• macOS

  • Can't decrypt a large folder of files

I have a large directory of business files that were previously stored on Dropbox but now reside on my external drive. All files have .bc extensions.

I have an active paid Boxcryptor account, a copy of the .bckey taken at the time the files were moved to the external drive. I also have my password.

I'm not able to batch decrypt them, nor am I able to decrypt them individually. I have logged out of Boxcryptor and made the directory on the external drive a local boxcryptor directory. I have the .bckey in the folder.

I need help with this. I've spent hours trying out the directions oneline. The directions online are not clear and are an endless circle of links.

I need a step by step, like 1. do this 2. do that. 3. do this.

I can't believe, with the changes occurring with your company, that you haven't provided clear instructions. What a mess. Please help

Thank you.

    1. Which device and OS are you using?
    2. Which version of Boxcypor is installed on your machine?

    Thanks for your interest in helping me. I’ve spent the better part of the past few days trying to solve this issue.

    First, I am on an 2017 iMac and using Boxcryptor 3x

    I am happy to report that I solved the problem, but not without incredible efforts.

    Perhaps this will help others, so I’m providing the steps I took to retrieve and decrypt my files.

    First and most important, I downgraded to Boxcryptor Version 2.x.

    To do this, I had to remove all traces of Boxcryptor 3. So I used a free utility called FindFile and searched my entire hard disk for the phrase “Boxcryptor”. I then used FindFile to delete all program and system files with that phrase.

    Then, I downloaded and reinstalled Boxcryptor 2. I logged into Boxcryptor re-established my account. I then reconnected DropBox to Boxcryptor 2.

    Using a Time Machine backup from 2022, (before I upgraded to Boxcryptor 3), I restored all files in the folder I needed to an external SSD drive. All the files from this TimeMachine backup were still encrypted with .bc .

    Following the TimeMachine restore of the folder to the external Hard drive, I copied the folder from the external drive to the new install of Boxcryptor 2 to Boxcryptor/Dropbox on my internal drive. It asked me if I wanted to encrypt them (they already were) and I chose “no”. So the files (7.7 gigs!) all slowly copied to DropBox inside Boxcryptor. It was such a slow process that I gathered it was decrypting them as they were copied. And indeed they were all decrypted!!

    Following the transfer and decryption into DropBox, I copied the files out of Boxcryptor/DropBox folder to my Documents folder (all now unencrypted).

    These 7.7 gigs of files are/were essential for my business records. In retrospect, I think the transition to Boxcryptor 3.x months ago was a mistake. I don’t think the first version of 3.x released was ready for prime time. I’m not so sure that the current 3.x version is without flaws. I hope DropBox knows what they’re really buying. I’ll have to find a new way to securely store my files.

      Mattis

      Can you tell me why there is no page on the Boxcryptor website that explicitly says you need to use Boxcryptor 2.x to use your Boxcryptor key?? Nor is there a page that clearly explains how to use it?

          I'm sorry, but the Version 3 instructions do not work on the Mac. If you double click on the key file, it opens Boxcryptor. If you enter your password, it signs you in. Then it when you try to set up a local account, it says something like: "you need to sign out to use a local account". So you sign out and you're back to square one. It's end endless loop.

          I've had a chance to review other posts here of people with similar issues. I've seen the same comment about endless loops.

            10 days later

            theweatherguy Try to use an older version of Boxcryptor and to download all of your files from Dropbox. After doing so, use the custom location feature to decrypt your files.

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