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Dropbox's Mac app is now clearer about what it can access
After concerns were raised over how its app had gained elevated privileges on users' Macs, Dropbox moved quickly to put people's minds at rest. Desktop developer Ben Newhouse acknowledged that some design decisions made it look like it was circumventing Apple's built-in protections, but now that the new macOS Sierra update is available, Dropbox access requests are becoming a lot clearer. The Dropbox Mac app will explicitly ask Sierra users for permission to access Accessibility, the macOS feature that allows the cloud backup tool to integrate with Microsoft Office, improve file syncing and perform automatic app updates. Apple has updated its protections around Accessibility and Dropbox is using it to better explain why it needs extended access once it has been installed.
Dropbox tackles security fears surrounding its Mac app
Dropbox has already raised some eyebrows over its requests for ever-deeper access to your computer, and recent discoveries aren't helping things much. Users now claim that Dropbox's Mac app asks for overly broad permissions, swipes your password and even hacks the operating system. The cloud storage service denies the claims and is trying to allay those fears, though. Desktop app team member Ben Newhouse has responded to concerns on Hacker News with both an explanation of design decisions and a promise to improve its transparency.
Dropbox hacker stole 70 million log-ins in 2012
Back in 2012, Dropbox admitted someone hacked into the cloud storage service and stole log-in details, but it didn't reveal the extent of the breach. Well, apparently, it was a huge one. Motherboard has obtained a number of files containing 60 million username and password combinations that came from that incident. A senior Dropbox employee who chose to remain anonymous confirmed the files' contents to the publication. Microsoft Regional Director Troy Hunt verified the details by finding his and his wife's log-ins in the mix, as well.
The best tech for college freshmen
Starting college is expensive. In addition to, you know, the tuition, you and the parentals will probably be making a large shopping trip to buy all manner of sweaters, snacks and extra-long twin sheets to round out your dorm room. And that's not counting all the gear you'll need to actually get work done. In addition to a few laptop recommendations (the XPS 13 is our reigning favorite), we have suggestions on things like cloud storage, backpacks and peripherals like travel mice and backup batteries. Check out the gallery below for all our first-year picks (think of it as a college starter kit), and be sure to read the rest of Engadget's back-to-school guide here.
Paper, Dropbox's answer to Google Docs, now has apps for iOS and Android
It's been almost a year since Dropbox formally introduced Paper, its vision for a collaborative workplace regardless of whether you're a project manager, coder, designer or any other kind of employee. It's been in closed beta since then, and we haven't heard much of how the tool has progressed, but today that's changing. Dropbox is announcing that the Paper beta is now open to anyone, and the company is also launching dedicated Paper apps for iOS and Android.
Dropbox's iOS app will scan the scraps of paper cluttering your office
Dropbox makes no bones about the shift the company has undergone in the past few years. Rather than focusing on end-user products (like the now-defunct Carousel photo app and Mailbox email app), Dropbox now wants to be the glue that allows people to collaborate and work together across various file formats, devices and operating systems. That's not to say that millions of people aren't using it to store and sync their files, but the company's real mission is to develop a platform that helps businesses and teams seamlessly get work done. (That's where the money is, after all.) To that end, Dropbox is releasing one of the biggest updates to its core product in quite some time. Most of those changes are designed to make it easier to work collaboratively, but the first and perhaps most important update should be useful to just about anyone: The iOS Dropbox app now has an intelligent document scanner built right in. It's not the sexiest feature, but if you've ever taken a photo of various hand-drawn notes, ideas or any scrap of paper you wanted to save digitally, it'll be quite useful.
Dropbox's Infinite feature needs deeper access to your computer
On the surface, Dropbox's Project Infinite sounds great. The feature will give you access to everything in your account without having to store them on your computer. It's bound to save space, especially if you're using an SSD with a smaller capacity. As Motherboard reported, though, a lot of people aren't happy that for the feature to work, Dropbox will need to have deeper access to your system. When the company announced the project, its post said: "With Dropbox Infinite, we're going deeper: into the kernel -- the core of the operating system."
Everything you love will die, especially in tech
A little over a year ago, Microsoft bought beloved calendar app Sunrise. For the past 14 months or so, things have been more or less business as usual ... at least for customers. But this week, the other shoe finally dropped: Aug. 31st will be the last day Sunrise exists as a standalone app. Sure, you could use Outlook, which by now shares some of the same DNA, but it'll never be the same. Indeed, some of us here at Engadget are pretty heartbroken about it. Which got us thinking about all of the other apps and services we loved and relied on that ended up being unceremoniously shuttered.
Roger app puts Amazon Alexa in your phone for free
Roger, a voice app brought to you by former Spotify engineers and Facebook executives, is relaunching soon as a voice platform with support from third-party services. Among them is Amazon's Alexa, the virtual assistant that ties into Amazon's Echo device.
Dropbox is making it cheaper for schools to live in the cloud
For the last few years, Dropbox's main revenue focus has been on its business-focused offering, not its consumer one. More than 150,000 companies have signed up with Dropbox Business, and a push for huge enterprise businesses is underway. But today, the company is making colleges and universities its target with Dropbox Education. The product is essentially the same as the Dropbox business offering, which combines gives businesses unlimited cloud storage combined with a variety of security controls, extensive version history and the administration controls needed to keep data safe in large organizations.
