's the way it is supposed to install. Now drag a few files to the Dropbox folder and see if they get copied.