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Jonathan M.5's avatar
Jonathan M.5
Helpful | Level 5
6 years ago

File opened "x minutes ago" when I didn't open it?

I was looking for a file I'd accessed on my phone, but was having a struggle seeing files based on how recently I'd accessed them so I tried on the web client instead   I was shocked to see vario...
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Megan's avatar
Megan
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

Hi ee22, I'd be happy to help! 

 

The most common case for this scenario is another, third-party app accessing these files.

 

If you have any other apps accessing your files, or an antivirus this could be it. 

 

What I would personally suggest, is what you've already tried in regards to security steps. You can also have a look at your events page, to see more about your file activity there, and make sure nothing suspicious happened. 

 

The Events page at www.dropbox.com/events gives you an overview of all activity in your account including files events (adds/edits/deletes), as well as adding or removing shared folders. 

 

If you have any questions, let me know!

ee22's avatar
ee22
Explorer | Level 3
11 months ago

Hi Megan,

 

This still isn't settling well with me. Seeing all those files being opened felt like a violation of my privacy and I'm considering if this is an application I want to continue using.

 

How can I know for sure if this was a hacker versus a third-party application?

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    11 months ago

    Hey ee22 - sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that the events page would be your best bet to find out more about what happened in this case.

     

    Did you take a look to see if the actions are logged there and if so, check the user or the application that initiated them? 

     

    Apart from that, you can have a look at your Security page for any unknown devices or web sessions. 

    • ee22's avatar
      ee22
      Explorer | Level 3
      9 months ago

      Hi Walter,

       

      I've returned to this thread because my issue happened again.

       

      When I am on the homepage (https://www.dropbox.com/home) and I filter the 'All Files' list by 'Recent' I see activity that files have been opened that I have not recently visited. But when I look at the Activity log you mentioned, that appears to be accurate.

       

      Why is this happening? Is this a security-related issue?

       

      Thanks.

      • Walter's avatar
        Walter
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        9 months ago

        Thanks for the nudge on this ee22 

         

        Could you let me know if you notice any difference in the Recents area if you log into your account through another browser? 

         

        Also, where do you usually access your files from? Is it locally on your devices, through the website or via a 3rd party app/integration? 

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