Editing an encrypted file leaves it unencrypted

lgeorge

I have a shared folder in Dropbox that contains a mix of files that are encrypted by Boxcryptor and others that are unencrypted (i.e, the folder isn't encrypted, so there's no FolderKey.bch file). When I edit an encrypted text file and save my changes, I find that my text file is no longer encrypted.

When I tried this in Windows, I see that the file remains encrypted. Is this a bug in the MacOS version of Boxcryptor or am I missing some preference that needs to set (and if the latter, why isn't it on by default)?

Yasmin

lgeorge
If you save the file directly to Dropbox and not via the Boxcryptor drive, the file will be save unencrypted, even if the parent folder is encrypted.
Please double-check and assure you going always "thru" the Boxcryptor drive.

lgeorge

Thanks for the reply, Yasmin. Yes, I am accessing the file through the Boxcryptor drive... navigating to the to the encrypted file in the Boxcryptor drive using the File Explorer, double-clicking to open up the file in the text editor, editing and saving. Now file becomes unencrypted.

Robert

lgeorge

When editing an encrypted file in an unencrypted folder, it depends on the application if the updated file stays encrypted or not. If an application writes the updated contents directly to the encrypted file, the file stays encrypted.

However, some applications do not write the updated contents to the existing file, but rather create a completely new file, delete the old file and rename the new file to the old file. By default, new files inherit their encryption state from the parent folder in Boxcryptor. I.e. if the parent folder is encrypted, the new file will be encrypted, but if the parent folder is unencrypted, the new file will also be unencrypted.

Boxcryptor tries to detect such save processes and keep the new file encrypted even if the parent folder is unencrypted, but false negatives might occur. Therefore, it is recommended to encrypt whole folders and work in encrypted folders where all files will always be encrypted.

Best regards,
Robert

lgeorge

Thanks for the response, Robert, clarifying how Boxcryptor works to keep the file encryption state, but within the limits of the underlying OS and the applications used. I think the recommendation to encrypt whole folders is an acceptable solution.