Dropbox is the web’s most popular cloud storage service. The web interface always opens in HTTPS but that doesn’t mean that Dropbox is hundred percent safe. Unfortunately, Dropbox has a history of security related problems from compromised passwords to allowing access to Dropbox account without requiring password for many hours. These issues in the past have let everyone think about what they can do to secure their Dropbox account?
There are some ways using which you can secure your Dropbox account and protect your account from such threats, even if someone can gain access to your account. Let’s get into more details.
Use Strong Passwords
This might seem obvious but a strong and unique password is the first line of defense. Don’t ever reuse passwords that you have been using on some other service or website. You should use a unique password for your Dropbox account, which you haven’t used in any other service.
Passwords of many popular websites have leaked in the past and some people take these lists of leaked email address and passwords and use them on other websites to gain access to user’s accounts. That’s why if you have used the same combination on some other website, then you are at risk.
To change the password of Dropbox, go to the Security tab of your Settings page and click on Change password. Set a strong password and keep on regularly changing it.
Remove Unused Linked Devices
Many people connect their Dropbox account to more than one computer. There’s nothing wrong in this if you want to sync the data on multiple computers, but if that is a public or office computer then there’s a high risk.
Go to the Security tab of your Settings page and then from here, you can view all the computers and devices that have access to your Dropbox. Remove any device that you no longer use. To remove the device, simply click on Unlink.
From here, you can also view when was the device last accessed. If the recent activity shows a period of a distant past, then it’s time to unlink that device.
Also notice the Web sessions section. Here you will find information about the web browsers currently logged in to your Dropbox.
If you find any suspicious activity here, it is an indication of a security breach. It shouldn’t show the session from another country, but if it does, then the first thing to do is to change your password.
Enable Two-Step Verification
Dropbox also supports two-step verification (also known as two-factor authentication). Once you enable this option, you will need to enter both your password and a security code from your mobile phone whenever you want to sign-in to the Dropbox website or to add a new device to your account. The advantage of this method is that even if someone knows your password, they won’t be able to login without the code from your mobile phone.
To enable two-step verification, open the Settings page and click on the Security tab. From here, click on the Change link next to the Two-step verification.
Select an option between using text messages or using a mobile app such as Google Authenticator. When you enable the two-step verification, you will also receive a 16-digit emergency backup code which you can use when you don’t receive the security code on your mobile phone. Needless to say that you should keep the emergency backup code in a safe place, as you may need it someday.
Revoke Access to Linked Apps
There are many useful third-party apps that integrate with Dropbox. Sometimes you may want to try out an app and after trying it out, you may stop using the app. But the app retains full permission to access your Dropbox account even if you stop using it. The app might start behaving maliciously and therefore it’s a good idea to revoke the permission of the app.
To revoke the permission of the app, go to Settings page and click on My apps tab. From here, simply click on the X in front of the app that you don’t use anymore. It will then ask you with a confirmation, and you need to click on Uninstall to uninstall the app.
Encrypt your Dropbox with Boxcryptor
Last but not the least, you can encrypt your entire Dropbox folder with BoxCryptor. The advantage of doing this is that even if someone gains access to your computer or smartphone, that person won’t be able to get anything useful in your account because of the encryption. Of course to access the encrypted files, you will need to know the password and anyone without the password (or encryption key) will only see random data.
To encrypt your Dropbox folder, you can use BoxCryptor which is an excellent solution to secure your cloud account. Apart from the Windows based program, BoxCrytor also offers apps for Android and iOS so that you can get quick access to your files from anywhere.
So that’s it. Follow all these 5 steps above and make your Dropbox more secured. Even if someone finds a way to get access to your data, that person won’t find anything useful, until and unless he has the encryption password.
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