Dropbox has just provided another reminder not to place complete faith in cloud storage, having allowed a bug to delete some users’ files.
The bug was tied to Dropbox’s Selective Sync feature, which helps users save space by only downloading selected folders to local storage, Engadget reported. In earlier versions of Dropbox’s desktop software, the bug could delete files if users restarted or shut down their machines while Selective Sync was in progress.
Dropbox says the glitch affected “a small number” of people using out-of-date versions of Dropbox’s desktop software. The company has been sending letters to these users, and providing personalised Web pages showing which files Dropbox was able to restore. Affected users are also getting a year of Dropbox Pro service for their troubles.
For all other users, Dropbox says it has patched the desktop client and retired the older versions, forcing everyone to update. The company is also adding new test procedures to prevent similar issues in the future.
In another, unrelated, development, Dropbox has advised users to activate two-factor authenticaiton on their accounts after harvested user names and passwords from around the Web were used to try and access accounts. The stolen credentials were used to access numerous services online an was spotted by Dropbox’s internal systems.
“A subsequent list of usernames and passwords has been posted online. We’ve checked and these are not associated with Dropbox accounts,” said Anton Mityagin on Dropbox’s blog.
Two-factor authentication requires the user to enter a code – sent by text message -on top of their password to register certain ‘trusted’ devices to their account.
Computerworld
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