WD Sync seems to be creating duplicate time-stamped files

I recently purchased a My Cloud 3TB device, and have set it up at home to sync with a macbook.

I have also downloaded WD Sync at work, with the aim of being able to keep everything in 3 places. My relevant work folders are set to sync with MyCloud, and that in turn syncs onto my Macbook.

The problem I have is that ever since installation on the work computer, it seems that WD Sync is effectively creating duplicate files, and appending a date/timestamp to the end of the filename, i.e.;

photo1.jpg
photo1_2015_11_19-14-26-30-456.jpg

It seems to be working its way through all folders that are set to sync. This applies to files that have not been opened or moved in months, too.

In some cases, multiple duplicates are created.

Can anyone steer me in the right direction as to how to stop this happening?

Kind regards,
GM

Yes, I have noticed this issue too. There is a long line of issues. Read these other threads to understand the bigger issue.

Yes, donā€™t use WD Sync. As the above post indicates there are issues with WD Sync. As the linked threads in that post indicate there 3rd party sync programs one can use to sync data while on oneā€™s local network. In addition to the sync programs mentioned in those links there is also Microsoftā€™s SyncToy for Windows users: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15155

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Iā€™ve had this exact same problem. I too want to be able to synchronise my files remotely. Because the duplicates were timestamped I figured the problem must be with time settings.

I had previously ntp set on and noticed that it had dropped off showing wrong time. I turned it back on and in a while the problem persisted. The time is not keeping on mycloud or it is lagging when Iā€™m checking how itā€™s working. There is some problem either with the My Clouds ntp properties or with the ntp settings together with the router. I donā€™t have the energy or know how to figure out the exact problem.

My solution was to turn off the ntp and set the time manually. Easy fix for know and seems to be working. Just sad Western Digital support had no solution for this rather simple problem.

@Lauri_Lehto I found a security issue with WD Sync and MC in general. I have disabled the cloud access to my MCM until this can be addressed via firmware update.

In short, your files can be accessed by someone other than yourself. Videos and files were being transferred over HTTP and not HTTPS. Iā€™m surprised no security experts have not call WD after Versprite identified in August. Security holes should have been plugged with a top to bottom review.

ā€œRemote access is typically done through the client application, which
is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone. This client
application is just a GUI front-end for the RESTful API mentioned
before. VerSprite found that any authorized remote user of the device
can remotely execute commands and steal files belonging to other users
regardless of their permissions by abusing functionality within the
RESTful api and the client applications. Worse yet, the attacking user
will have root access to the NAS in a private internal network, so more
can be at stake since an attacker can use this to pivot through the
network.ā€

Command Injection in the WD My Cloud NAS
http://versprite.com/og/command-injection-in-the-wd-my-cloud-nas.html/

Video

WD Sync support SSL for data transports.

  • Right Click the WD icon in the system tray
  • Select ā€œWD Syncā€ and click ā€œSettingsā€
  • Select ā€œGeneralā€
  • check the Box next to "Enable SSL when syncing files on my local network
  • Reboot or Stop and Start WD Sync

WD Sync support SSL for data transports.

Would you care to explain the consequences of that option, in the context of this discussionā€¦?

If youā€™re suggesting SSL is the solution to the security issues raised by @snakedoctorunit, donā€™t you think SSL would be the better default option?

@cpt_paranoia When that option is unchecked, the software should determine if on the local LAN then transfer without being secure. I will make the assumption, WD engineers are checking if the addresses are non-routable (e.g. private address space) to determine if on LAN. IMHO, that is where the issue lies. If youā€™re at a coffee shop, work, school, etc, you will most likely be assigned a private address space IP address.

Granted this is a big deal, but Iā€™m more concerned with the My Cloud API in general as I was able to replay a transaction more than a week later using the non-secure (HTTP) transport. If a hacker was sniffing at a coffee shop, then my transaction would have been visible without the need to spoof DNS or SSL certificate since it would have been sent via plain text.

Here is an example of when I was streaming a video from my public folder via my mobile phone. Notice the address has http and the port is 80. People would revolt against DropBox if their private files were not secure and open to anyone to peek.

I have disabled the Cloud Access on my My Cloud Mirror until this is resolved. All you need to capture is the device ID to {deviceId}w2go.com enpoint, device_user_id and device_auth_code then you can wreck havoc.

@SBrown I do have a open trouble ticket that was escalated to level 2. This is what I was told initially from level 1.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please remember that WD Sync will
only work locally, there is no remote sync with this software.

My response

Thanks for the response, but I respectfully disagree. The product is
billed as Dropbox like and there is a page on the support site (http://support.wdc.com/KnowledgeBase/answer.aspx?ID=13178)
on how to use via the Internet. Even the WD My Cloud desktop and mobile
apps use the same API for remote access. That API has a security vulnerability in regards to session expiration. I should not be able to replay a transaction 24 hours later.

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Hi did you fix this problem? iĀ“m getting duplicated files, iĀ“m getting crazy

If you can SSH into the My Cloud and do a sum -r on each of those files. I would guess that the sums would be different. If it is different then the device is probably keeping a history of changed files.

RAC

I could not use the WD Sync product consistently without having to rebuild the content database frequently. WD sent me a My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 since they could not resolve my issues. :frowning:

If the issue is to do with NTP, then we have an issue - my computer says UTC, yet the flippin wdcloud says GMT.

Even though both are set to +00:00 Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London. Both are different.

Yes this is exactly happening to me as well. Any solutions ?

Yes this is the same issue which I am also facing. Its creating duplicate copies that are getting timestamped

To avoid that problema you have to deactivate the synchro. And only activate the synchro when you need to backup your files. It means that it does not work alive. Understand?

Guys, The reason youā€™re seeing time-stamped files is because WDSync keeps up to five versions of any file that you modify. It alerts you to this when you set up the program. AFAIK there is no way of amending or disabling this feature, but Iā€™m sure itā€™s proven useful to many users. If you donā€™t believe youā€™re ever going to need them, you can delete them manually.

What concerns me (and others) more are all the large files dumped in the .WD Hidden Files directory and that soon gobble up a TB or 2 of space. This has been commented on at length elsewhere. I just delete chunks of them occasionally to free up the space. I havenā€™t noticed any adverse effects (yet), but that may be because Iā€™ve been lucky and hardly ever need to restore a file. I also perform a daily backup (Kaspersky) to a local removable drive.

After months of battling, I came to this conclusion months ago too. Iā€™m disgusted with the functionality of WD Sync - you canā€™t sync infinite levels of file structure, and these duplicates drive me mad. Iā€™m someone that through work alters in excess of 3,000 files a day, so for those saying ā€˜simply the delete the duplicate versionsā€™, thatā€™s entirely unfeasible. I have now (for over a year) been a very happy Dropbox Pro customer - it provides all the functionality I wish WD Sync would, with no hassle whatsoever.

More than a few here dislike WD Sync because of the various issues it has. The only plus going for it is the ability to sync remotely. I donā€™t use WD Sync. I, like more than a few others here, use Free File Sync (https://www.freefilesync.org/). Doesnā€™t do remote syncing without some work using SSH to change the My Cloud firmware.

https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=15110

All

I have raised this in an update;

https://community.wd.com/t/remove-time-stamp-option/199680/2

They say;

ā€œLikesā€ given to your Idea will be counted as supportive votes.

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