You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Forum Discussion
How to disable DropBox Update?
How do I prevent DropBox Update from booting on Windows (10 Pro) startup?
I've tried everything (see screenshots below spoilertag), but it will still boot, and I have to kill it manually every time...
schroumpf wrote:
I think tampering with a private (or company) computer without authorisation is called 'hacking' and I believ it is illegal.
When it's unauthorized, that's correct, but Dropbox updating itself is completely authorized. It's stated in the terms that it may update itself periodically. These are the terms that you agree to by using the software and service so, effectively, you authorized Dropbox to update itself as needed.
Dropbox should be brough to court for passed hacking activities and forced to stop this practice.
Dropbox hasn't "hacked" anything. A program self updating, even without user control/intervention, is not hacking. If you're a Windows 10 user then you experience the same thing with the forced Windows Updates. Is Microsoft hacking your computer as well?
Why such option as "Disable update" is not available? I mean it is something that is crucial, considering not all users have a fast connection, I mean I only maxed out at 2 Mbps (I know, it is very bad, don't argue)
This is beyond stupid! And the updater is so ef-uped that it's downloading 160MB of update almost every day. Dear effin Dropbox - add option how often the update should be checked and if I want to get the dam update - in the end this is MY machine and not yours, and it seems (with the beloved "Terms of service") you think you can do virtually everything... So this is more like "legal virus".
Actually I'm on the verge of getting rid of this "application" as it's so annoying…
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey @Wojtek - Welcome to the Dropbox Community!
First off, let me start by saying that I am sorry to hear about this cumbersome situation. I understand that you don't like applications tampering with your machine and I would like to help as much as I can with this.
Moreover, as this is not currently possible due to the fact that we always need to update to the latest version of the desktop app because each new version includes a number of key updates and it’s important that you run the latest version whenever possible, I wanted to thank you for this feature request. We are always looking for our users' input when creating the next version of the desktop app and I will personally make sure your comments are passed along to our dev team.
In the meantime, you can completely uninstall the application and use the web only to access your files.
I know this is not much of a solution but I really hope it helps in a way. If there's anything else I can assist you with, please do let me know.
Thank you in advance and have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Thank you for the honest response. If Dropbox wants people to accept automatic updates then you NEED to start publishing a changelog. As far as I can tell, you refuse to do that.
Every single time Dropbox wants to update, I don't know why. Could it be that their update servers were hacked and are offering free botnet subscriptions? Could they be forcibly introducing "features" that we don't want? Or are they fixing security holes? I literally have NO IDEA!
It's a bit like: "Stick your hand into this bag and grab some stuff!" Candy? Bees? Who knows?
If we only knew what the updates were about, we'd be more likely to accept them.
So I ask: what will it take to get a changelog for every update?
- Mark
Super User II
They've listened pbarney... they are starting to appear over on the Beta builds pages but maybe a few days delayed: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Desktop-client-builds/Beta-Build-50-3-68/m-p/276583#M4610
We operate a radio station, which uses Dropbox to add files to the on-air automation. Sometimes Dropbox updates cause our radio station automation to freeze up, and we go off the air, losing revenue from ads that don't air. So, YES, it would make every sense to have Dropbox be update-able when we're watching the situation; manual updating when we need it, so that we know it's not taking us off the air. Dropbox is a great function for sending audio files, BUT, if it stops our broadcast, it's not so great. With manual update, we'd have to update it when it becomes non-functional anyway. But again, it wouldn't interfere with our source of income causing loss of listeners.
This does apply to other users, too. Maybe they don't have stations that are going off the air, but they do have deadlines, and other functions that are being interfered with. So a simple, and caring solution would be to offer a manual update option. You know as well as anyone that sometimes updates can even make mistakes, and need to be "Fixed" later. This way, some of the mistakes will not happen to some of the manual updaters, because by the time a manual update is done, you've already found the error.
Please, be honest, you want to have a kind of total control, but it's not really in the absolute best interest of the user, and his/her computer. How 'bout some sort of compromise, and just allow for manual update. The update would have to be made anyway to keep the functionality. Go ahead and remind folks about that in the lingo that is on the Dropbox website, and desktop dialog... that lack of updating may cause difficulty or loss of functionality. And then let people be adults :-)
Thank you for the fine service. By the way, we have to shut down Dropbox when we're not able to watch the automation, so i believe the updates aren't getting in possibly till we launch it again? So maybe that's a "Fix" for others. Not sure if this is true or not, but seems to be helping our situation.One big problem with the autoupdates is that it keeps writing registry settings to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers . These settings push the dropbiox icons to the top of the icon list. So the dropbiox icons prevent the icons from TortosieGit being displayed. The dropbox icons have no value to me, but the TortoiseGit icons have real and important meaning for me. So every time dropbox updates it's software I have to go into the registry and delete their icons and then reboot. What a pain. Dropbox functionality is useful, but the update behaves like an insidious virus invisibly messing with my computers.
Dear Walter,
almost three years have passed since the first post in this topic, but nothing has been done to resolve the issue with automatic updates.I appreciate efforts of Dropbox to keep my data secure, but in the meantime autoupdates ruin my day by making my data unavailable just when I need it.
How to make Dropbox understand, that my corporate laptop isn't a toy of Dropbox?
I hope someone will finally start to listen to users and customers.
Best regards,
Kirill
- Walter
Hi Kirill - thanks for posting your first question on our Community!
I understand how important this must be to you so I'd suggest that you logged a feature request, clearly explaining the rationale behind this while also providing us with your use-case. In this way, other similar-minded users will be able to find and upvote your idea too!
You can do that in the 'Share an Idea' section of our Community linked below :wink:
https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Share-an-idea/ct-p/101002000
If there's anything you'd like to ask in the meantime, don't hesitate to get back to me on this thread; I'd be glad to follow up KbICb!
