Dropbox drops support for Linux. What alternatives do we have?

[TheFu]

All of this is good, but Dropbox is giving months of warning BEFORE they push the new code out. I suspect they will try to work at the block level devices at the partition or LV level, probably attempting to increase sync performance. It wouldn't take much for them to check for any unexpected block devices or commonly encrypted devices, then choose to block them. We won't know until the server-side code changes.

I'd hope for LUKS to work, but I'd also have alternative plans, if it doesn't.

[Geoffrey_Arndt]

Update: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/0...linux_support/

Update: A Dropbox spokesperson has been in touch to correct a detail, saying: "your article mentions Dropbox doesn't support encrypted versions of ext4. It would be accurate to say that Dropbox will not support ecryptfs, however it will support full disk encryption."

[ubname]

Dropbox will drop support for Linux from November.



So, ext4 running on ecryptfs, fscrypt or LUKS won't count! Given the EU's GDPR and other reasons, this essentially means that Dropbox has given up on Linux.

I found this post on your link, it seems that some encryption will still be in support:

db.png

[TheFu]

Update: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/0...linux_support/

Update: A Dropbox spokesperson has been in touch to correct a detail, saying: "your article mentions Dropbox doesn't support encrypted versions of ext4. It would be accurate to say that Dropbox will not support ecryptfs, however it will support full disk encryption."

Well, 18.04 drops encryptfs from the install options, so I can see why they would too. I stopped using it when my backups didn't work correctly unless my userid was logged in. It was just too much hassle for me to bother.

[Geoffrey_Arndt]

Just received this answer from tech support at Dropbox:

"Thanks for reaching out.

I just wanted to add some additional context regarding your question.

If you received a notification on Linux and you are running ext4, it may be because you are also running ecryptfs. Ecrypfts is not supported.

Dropbox makes the security of your data our highest priority. We do support full disk encryption systems, such as LUKS for Linux users.

If you did not receive a notification on your Linux device, and are just encrypting files manually (not via a layered filesystem like ecryptfs) you are likely not affected by this change.

I hope this helps clarify. Thank you and please let me know if you have any other questions I can help with.

Regards,

Luis"
.................................................. .

Hopefully the above info is accurate and provides more clarity for Ubuntu Dropbox users.

[playgame382]

https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread....1#post13792361

This is great! Will this auto mount upon login though?

[Paddy Landau]

I'm pleased to see some of the updates here. It seems as though Dropbox is having a bit of a change of heart, because originally it didn't accept LUKS.

Time will tell, of course, but still, it seems idiotic for Dropbox to drop support for file systems other than ext4. That is why I'm taking this news with a pinch of salt — it's an utterly arbitrary decision, which means that it could change for the worse at any time.

[pretzelgal]

Although slightly unorthodox, https://zenkit.com/ could be an alternative.
It's Linux-friendly: https://zenkit.com/en/blog/get-zenki...-distribution/, you can store files, the app supports Android, and it can link with Google Drive.

[undecidable]

I moved from Dropbox to Syncthing in 2016, happy with it.

It is different to Dropbox in that:

• it is peer to peer within your own devices
• you can sink multiple folders anywhere, not just your Dropbox folder. Means it fits in with how I organise my file system.
• can sync different folders with different devices
• installs from the repos, is open source.

It works on Android, Wz, Mac not sure about iphones.

I wrote a detailed comparison some time ago, which might be useful:
https://forum.syncthing.net/t/new-us...s-dropbox/7675

It doesn't include cloud backup (unless you are syncing to your own cloud)
but I treat backup separately from sync.
(I think combining them is dangerous).

It is more work to setup than Dropbox (because of the greater flexibility)
but is less annoying.

[Paddy Landau]

I moved from Dropbox to Syncthing in 2016, happy with it.

I've installed and played with Syncthing, and I'm most happy with it. It's great that they have a PPA. Thank you for the recommendation.