using dropbox with ubuntu mate

[Paul Merrell]

One thing you should realize about Dropbox is that it is insecure. All
encryption-decryption happens on the servers and Dropbox people can
decrypt it and see it in plain text. That means that the NSA can also
see it.

If you want secure file sync, you need to work with a service that
does end-to-end encryption/decryption, i.e., the encryption and
decryption happens on your local clients file sync apps.

I use Tresorit. <https://tresorit.com/>. Prices and feature summary is
here. <https://tresorit.com/pricing>. If you ask, they will turn off
file versioning, which gives you a lot more file storage space to work
with. I don't need versioning, so I did that.

Tresorit Business costs $120 per year for 10 users and 1 Terabyte
storage but is well worth the money. There is a 14-day free trial.
Tresorit has the additional advantage of the company and its servers
being located in Switzerland. That nation is in the process of joining
the E.U. and is far enough along in the process that E.U. data privacy
laws apply, but the laws creating exceptions to those privacy laws do
not yet apply.

There is a review of 10 different secure file sync services here.
<https://www.cloudwards.net/top-10-secure-dropbox-alternatives/>. The
page includes a link to listen to the article.

I would recommend that you shy away from services that are new. I used
two different secure file sync services before arriving at Tresorit.
Both companies went out of business. There are a lot of business
start-ups in File Sync Land and most do not survive. Tresorit and
SpiderOak look like survivors. The rest I am less confident in.

I would also recommend against any file sync service whose client side
programs are written in Java and use a virtual file system for storage
of files on the local machines. Yes, it is more secure, but you won't
be able to access any of your files when you do not have a live
internet connection for log-in. So if offline access is important to
you, be sure to get a service that keeps files in a file system
directory rather than in a virtual machine. You can achieve equivalent
file security by encrypting your home directory so no one can access
your files unless they have your password but you can still have
access to your files when not connected to the Internet.

Best regards,

Paul

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