This brief tutorial is going to show you how to automatically map Box.net Cloud Online Storage in Ubuntu 12.10 / 12.04 easily so you can backup your important stuff automatically. We’ve written about this before, however, some seem to have problem with it so I am going to write this one as easy as it can be.

For those who don’t know, Box.net is an online file system or storage that enables users to access and share files of all types anywhere with other users. It is one of the leaders in the cloud space. It provides 5GB of free storage for personal accounts and if you wish to upgrade to bigger storage, you can easily do so.

The reason for this is that Box.net has not provided any client software for Linux systems. Windows users have it easy, they can easily download Box.net’s client and access their content from their desktop. Now, if you wish to access your Box.net’s content with Linux systems, you must follow these steps below.

To get started, please make sure you can access your Box.net account online. Without account access, you labor will be in vain.

After verifying your account, sign into Ubuntu and press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to install davfs2 package.

sudo apt-get install davfs2

 

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Next, run the commands below to reconfigure davfs2 to allow non-root to mount shares.

sudo dpkg-reconfigure davfs2

 

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When prompted with the screen below, select Yes.

 

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Next, copy and paste the commands below to create davfs2 folder in your home directory.

sudo cp -r /etc/davfs2/ /home/<username>/.davfs2

 

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Next, run the commands below to take ownership of the folders you just copied.

sudo chown -R richard /home/<your_username>/.davfs2/

 

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Next, run the command below to open davfs2 authentication file. This file is used to authenticate with remote servers.

gedit ~/.davfs2/secrets

 

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Then add the line below with your username and password at the end of the file and save it.

https://www.box.com/dav [email protected]  Your_Password

 

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After that, open fstab by running the commands below

sudo gedit /etc/fstab

 

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When it opens, add the line with your username and mount point at the end of the file and save it.

https://www.box.com/dav/ /home/<your_username/box  davfs  _netdev,rw,user 0 0

 

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After that, add yourself to davfs2 group by running the commands below

sudo adduser your_username davfs2

 

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When you’re done, create a mount point to map Box.net files.

 

mkdir ~/box

 

Restart your computer and you’re set.

 

Enjoy!

 

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Box.net

 

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Replace all <username> with your Ubuntu username.