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Disable automatic updates
How can I prevent dropbox from automatically updating itself? The new dropbox 3 has a very anti-windows-7 UI that I don't like, so I reinstalled 2.10. How do I stop dropbox from continually install...
I use Little Snitch to stop the update accessing the net. Little Snitch isn't without its problems, but anything's better than Dropbox downloading updates every time it sees that I've got poor web access on a hotel hotspot and need to urgently download a couple of mails.
Lee P.6 wrote:
I use Little Snitch to stop the update accessing the net. Little Snitch isn't without its problems, but anything's better than Dropbox downloading updates every time it sees that I've got poor web access on a hotel hotspot and need to urgently download a couple of mails.
I've been using that since version 1. :-) The thing most people don't like about it is that you have to be proactive. LS is how I caught on to the auto update in the first place. I set it to approve connections until I quit and then it will ask me again next time. When I fired up Dropbox I caught the auto update request and looked into it. As I mentioned I could have blocked it through my firewall but I shouldn't have to do it that way. Until they give me a way to turn off auto update the program will not be reinstalled.
I used this solution on the Mac, which is also what I did to stop Google's apps (way back when those had to be installed on your computer) from constantly trying to call for updates:
Locate the updater app, DropboxMacUpdate.app
LittleSnitch provides the pathname: /Users/[your username]/Library/Dropbox
Compress/zip the original app, or delete if you prefer
add a blank text or image file, and rename it to "DropboxMacUpdate.app"
CMD-i for GetInfo window on that blank file
Make it a locked file, so it can't be overwritten
Ta-da, it's impossible for the Updater to even run. Leaving the locked file means future installs can't overwrite the file and resume running, and gives whatever process in the Dropbox app that calls for it something to look for.
However, you'll have to remember to manually look for and download future updates. According to other posts from employees, that's about every two weeks; at this time, the most recent update I know of is v25.4.28 released on May 1, 2017.Thanks for the info. My only concern really is that in my opinion it is bad practice to code something like this without making it clear in the first place. If they are doing that what else are they putting in there and not telling me. All I get out of the application is a little convenience so I can do everything I need with other applications. The object of a program should be to make things easier for the customer, not to make things easier for the company. :-)
