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Antivirus detected malware in the Dropbox cache folder
I don't know if this is the right category. Also, I tried searching here for a solution first, but the posts were all locked.
I just started using Dropbox. I don't have many files in it. Sin...
Hey there Loni H. - sorry to jump in on this, my colleague Sanchez is out of office currently on a vacation leave. However, I'll be happy to help in the meantime.
In regards to what you mentioned now, kindly note that the Dropbox desktop client uses the ".dropbox.cache" folder as a staging area to download your files in small chunks during the syncing process.
Sometimes antivirus programs will pick up some of these partial files as false positives and continuously quarantine them. The problem here is that Dropbox keeps downloading the file in an attempt to sync the file down to your computer. To tackle this behavior you can either add the Dropbox cache folder to an ignore list so that Dropbox can correctly sync that file or/and as Sanchez has mentioned before me, temporarily disable your antivirus. Once synced and "Up to date", you should no longer see these warnings or quarantine messages.
Hopefully this will get you going Loni. Let me know if you need anything else in the meantime. Thank you!
Had the same problem. Popping up on all my machines.
Finally an answer that makes sense.
THANKS Walter!!!!
Hello, I'm having the same issue. My windows defender keeps marking a file as extremely dangerous virus. which is coming from the cache folder.
One of your solutions is to tell the Anti-Virus to ignore the dropbox folder; I would do this.. HOWEVER; does Dropbox have their own anti-virus solution on their servers.. because potentially this will allow any potential viruses to freely enter our computer without being detected.
- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
If you're sure it's not malware you should be safe to do this HiroMarketing.
In regards to your query now, note that our file infrastructure is comprised of the following components:
1. Block servers
Block servers process files from the Dropbox applications by splitting each file into blocks, encrypting each block using a strong cipher and synchronising only blocks that have been modified between revisions. When a change is made, new or modified blocks are processed and transferred to the storage servers.
2. Metadata servers
Basic information about user data (including file names and types), called metadata, is kept in its own discrete storage service separate from file blocks. Metadata acts as an index for data in users’ accounts, and is sharded and replicated as needed to meet performance and high availability requirements.
3. Storage servers
The actual contents of users’ files are stored in encrypted blocks with this service. Each individual encrypted file block is retrieved based on its hash value, and an additional layer of encryption is provided for all file blocks at rest using a strong cipher.
4. Notification service
This is a separate service dedicated to monitoring if changes have been made to Dropbox accounts. No file data or metadata is stored or transferred here. Instead, clients establish a long poll connection to this service and wait for a change, which then signals a change to the relevant clients.
In any case, if you'd like account specific assistance with this, please let me know here and I'll send you an email to your Dropbox associated address to have a further look into this with all of my tools at my disposal.
Thanks!
