Re: Differences between apt-listchanges/unattended-upgrades/apticron/cron-apt

[Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org>]

l0f4r0@tuta.io wrote: 
> Hello,
> 
> Can somebody explain to me the differences between apt-listchanges, unattended-upgrades, apticron and cron-apt please?
> 
> I have the following feeling:
> * apt-listchanges: its main purpose is to indicate what's new between different packages versions. So it's handy to learn that new packages are available with an email alert (is it triggered automatically as soon as apt update finds something new?)
> 
> * unattended-upgrades: its main purpose is to upgrade your machine automatically. Personally, I use it to update my db & upgrade my vulnerable packages only (btw it triggers apt-listchanges)
> 
> Am I correct? Why would I need apticron & cron-apt then (I have Debian 9)?

apticron automatically downloads packages for updates,
and uses apt-listchanges to generate mail to you about those
updates.

cron-apt competes with apticron, and has the optional ability
to install the upgrades as well as download them. It also uses
apt-listchanges.

unattended-upgrades competes with cron-apt, expects to install 
the upgrades, and will optionally reboot the machine by itself
when it feels it is warranted. It also uses apt-listchanges.

-dsr-