DropBox problems to be expected?

FIsher

Hi,



My DropBox software just auto-upgraded to release 1.1.35.

I remember reading that DropBox changed their database format

and that because of that, apps like 1Password would no longer interface properly.

Is their anything to worry about?

Can I still trust 1Password to sync properly between my iMac, Windows PCs and iPad?

I use the latest (non-beta) 1password releases on all platforms.

[Deleted User]

Hello Fisher and welcome to the Forums!



The issues you read about referred to a new Dropbox BETA version. Please see the following post for more details: [url="http://forum.agile.ws/index.php?/topic/4531-1password-and-dropbox-120/page__view__findpost__p__25961"]1Password and Dropbox 1.2.0[/url]



(Dropbox is up to [url="http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?id=37911&replies=88"]BETA 1.2.4[/url] for anyone interested in reading Q&A in Dropbox's Experimental Forums)



Like you, I am using the current stable release of Dropbox which, as you noticed, is version 1.1.35. Since updates are done automatically...and silently...I check my version everyday and visit Dropbox's [url="https://www.dropbox.com/release_notes"]Release Notes[/url] page to see what has has changed.



In the case of 1.1.35:



[quote]Fix build number on OSX

Fix typo in French translation[/quote]



Based on those changes, I would not [i]expect[/i] for you or anyone else to experience any issues whatsoever. You should be able to sync across platforms as before, and I cannot see how either of the updates would affect the security of your data. (Disclaimer: I am NOT a security expert. I base my opinion on responses from Jeff Goldberg and the rest of AgileBits' staff members.)



I use Dropbox to sync my Mac (BETA-38), iPhone and iPad (1P Pro 3.5.9). Before posting this reply, I added a new Login to each device and checked to see if each synched properly to the other two devices. I did not have any problems. However, I do not use 1P4Windows, so I would appreciate it if you would test that platform for me and for anyone else reading our thread that may wish to know.



I hope I've answered your questions and put you at ease. Please let me know how Windows synching worked, and feel free to post any further questions or concerns.



Cheers!



Brandt

FIsher

The Windows DropBox software upgraded to 1.1.35 too (from 0.7.1).

It looks like everything is still working.

I remember seeing a Growl message, claiming about 1200 files were synced

and I was puzzled. It looked like a large amount of 1password files.



Browsing through the keychain folder, I notice there are quite

a few files with the string "conflicted copy" in their names.

The dates are from before the DropBox upgrade, so probably not related.

BTW: how does one resolve conflicts with 1password?

I don't remember it ever warning me about one.



Anyway, it seems I worried to soon.

Like most users I realize that I would face a lot of trouble

should the 1Password/DropBox combination ever trash my keychain.

Also, there is no obvious way to verify integrity.

The pending changes in DropBox and the lack of a clear statement from AgileBits,

make me more worried.

thightower

First this post is in the Mac section of 1Password and your topic includes Windows based concerns.



Would you like one of us to move it? or is this in relation to both a Mac and a Windows version. (edit NVM missed that part the first time)



I also am not on a windows machine nor do I use one.



However[u][size="3"] I do use each and every beta release of Dropbox[/size][/u], I have a cool little app made by a forum Dropbox regular Sebastian H. which auto upgrades my Dropbox to any available beta every 6 hours. (MacDropUpdate2 - MDU2 for short)





Now having said that I occasionally get conflicted copies but never within my 1Password keychain.



In all honestly I would surmise that what happened was 2 machines were updated near the same time, and the Dropbox servers were unable to determine which keychain files were actually the most up to date. (This is the most common cause). This happening always generates conflicted copies. I am always careful to not upgrade my Dropbox simultaneously for this reason.



I would suspect 1Password for windows has a built in conflict resolver much like the Mac version and I am almost 1000% sure it makes regular backups of your keychain just like the Mac version. So even if Dropbox killed your keychain you still have a backup. On your local machine



I use to keep a copy of Win on my Machine for helping out in topics like this but sine I am running the Lion beta, apps like VMWare and Paralle's are not officially supported yet. When Lion goes main stream I will be adding it back. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



A good place for Windows app detail and faqs in general [url="http://help.agile.ws/1Password_Windows/faqs.html"]http://help.agile.ws...ndows/faqs.html[/url]





Edit": Hooray



Since you have an iMac you can always run the conflict resolver from its and since they share the same database with the windows it will clean it up for you.



On the Mac Launch 1Password (unlock if its not already) in the menubar click help > tools > find and resolve conflicts



This process is a manual and personal decision where you have to choose each one based upon knowledge of the item. So be careful to look at each one individually.

thightower

As bswins said the concerns you note are for the betas of Dropbox





But you don't have to worry to long because the Dropbox beta , requires the current beta of 1Password in order to sync properly (because of some new dropbox encrypted files) all your concerns should be alleviated as Dropbox is uber ultra conservative about doing upgrades.



All in all You can continue to be assured AgileBits is always working hard to ensure your data and so forth.



I almost forgot to mention if you need to ever get at a backup of your keychain look at the 1P preferences it will tell you the location of the backups folder.



By default they are stored in the Users/ your name/Library/Application Support/1Password/Backups



If you ever need to restore please use the built in restore function 1Password > File > Restore data file from backup



Hope I have eliminated some of your concerns if I missed something please let me know and one of use will try to answer that portion also.

[Deleted User]

Just wanted to add a couple of comments to Tommy's excellent posts.



Regarding Windows also updating to 1.1.35, I believe Dropbox updates the version number of all desktop platforms after each push...regardless of whether the changes specifically affected that platform. If I'm misinformed, somebody please tell me.



You did not specifically mention a problem syncing from Mac to Windows or vice-versa, but since you use both systems, I thought you may find the following Dropbox help article useful in the future: [url="https://www.dropbox.com/help/145"]Why aren't certain files on one operating system syncing to another?[/url]



When I start using 1P for Windows in about a week, I'm guessing that there is a chance that I'll run into that issue at some point. I have a lot of old Windows files with odd names. One link you will find on that help page is a [i][b]bad files check[/b] [/i](see Tommy's link in the [url="http://forum.agile.ws/index.php?/topic/4898-dropbox-problems-to-be-expected/page__view__findpost__p__28036"]next post[/url])



Click that link will initiate a check from the Dropbox site that should check for any potential naming issues that could cause sync problems across different platforms (i.e. Mac and Windows)



Hope the additional information is useful.

thightower

[url="https://www.dropbox.com/bad_files_check"]https://www.dropbox....bad_files_check[/url]



as long as you are logged into your account there is no need to visit the actual help page the url works as long as you are logged in. Which you should be having a client running

khad

See my post [url="http://forum.agile.ws/index.php?/topic/4925-mass-dropbox-auto-upgrade-in-progress/page__view__findpost__p__28092"]here[/url]. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';-)' />