Fixing “Authentication is needed to run /usr/bin/dropbox as the super user

Fixing “Authentication is needed to run /usr/bin/dropbox as the super user” Issue In Ubuntu

If you have been using Dropbox in your Ubuntu (or any other distro) machine, after one of the upgrades, you might have noticed that it is starting to prompt you to enter your password and run as a superuser. This is not a normal incident as Dropbox is installed in your local home folder and shouldn’t require elevated permission to run. If you are running into this issue, here’s the fix.

Causes for this issue
If you didn’t realize it, the executable file for Dropbox lies in the “/usr/bin” folder and it is pointing to the “/var/lib/dropbox” folder for its config files. Since the “/var/lib/dropbox’ folder is in the root directory, it will need superuser permission for Dropbox to be able to access it.

However, that is not the main cause of the problem. The main issue is that your config file should lie in your home folder (~/.dropbox-dist/), and it shouldn’t point to the “/var/lib/dropbox” folder.

The Fix

Here’s the fix.

1. Open a terminal and type:
which dropbox
This will show you the actual filepath of the dropbox executable file. In most cases, it will be “/usr/bin/dropbox”



dropbox-location

2. Open it with the nano text editor:

sudo nano /usr/bin/dropbox

3. Scroll down in the file until you find the lines:

PARENT_DIR = os.path.expanduser("/var/lib/dropbox")

DROPBOXD_PATH = "%s/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd" % PARENT_DIR
If you understand the code, it simply means that the “DROPBOXD_PATH” is pointing to the “PARENT_DIR”, which is “/var/lib/dropbox”.

All we need to do is to change the filepath “/var/lib/dropbox” to “~”, so it becomes:

PARENT_DIR = os.path.expanduser("~")
This will direct Dropbox to access your Home folder for the config files.

4. Save (Ctrl + o) and exit (Ctrl + x) the nano text editor. Restart Dropbox.

dropbox start -i
The -i flag prompts Dropbox to reinstall the module if it doesn’t exist in the Home folder.

That’s it. It won’t prompt you to enter password and run as superuser again (unless the next update breaks it again).

For more from the XpertCrew^TM team please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or 

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And yes, we are eagerly waiting for your valuable feedback. Do write us back. We would be more than happy to help you. We are available 24/7.

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How to migrate your free SugarSync account to another service?

Description

If you are enjoying free SugarSync account then it’s time to look for another service as the company is going to stop its free accounts very soon. So, till February 8, 2014 you have to think another option.

Solution:

In case, you are planning to switch another option then we can help you.

Firstly, take a look that what is present over your SugarSync account. For this, check Magic Briefcase and Web Archive folders so as to make sure that you have not uploaded files there. In order to see the complete list, open SugarSync desktop client or the SugarSync Drive folder.

If you have find files in the Magic Briefcase and/or Web Archive folders then you have to download them so as to get their local copies. Also, remove or delete unnecessary files. To retrieve them, open SugarSync folder and go to Web Archive. Then select all your files and drag and drop them to a local folder.

After this, you have to choose another service like Box, Dropbox, MediaFire, etc. These services can give you the facility of free online storage. You can go for Bitcasa as it can provide you 5GB of free storage.

For starting with new cloud-storage service, install the desktop software, sign into your account and then choose the folders you want to sync. If you are using Bitcasa then you can designate the folder you want by right-clicking it and then go to “Bitcasa > Mirror.”

After verifying that all your files have uploaded to Bitcasa or any other service you have chosen, you can disable and then uninstall the SugarSync client.

For more from the XpertCrew^TM team, please follow us on Twitter @Techvedic or contact Techvedic’s computer support helpdesk, as per below contact-details:

U.S. +855-859-0057 (http://www.techvedic.com/  )

U.K. +800-635-0716 (http://www.techvedic.co.uk/ )

CA  1-855-749-5861 (http://www.techvedic.ca/)

AU  1-800-197-298  (http://www.techvedic.com.au/ )

And yes, we are eagerly waiting for your valuable feedback. Do write us back. We would be more than happy to help you. We are available 24/7.

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