Dropbox is my absolute favorite YC company by far. This appears to be their biggest weakness to date.

They've done a piss poor job of having a public voice. They don't respond to things quickly and when they do they're somewhat defensive and dismissive.

The truth is most of the noise actually is bullshit. They know that. The problem is public perception isn't fair. You can't ignore false hysteria and expect it to go away. People will form opinions based on headlines alone.

They need to humanize the company. Make sure everyone knows Dropbox is run by good people who have good intentions. More Google, less Microsoft.

They still have a ton of momentum, but it's all based on word of mouth. If they lose the warm fuzzy feeling people have about them they will suffer badly in the long term.