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Maybe Ubuntu and Gnome aren't so bad after all ;-)

Started by Jason, July 23, 2020, 01:23:48 PM

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Jason

One thing I just realized is that Ubuntu doesn't ask for the password when it does updates which is something I think a Linux distro should always do. Even though it's arguably not important as asking when installing software (which it does do), a bad actor could still replace a package in a repo with one with malware.
* Zorin OS 17.1 Core and Windows 11 Pro on a Dell Precision 3630 Tower with an
i5-8600 3.1 GHz 6-core processor, dual 22" displays, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB Nvme and a Geforce 1060 6 GB card
* Motorola Edge (2022) phone with Android 13

buster

Jason wrote: One thing I just realized is that Ubuntu doesn't ask for the password when it does updates which is something I think a Linux distro should always do.

I'm pretty sure a few years ago, when I was using OpenSuse a lot, that I was notified of updates, and the download didn't require a password. I always assumed it was delta patches to some software with critical updates needed for security. Never thought much about it except as a convenience. Don't think it did things like Firefox, tho it might have if needed.

Doubt this still happens if Gecko is anything to judge it by.
Growing up from childhood and becoming an adult is highly overrated.

fox

Quote from: buster on July 26, 2020, 12:06:57 PM
Jason wrote: One thing I just realized is that Ubuntu doesn't ask for the password when it does updates which is something I think a Linux distro should always do.
....

Always does for me.
Ubuntu 23.10 on 2019 5k iMac
Ubuntu 22.04 on Dell XPS 13

Jason

#18
Try checking right now and see if it does if you don't mind. Because that would be really odd.


Update:
It might be just me. I think when I installed Ubuntu in the VM, I enabled the root user so that's why it asks. Can you doublecheck for me that you can't login as root? Try sudo -s in the terminal.
* Zorin OS 17.1 Core and Windows 11 Pro on a Dell Precision 3630 Tower with an
i5-8600 3.1 GHz 6-core processor, dual 22" displays, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB Nvme and a Geforce 1060 6 GB card
* Motorola Edge (2022) phone with Android 13

fox

OK, I wasn't quite correct. If I use the Software Updater, it didn't ask me for a password; probably because I have admin privileges. However, I use Synaptic quite a lot, and it asks me for a password before it even opens. And yes, I can log in to root from a Terminal with sudo -s.
Ubuntu 23.10 on 2019 5k iMac
Ubuntu 22.04 on Dell XPS 13

buster

Just clarifying  But does 'OK, I wasn't quite correct' mean I was wrong?  :) :) :)

Yes I know. You use Synaptic. Come on Doctor Fox, own up.
Growing up from childhood and becoming an adult is highly overrated.

Jason

#21
Quote from: fox on July 26, 2020, 05:09:41 PM
OK, I wasn't quite correct. If I use the Software Updater, it didn't ask me for a password; probably because I have admin privileges. However, I use Synaptic quite a lot, and it asks me for a password before it even opens. And yes, I can log in to root from a Terminal with sudo -s.

I believe when you install Ubuntu, the first user is the administrator by default. You could change it later but I don't think you have the option during the install. Some distros like CentOS, Fedora and OpenSUSE give you the choice if you want it that way or to have a separate root user. In Kubuntu, I'm also set as the administrator but it still asks for a password whether I update or install.

It's funny that I never noticed that about Ubuntu before regarding updates.

I wondered if you could login as root because when you're the administrator, I thought the root account was disabled. If you try to go in as root at the login screen or by typing 'su root', it won't work. But 'sudo -s' appears to do so. Odd. I guess root is just disabled for logging in but still there behind the scenes.
* Zorin OS 17.1 Core and Windows 11 Pro on a Dell Precision 3630 Tower with an
i5-8600 3.1 GHz 6-core processor, dual 22" displays, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB Nvme and a Geforce 1060 6 GB card
* Motorola Edge (2022) phone with Android 13

buster

Apparently you can turn automatic updates on or off in Ubuntu. Updater settings

You could look in there and see if password-less updates possible to turn off or on.
Growing up from childhood and becoming an adult is highly overrated.

Jason

Yeah, I checked in Software & Updates already. You can't actually install updates automatically, at least not using the GUI, but you can have it auto-install security updates. It also says that with snap packages that updates are installed automatically. But there's nothing about password-less updates.

However, I just booted in Ubuntu again and this time it asked for a password to install the updates. Actually, I didn't so boot it as reload the machine state. So probably, like using sudo, there's a certain amount of time before you have to enter the password again and I had already and forgotten. That's good. I think it's a really bad idea to install updates automatically although I guess if they're signed... maybe it's not that big of a deal. Still, I like to know what is happening on my system that nothing is going on behind my back and that I'm in control.
* Zorin OS 17.1 Core and Windows 11 Pro on a Dell Precision 3630 Tower with an
i5-8600 3.1 GHz 6-core processor, dual 22" displays, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB Nvme and a Geforce 1060 6 GB card
* Motorola Edge (2022) phone with Android 13

fox

Quote from: Jason Wallwork on July 27, 2020, 07:38:30 PM
.... So probably, like using sudo, there's a certain amount of time before you have to enter the password again and I had already and forgotten. That's good. I think it's a really bad idea to install updates automatically although I guess if they're signed... maybe it's not that big of a deal. Still, I like to know what is happening on my system that nothing is going on behind my back and that I'm in control.

There is definitely a time after running sudo that you don't have to supply a password for another operation that requires root access. On my system, it's either 15 or 20 minutes, and I can't remember whether that time is something one can set. Also, I have no automatic updates set, so I have to be asked before allowing any operation (at least that I know of).
Ubuntu 23.10 on 2019 5k iMac
Ubuntu 22.04 on Dell XPS 13

buster

So because my friends are going on and on about Ubuntu I downloaded a massive 2.4 gig torrent (took almost 2 minutes!) and re-installled it. Trying it out for awhile, and I must say it's pretty good except that it really, really sucks. Other than that it's fine.

Growing up from childhood and becoming an adult is highly overrated.

fox

OK, the Ubuntu 20.04 Software Updater did ask me for a password today before installing updates. It didn't the previous time I checked. It might have to do with how recently I signed in with sudo.
Ubuntu 23.10 on 2019 5k iMac
Ubuntu 22.04 on Dell XPS 13

Jason

Quote from: fox on July 28, 2020, 02:28:17 PM
OK, the Ubuntu 20.04 Software Updater did ask me for a password today before installing updates. It didn't the previous time I checked. It might have to do with how recently I signed in with sudo.

Somehow I only just saw this post. Anyway, I know that sudo will go for a while not requiring a password after the first time you use it in a session. I think it's 5 minutes by default. You can change this timeout, too. I don't know if it's the same amount of time as sudo but the graphical way of doing that is probably similar.
* Zorin OS 17.1 Core and Windows 11 Pro on a Dell Precision 3630 Tower with an
i5-8600 3.1 GHz 6-core processor, dual 22" displays, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB Nvme and a Geforce 1060 6 GB card
* Motorola Edge (2022) phone with Android 13