How to disable DropBox Update?

[Laionidas]

How do I prevent DropBox Update from booting on Windows (10 Pro) startup?

I've tried everything (see screenshots below spoilertag), but it will still boot, and I have to kill it manually every time I reboot my laptop. This is bordering on malware.

[donmontalvo]

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@schroumpf wrote:

I think tampering with a private (or company) computer without authorisation is called 'hacking' and I believ it is illegal.

Dropbox should be brough to court for passed hacking activities and forced to stop this practice.

As far as I am concerned I will uninstall dropbox check for cloud without forced update and if I do not find it I'll switch to micro sd cards that are now available in 500 gb and do not force me to struggle for internet connection.

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In fairness to Dropbox, they do present the user with a EULA.

In reality, enterprise users are not legally allowed to agree to a vendor's EULA, or any other legal agreement.

We manage ten thousand plus Macs, we are on the hook for disabling updates.

Not to ignore/dismiss updates...but rather to inernally vet the update...an internal mandate in most enterprise firms.

Once an update is vetted, it would be deployed through staging pocess (small test group, bigger test group, full deployment).

Dropbox can easily provide a defaults command to disable updates, enforceable at the Computer level via Configuration Profile.

[donmontalvo]

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@Mark wrote:
They've listened pbarney... they are starting to appear over on the Beta builds pages but maybe a few days delayed: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Desktop-client-builds/Beta-Build-50-3-68/m-p/276583#M4610

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This doesn't address the need to disable updates.

Enterprise has unwillingly become Drobox's scream test.

Not good.

[Mark]

That wasnt the comment I was referring to. I was referring to change logs.

[Stylesie]

I took their advice. Dropbox client uninstalled.
Someone let me know if they change their policy.

[John582]

On Windows, you can disable automatic updates by doing the following:

1. Kill the DropboxUpdate.exe task.
2. Rename both DropboxUpdate.exe to DropboxUpdate2.exe. They are on the on the C:\Program Files\Dropbox\Update and C:\Program Files\Dropbox\Update\1.3.189.1 folders.

When Dropbox warns you your version is too old, you can manually download the offline installer and install it. Then just rename the DropboxUpdate.exe again.

[UserSublime]

We operate a radio station, which uses Dropbox to add files to the on-air automation.  Sometimes Dropbox updates cause our radio station automation to freeze up, and we go off the air, losing revenue from ads that don't air.  So, YES, it would make every sense to have Dropbox be update-able when we're watching the situation; manual updating when we need it, so that we know it's not taking us off the air.  Dropbox is a great function for sending audio files, BUT, if it stops our broadcast, it's not so great.  With manual update, we'd have to update it when it becomes non-functional anyway.  But again, it wouldn't interfere with our source of income causing loss of listeners.

This does apply to other users, too.  Maybe they don't have stations that are going off the air, but they do have deadlines, and other functions that are being interfered with.  So a simple, and caring solution would be to offer a manual update option.  You know as well as anyone that sometimes updates can even make mistakes, and need to be "Fixed" later.  This way, some of the mistakes will not happen to some of the manual updaters, because by the time a manual update is done, you've already found the error.  

Please, be honest, you want to have a kind of total control, but it's not really in the absolute best interest of the user, and his/her computer.  How 'bout some sort of compromise, and just allow for manual update.  The update would have to be made anyway to keep the functionality.  Go ahead and remind folks about that in the lingo that is on the Dropbox website, and desktop dialog...  that lack of updating may cause difficulty or loss of functionality.  And then let people be adults 🙂

Thank you for the fine service.  By the way, we have to shut down Dropbox when we're not able to watch the automation, so i believe the updates aren't getting in possibly till we launch it again?  So maybe that's a "Fix" for others.  Not sure if this is true or not, but seems to be helping our situation.

[ChortleMortal]

One big problem with the autoupdates is that it keeps writing registry settings to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers  .  These settings push the dropbiox icons to the top of the icon list.  So the dropbiox icons prevent the icons from TortosieGit being displayed.  The dropbox icons have no value to me, but the TortoiseGit icons have real and important meaning for me.  So every time dropbox updates it's software I have to go into the registry and delete their icons and then reboot.  What a pain.  Dropbox functionality is useful, but the update behaves like an insidious virus invisibly messing with my computers.

[KbICb]

Dear Walter,
almost three years have passed since the first post in this topic, but nothing has been done to resolve the issue with automatic updates.

I appreciate efforts of Dropbox to keep my data secure, but in the meantime autoupdates ruin my day by making my data unavailable just when I need it.

How to make Dropbox understand, that my corporate laptop isn't a toy of Dropbox?

I hope someone will finally start to listen to users and customers.

Best regards,

Kirill

[Walter]

Hi Kirill - thanks for posting your first question on our Community!

I understand how important this must be to you so I'd suggest that you logged a feature request, clearly explaining the rationale behind this while also providing us with your use-case. In this way, other similar-minded users will be able to find and upvote your idea too!

You can do that in the 'Share an Idea' section of our Community linked below 

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Share-an-idea/ct-p/101002000

If there's anything you'd like to ask in the meantime, don't hesitate to get back to me on this thread; I'd be glad to follow up @KbICb!

[Auntie1982]

What if you can't uninstall it? I had to manually delete everything because the uninstaller wouldn't do its job.