Cloud storage rules — especially when coupled with a local backup plan. Quite frankly, it is one of the best computing innovations of all time. How cool is it that you can easily backup important files to an offsite location? Let’s be honest — before the cloud, many computer and smartphone users didn’t bother backing up at all. While many still do not, the cloud has definitely improved the situation through convenience and affordability.
I have long been a proponent of the cross-platform Dropbox, as it has really been the only major cloud storage company to offer Linux support. Google, for example — which uses the Linux kernel for both Android and Chrome OS — shamefully never brought its Drive cloud storage platform to traditional desktop Linux. Unfortunately, Dropbox is suddenly making the cloud rain poop on Linux users. In a shocking turn of events, it is dropping support for most file systems.
On the surface it doesn’t seem too bad because ext4 support will remain. This is the file system that many — if not most — desktop Linux installations use. Far fewer users are leveraging, say, Btrfs. The problem? Dropbox apparently won’t support an encrypted ext4 volume either. Woah. So, in other words, the company is essentially telling its Linux-based customers to disable encryption.
How about no, Dropbox? It is shocking and disturbing that a company which stores files would want customers to use poor security practices. I mean, how can you have confidence in Dropbox knowing it wants Linux users to not encrypt their drives? It is very upsetting.
Source: https://betanews.com/2018/08/11/dropbox-linux-doh/
Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
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