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For several cloud storage providers, when you use the desktop application, your local copy of the files is synced with the 'online' version (actually stored on cloud provider servers).

This means that if my account is hijacked or if the server for some reason wipes out my files, I also lose my local copy.

Is there any way to protect my files from (massive) server-side deletion without keeping two copies on my computer (one in the cloud folder and another one)?

EDIT: This link relates a similar story with maybe better wording: http://www.businessinsider.com/professor-suffers-dropbox-nightmare-2013-9

I feel like there must be a way to prevent with using clever scripting / file permissions / something but I can't figure out what...

Droplet
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  • Care to comment on the downvote? Just putting -1 isn't really helpful as to why my question is a bad one in your opinion... – Droplet Mar 11 '15 at 18:30
  • I upvoted. It's a good idea to be certain of sync provider behaviours. It's a good question. – xyz Jun 13 '15 at 17:08

1 Answers1

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One solution would be to use symlinks.

ln -s FolderToSave ~/Dropbox/

With that solution, only one computer has all rights on the file. Access through the website or desktop client installed on another computer only gives read only access to the original copy of the files.

The files may be removed from the dropbox by deleting the folder but they will stay on your main computer where only the symlink has been removed.

This is not the best solution but it offers a quick fix.

Droplet
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