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currentcapital's avatar
currentcapital
Helpful | Level 6
9 years ago
Solved

Randomly deleted files and folders

Anyone else experiencing files and folders being deleted from Dropbox without human intervention?   I know that I'm going to get the stock Dropbox answer here that it can't happen, but I can expl...
Delete
restore
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    8 years ago
     
    Hey Daz, 
     
    Welcome to the Dropbox Community, let me send over some tips below regarding your inquiry and we’ll take it from there! 
     
     SKBJ ‘s reply could point you towards the right direction, though you may need to dig deeper, depending on the behavior you’ve noticed. 
     
    Firstly, as Dropbox syncs any files added to it, a virus or malicious software would get updated to all computers linked to the account accordingly. If the virus or malicious software is in a shared folder, shared folder members and computers may also be affected. That being said, I’d strongly recommend removing it as soon as possible, as it’ll definitely create more issues in the long run. 
     
    Secondly, it recently came to attention that connecting or pointing external locations (i.e. Symlinking them) to your Dropbox folder might cause unexpected behavior, so it may appear to you as if files are randomly deleted. That being said, I’d advise you to have a look intro this as well, just as a possible scenario. 
     
    Regardless of the cause, if you need further clarifications or you’d like your account reverted back to a particular point in time, my advice would be to reach out directly to our team, who’ll guide you through the necessary steps and actions you’d need to take, so as to revert back to normal operations. 
     
    If you decide to go per my advice above, you may keep in mind that I’m always here to pursue a resolution, so please let me know a ticket ID I could reference in your next reply. 
     
    I’m looking forward to hearing back from you on this discussion! 
Risky A.'s avatar
Risky A.
New member | Level 1
9 years ago

I see there are similar posts about this, and in some of them it's being put down to user error or the files being deleted by someone who shares a folder.

I just wanted to say that I've been using Dropbox for years, know how it works, and important work files that I would most CERTAINLY never have deleted recently disappeared from my Dropbox folder.

Also, I don't share my folders with anyone, so it's not that someone else is deleting them either.

Thankfully I was able to visit Dropbox via the website and undelete them. If not, I would have been in really serious trouble.

I just wanted to post this to show other people who are losing data that they are not alone.

I have to say that my confidence in Dropbox has taken a BIG knock.  I've now started backing up my Dropbox folder to DVD on a regular basis - which, in a way, defeats the whole point of Dropbox for me.

Mark's avatar
Mark
Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
9 years ago

Dropbox cannot delete on its own. SOMETHING has to be doing it - see https://help.dropbox.com/delete-restore/missing-reappearing-corrupted-files 

 

Risky A. wrote:

which, in a way, defeats the whole point of Dropbox for me.

Oh no, it really doesnt. Dropbox is NOT a backup tool and should never EVER be regarded as one. It is a syncing tool. 

You should ALWAYS have multiple backups in place - regardless if you have Dropbox or not. 

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