Cloud storage services have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Saving our files in services like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox is very convenient — yet the fact that the contents of those files could be seen by the service providers always raises a security concern for users. This is where Cryptomator comes in: it offers an easy-to-use solution that protects your data’s privacy by encrypting your files before uploading them to the cloud. Moreover, the fact that Cryptomator is completely free and open-source further enhances its trustworthiness and demonstrates that it operates in a verifiable, transparent way — meaning you can protect your privacy without incurring extra cost.
Backing up files regularly and synchronizing them across different locations is at least as important as security. SyncBack, a powerful and flexible backup/synchronization software, automates these operations. Although there are several editions of the program, the SyncBack Free edition offers a free solution that’s more than adequate for individual users.
SyncBack Free can automatically sync folders you designate with another disk, an external drive, or a cloud folder, and you can schedule these operations to run regularly, without you needing to intervene. While some advanced features present in paid editions (for example cloud-API connections or FTP/encryption support) are missing, it works flawlessly with the local copy of your cloud folder or local folder to handle your daily backup tasks.
Why is using them together so logical?
Cryptomator and SyncBack actually complement each other perfectly. Cryptomator encrypts your files before they go to the cloud, protecting your privacy; SyncBack then automatically backs up and synchronizes these encrypted files. Thus, you get both security and convenience simultaneously.
Using this combination is extremely practical. SyncBack copies or synchronizes the files you want to back up directly to the virtual drive created by Cryptomator, and you continue working with the files in that virtual drive just like in a normal folder. Cryptomator keeps the encrypted versions in your cloud folder in the background. In other words, you never need to deal with the encryption process yourself; SyncBack only transfers the files, and Cryptomator automatically encrypts them and syncs with your cloud folder.
So you simply carry on working with your files; the rest is handled by the system.
Issue in SyncBack Free: virtual drive of Cryptomator not appearing — and the solution
When you open the vault you created with Cryptomator, a virtual disk drive (usually D:, E: etc) appears in the system. However, some users find that this virtual drive cannot be selected as the source or target folder in the SyncBack Free edition.
Solution
To resolve this problem, two key points should be kept in mind:
1. Select the correct drive type when creating the vault
When creating a new vault, choose “Volume Type” as “WinFS (Local Drive)”. Selecting WinFS (Local Drive) ensures the vault behaves like a real local drive in Windows and makes it detectable by SyncBack.
2. Run both programs in the same mode
If one of the programs runs as Administrator and the other runs in normal user mode, the Windows security model will not permit access to that drive. Therefore, do not run either program as Administrator.