Software updater snuck in a package that is unwanted

[Oliver Grawert]

hi,
Am Mittwoch, den 18.10.2017, 03:50 +0800 schrieb Bret Busby:
> 
> One thing that I should have mentioned - before this thing installed,
> on that system,
>  ...´
>  as an unnecessary intrusion to trap the
> unwary, the updating process worked fine.

$ apt-cache show unattended-upgrades|grep Task|tail -1
Task: ubuntu-desktop, ubuntu-usb, cloud-image, server, kubuntu-desktop, 
kubuntu-full, edubuntu-desktop, edubuntu-usb, xubuntu-core, xubuntu-
desktop, mythbuntu-frontend, mythbuntu-desktop, mythbuntu-backend-
slave, mythbuntu-backend-master, mythbuntu-backend-master,
ubuntustudio-desktop-core, ubuntustudio-desktop, ubuntu-gnome-desktop,
ubuntukylin-desktop

this package has been there since you installed Ubuntu, it is contained
in all Ubuntu tasks by default (and that since more than a decade)...
nothing "just installed it" it is an essential part of the system
itself (and has been since 2006 [1]) 

> 
> Now, because that package is specified as automatically installing
> packages, even against the will of the computer administrator, I have
> had to disable software updating, including notifications of updates,
> on that computer.

Description: automatic installation of security upgrades
 This package can download and install security upgrades automatically
 and unattended, taking care to only install packages from the
 configured APT source, and checking for dpkg prompts about
 configuration file changes.
 .
 This script is the backend for the APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade
 option.

note the "can". nothing forces you to enable it, if you disabled the
feature in the settings and yet it does install or download any
packages, this is a functional failure (bug) and you should report it
using "ubuntu-bug unattended-upgrades"

> 
> Meanwhile, on this computer, which does not have that package
> installed, software updates, and, notifications of software updates,
> are occurring as they should be.
> 
> Why Ubuntu misrepresents that package as a system update, rather than
> as an optional extra, is not explained.

Because it is not an optional extra feature, it is a backend part of
the system since nearly the beginning of Ubuntu and an essential
feature ... similar to the ubuntu-bug tool i mentioned above

> 
> That package should never have been included in the system updates in
> the Software Updater, and instead, should have been a package that
> could be installed as an optional extra, via the Ubuntu Software
> centre, if a syatem administrator really wanted to install that
> package.
> 

then you need to sadly go back to 2005 to reverse the decision to have
it included by default in Ubuntu 6.06 ... yet ... this is Ubuntu, you
can always remove essential parts of the system as you like if the
functionality does not suit you. but your assumption that caused this
discussion that this package was "sneaked in secretly" is simply
wrong...

ciao
	oli

[1] https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/unattended-package-upgrades
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