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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! 
SKBJ's avatar
SKBJ
Explorer | Level 4
8 years ago

Exactly the same happened to me this week. Hundreds of files, all Word  + Excel docs vanished into thin air!! The folders are all there, other files extensions like PDF or jpeg are there but they don't concern me there's maybe 20-30 files of that kind, the W +E files are the ones I used for my client work. 

I am absolutely fuming that I keep getting responses that have nothing to do with solving the issue and taking responsibility.

 

If a person is a single user of a folder of course the events log will say "You added or You deleted" but I well know I did not do anything, I wasn't even at my computer at the time it happened and I was home so there's no chance someone sat at my computer and started moving things, plus it all happened in a few minutes....apparently in 1 minute alone "I" moved and equally deleted over 100 files...that's physically impossible!!

 

Now I see others experienced the same, so I too would like for Dropbox to start taking responsibility, but first off they need to restore all the files where they were, this is despicable!!

 

And thinking I was even considering moving to Dropbox for work. 

Not after this experience!

Watts H.'s avatar
Watts H.
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago

Yes, Dropbox help totally useless, to the point of being comically bad:  multiple emails from different "customer service" staff insisting they would help, with NONE of them responding to the very clear details I laid out and requests made for their help.  Literally, after weeks of correspondance, NOT ONE DROP BOX STAFF MEMBER responded in any coherent way at all.

 

At some later point, all of the folders that had been moved/altered then "mysteriously" dissappeared from my dropbox root folder.    HUH?  (dropbox staff going in to "clean up" screw up? -- no idea...)

 

My lesson here:  Dropbox CANNOT BE USED FOR CRITICAL BACKUP:  the system will corrupt, relocate, and potentially delete or alter files by itself, and they have no ability to research, confirm, reverse, monitor, or protect against such events.  Because this is a "mirroring" system, these faults in Dropbox will potentially result in permanant loss of important data.

 

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago

    Hey Watts H, 

     

    I'd be glad to investigate this with you. 

     

    Would you mind opening a new ticket and let me know once you have done so, in order to follow-up and look up the piece of information you'd like to know more about on our system? 

     
    Thanks in advance for your cooperation!
     
    Warm regards, 
    JaneA
    • Watts H.'s avatar
      Watts H.
      Helpful | Level 6
      8 years ago

      No, had enough "help" from you and your colleagues, thanks.

       

      Totally incompetent.

       

       

      • currentcapital's avatar
        currentcapital
        Helpful | Level 6
        8 years ago
        Love it.

        The "help" I got from Support could have been provided by a 3 year old.

        Sync.com for me, but make your own call.

        Cheers
    • Watts H.'s avatar
      Watts H.
      Helpful | Level 6
      8 years ago

      Can't help with follow that up with a:  "are you joking?"

       

      If you are so determined to help -- do the research and send me answers to my original requests, which you should be able to find in correspondance logs related to my account (if not, that is not my problem, so don't bother me with that excuse either...).

       

      And, make a BIG NOTE in my account to your colleagues:  DO NOT SEND THIS CUSTOMER ANY MORE MESSAGES OFFERING TO HELP.

       

      Either respond to original requests, or don't waste any more of my time.

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