Is Microsoft 365's "OneDrive" a type of Ransomware?

It extorts a fee for just trying to be a conscientious PC user.

Today, I opened my Dell laptop and got a litany of popup messages saying I had “run out of space”, and my files were no longer being backed up. It was BS, as I use Windows 10/11’s “File History” (much like Apple’s “Time Machine”) to save any change I make on any of the PCs in my house immediately to a NAS server in my basement that has many terabytes of space for backup - and restore if needed. So what was going on?

The messages were from OneDrive, Microsoft’s equivalent of Apple’s iCloud, an online-based storage and sharing service. OneDrive is part of Microsoft 365, a suite of services much like Google Workspace, providing a suite of web-based apps along with file and photo storage.

But here’s the rub: The moment you link your Windows PC to a Microsoft account - which happens ubiquitously when you set up a new PC and follow one of the many “encouragements” you get during the process - you PC’s file system gets commandeered by MS, changing the way it works. Suddenly, your common content-storage folders (like Documents, Downloads, Photos and Desktop) become linked to a digital twin that sucks a copy of all your local data into the cloud, then mirroring changes and additions through a constant “sync” process.

After that happens, your local content folders appear as subfolders of OneDrive in your personal storage profile on that PC. You may not even notice the change. I didn’t until I suddenly got the “ransom note” saying I needed to buy more storage or my files were in jeopardy. Indeed, only 5GB are provided to naive users who haven’t ponied up $20 or more for a 100GB “upgrade”. You can try to delete the online copy of your files, but the syncing that’s already in progress will continue, topping up the 5GB repeatedly.

Since I already pay a fee for extra space on Dropbox and Google Drive, I didn’t need a third flavor of cloud storage, so I wasn’t going to take the bait. Unfortunately, unless you know the secret (read on), even turning off the “sync” option in the OneDrive settings doesn’t get back your local-only content folders. I spent over an hour trying to back out of OneDrive’s clutches, remapping locations of the folders, only to see them revert back to their online doppelgangers.

The “secret” - obscure to all who haven’t stumbled onto it after giving up on getting help from Microsoft’s online help - is to UNLINK your PC from OneDrive. That’s done through the Windows Settings, Accounts page, where a tiny “Unlink this PC” appears below your User ID/email. There’s a warning that your doppelgangers will disappear, and your computer won’t be backed up to the cloud, but acknowledging that, you’re back to one, local set of content folders. Whew!

I think 365 and OneDrive is a money-grab that Micro$oft is engaging in. They’ve also made it virtually impossible (but not completely so, if you are savvy) to install a standalone copy of their Office Suite on your PC, pushing a subscription-based model instead. But then, so is everyone else getting those monthly or yearly fees for software and services, so it’s just another brick in the wall of corporate socialism. We seldom any longer own the means of production of our content.