Re: How do I permanently disable unattended downloads of software/security updates?

[Stella Ashburne <rewefie@gmx.com>]

Hello,

> Sent: Friday, May 28, 2021 at 7:43 PM
> From: l0f4r0@tuta.io
> To: "Debian User" <debian-user@lists.debian.org>
> Subject: Re: How do I permanently disable unattended downloads of software/security updates?
>
> 
> unattended-upgrades is not installed by default, so you installed that package at some point because you were interested in applying upgrades automatically.

I'm sorry but your understanding is incorrect. I'm sure I've never installed it at any point in the course of using Debisn. I remember very clearly that when I first installed Debian on my machine, I did specify that I didn't want automatic upgrades.

> Now, you are not interested anymore. So you have chosen to delete the configuration file /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades and disabled the systemd service unattended-upgrades.

I've never wanted upgrades/updates to be automatic.

> No I don't have it, it's installed with the optional package "unattended-upgrades".

I'm very certain that I didn't install the package "unattended-upgrades". My knowledge of computing and Debian is elementary so much so that I'd never install packages that seem weird or alien to me.

> 
> Strictly speaking, /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades is a file, not a package.
> A package is a combination of files provided for your Debian distribution.
> I just wanted to make sure you didn't talk about removing the "unattended-upgrades" package.

Thanks for your explanation.

> 
> By the way, I think you should not have deleted that file. That's somewhat dirty.

I still have that file because I'd moved it to my removable backup drive. Should I restore it? What do you think?

> If you want to make a pause with a package, just stop it and disable it (or tweak the configuration file so there is no real action processed).

Just so you know, my knowledge of Debian and computing is basic/elementary (meaning, I don't know how to tweak configuration files...).

> 
> If you are sure not to use some optional package, then remove or even purge it.

You suggest that I purge the optional package "unattended-upgrades".... What happens if that package is a dependency of some other packages? What commands can I type to show that the package "unattended=upgrades" is or isn't a dependency of some other packages?

Thanks for your help and time. I really appreciate it.

Best regards.