Encrypt folders that aren't being synched (only stored remotely)

Thorsten

Hi guys,

maybe I'm not getting it, but is there a way to use BoxCryptor for files being stored only remotely in my Dropbox (in other words: not being synched?)

The reasoning is this: I've huge archives of files (mostly PDF) which I want to archive remotely in my Dropbox.
As I have a (small) SSD only in my laptop I don't want these to be synched with my laptop, just to be stored remotely in my Dropbox. With Dropbox as such, I can choose "Selective synchronisation", so that'd be working fine. But of course I want those files I store remotely to be encrypted with BoxCryptor as well. Is there any way to do this without having to put them all locally as well?

Sorry if this question might seem nonsense but any help is greatly appreciated!

Best,

Thorsten

Boris

Hello Thorsten
so you just want to sync your PDF files to another PC not to your laptop right?
If so you have to install BoxCryptor on the other PC and set up your source directory e.g. Dropbox\PDF. Now you put your PDF files into the BoxCryptor drive. All PDFs will be encrypted by BoxCryptor on your PC and then the encrypted files will be synched to Dropbox. On your laptop you can deactivate to sync the PDF folder but your files are stored remotely and encrypted in your Dropbox.
Best regards
Boris

Thorsten

Thanks Boris, but I am curious:

I have a folder called "BC Folder" in my Dropbox that serves as the folder to contain all BoxCryptor encrypted files. (i.e. this folder becomes Q:\ when using Boxcryptor).

If I understood correctly, for the files to be encrypted, I'd have to put an \PDF folder to contain my archive material inside the Q:\ drive -> that means in "Dropbox\BC Folder".

However, how could I exclude this single folder from being synched then? Via the Dropbox client "selective sync"? If so: The Dropbox client only shows all the encrypted foldernames, it's tough to figure out which one the PDF folder is?

Sorry for any confusion, would be happy to receive feedback on that.
Maybe I'm not getting it correctly, could be as well ;-)

Thorsten

user

You could try making a note of the date created/modified timestamp of your Q:\PDF folder and check which encrypted folder matches it.

Boris

Ok now I better understand your problem.
With Dropbox selective sync you can exclude your complete "BC Folder" which means all your encrypted data is not being synced to your laptop.
But you can also choose a subfolder e.g. "BC Folder\PDF" to not being synced.
With filename encryption enabled you can of course not see which folder the "\PDF" folder is.
To find out the encrypted name you can start BoxCryptor in translate mode. To do this quit BoxCryptor and type into your Windows 7/Vista startmenu "boxcryptor.exe /translate" (without "").
Now you can see in your BoxCryptor drive the encrypted and decrypted file and folder names so that you can exclude the correct folder in your Dropbox selective sync settings.
Best regards
Boris

Thorsten

Thanks a lot for this helpful tip!