One really annoying default with vBulletin 3.7 is the introduction of Albums, with a setting which automatically saves images directly to the database. This causes unwanted server load and is slow, and will bloat the database very quickly depending on the images being uploaded, which is why we suggest changing this default as soon as possible.

You can still have a secure directory, all you need to do is create a new directory within the home directory, called albums or images. CHMOD this folder to 777, so it can be written to by the webserver.

You will need to set the path to this directory in the AdminCP, then change the storage type in User Albums -> Album Picture Storage Type. Select this option Keep pictures in file system, but allow direct access to thumbnails.

Nice one, that should make backups a little quicker !

Thanks Hybrid