Dropbox will soon show all your cloud-based files right in the desktop
If you're one of the 500 million people who've used Dropbox at some point over the last few years, you know what you're getting in to. It's a reliable way to back up all the files on your computer, sync them across multiple devices and share them with friends, family or coworkers. It's fast, it works and Dropbox has added a decent set of collaboration features over the years (like its strong Microsoft Office integration) -- but by and large, its core "sync and share" features have remained largely the same. But today at the Dropbox Open event in London, the company is previewing an intriguing new feature called Project Infinite. In a nutshell, it looks to close the divide between our ever-increasing cloud storage vaults like Dropbox and the corresponding decrease in hard drive sizes.
Facebook Messenger makes sharing Dropbox files easier
If you're on Facebook Messenger, you likely already know that you can easily share images and videos with your friends by accessing your camera roll within the chat window. But what if you store your media in the cloud rather than on your phone? Well, if you do so on Dropbox, you now have a solution. The cloud storage firm announced today that you can now share Dropbox files over Messenger. If the files are photos or videos -- including animated GIFs -- those will appear directly in the chat window. Anything else will prompt you to open the Dropbox mobile app to preview the files in question.
Dear Veronica: A taste for laziness
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703838{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703838, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703838{width:100%;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703838").style.display="none";}catch(e){} OK, the title is a little inflammatory. I know that not everyone using meal delivery services are lazy -- heck, some people have things like children and full-time jobs to think about! But there are alternatives out there, and Gabi Moskowitz of the BrokeAss Gourmet has the answers for you. Since it's tax time (ugh), I also talk about ways to make the whole process a lot easier using Dropbox. It's tough enough paying Uncle Sam; might as well ease the burden a bit!
Dropbox adds real-time collaboration for Office Online docs
Following the release of a Windows 10 app for tablets, Dropbox is expanding its Microsoft Office integration. The cloud-based repository allows multiple users to edit a file with Office Online with all of the updates synced in real time. This means you won't have to alert someone when you're making changes to avoid overwriting tweaks from a colleague.
Dropbox just released a native Windows 10 app for tablets
Dropbox teamed up with Microsoft back in 2014, and since then many of the new features the company has introduced have focused around that partnership. You can now access files stored in Dropbox through Office apps, create Office documents right in the Dropbox iOS app and you can edit your Office docs right through the Dropbox web interface. Most of these features benefitted users regardless of what platform they used, but today's announcement is specifically for Windows users: Dropbox is releasing a native Windows 10 app.
Dropbox is killing its Carousel and Mailbox apps
Dropbox expanded its product lineup significantly last year with the launch of its Carousel photo management product and its acquisition of the formerly-excellent Mailbox email app that originally launched for the iPhone. Unfortunately, both products are dead: the company just announced it is putting both Carousel and Mailbox out to pasture soon because it is focusing more on the collaboration and sharing features (like the new Paper app) that we've heard so much about in recent months. Mailbox will shut down on February 26th of next year, while Carousel will follow a few months later on March 31st.
Apple and Dropbox join fight against controversial cybersecurity bill
Apple and Dropbox have spoken out against the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) that's being discussed in the Senate. In a statement sent to The Washington Post, an Apple rep explained why the company doesn't support the bill: "The trust of our customers means everything to us and we don't believe security should come at the expense of their privacy." Dropbox public policy head Amber Cottle had a similar explanation, saying that "While it's important for the public and private sector to share relevant data about emerging threats, that type of collaboration should not come at the expense of users' privacy."
Paper is Dropbox's new vision for how teams can work together
Six months ago, Dropbox quietly announced a collaborative note-taking tool called Notes and launched it in an invite-only beta test. But starting today, the product is being officially branded as Dropbox Paper and the beta test is expanding significantly. You'll still need an invite, but the company gave us a preview of what's probably the biggest addition to Dropbox in years. It's far too early to tell if Paper will be able to keep up with entrenched tools from Google, Microsoft and many others -- but there are definitely some interesting features here that make it worth keeping an eye on.
DoubleTwist's CloudPlayer can stream to Android Wear and Auto
DoubleTwist's CloudPlayer can already pull and stream media from Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive accounts, but now it works on AllPlay speakers, Android smartwatches and Auto. Yep, you'll be able to stream your tunes in your car, on your wrist and in your home or office... depending on where you store your non-smartphone Android hardware. With AllPlay support it also means you can now use CloudPlayer on Chromecast Audio, Apple TV or an AllPlay speaker. These are all great reasons to give doubleTwist's media player a shot -- unless you're already busy with one of the (many) other options available.
Adobe and Dropbox make it easier to edit PDFs from the cloud
Dropbox got cozy with Microsoft Office back in the spring, offering a way to easily edit files stored in its cloud-based repository. Now, Dropbox is getting friendly with Adobe Document Cloud, too. More specifically, the company is playing nice with Adobe Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader to serve up quick and easy access to edit PDF documents. Once you connect your Dropbox account with the Adobe apps, you'll be able to pull in files without leaving the app. What's more, when you're browsing files in Dropbox, you'll have the option to open a PDF in the appropriate Adobe app to edit, e-sign, comment and markup the file as needed. And as you might expect, no matter how you open the document or which device you're using, everything automatically syncs in Dropbox across desktop and mobile. PDFs are by far the most common file format stored with the could-driven storage service,and now its improving the workflow for power users. The new functionality goes live on the desktop today with iOS integration arriving "in the coming months." Android users can expect to employ the PDF-editing workflow next year.
