Score:0

Security-wise, is it safe to remove ubuntu-* packages

in flag

I have been cleaning up and organizing packages on my computer, and have discovered the various metapackages like ubuntu-standart and ubuntu-minimal. As they contained a lot of packcages I had no need for (e.g ubuntu-advantage, nano), I decided to remove them.

Feature-wise, I am fine with not updating ubuntu for the time being. I will most probably move to debian, arch or fedora, as I have reached the point where I feel Ubuntu is simply a bit too restrictive and hand-holding.

However, as I've been removing them and looking over the packages that were later staged for removal, and

I suppose what I am asking is simply, having ubuntu packages been removed, what packages if any should I mark as manual to make sure security updates keep coming? The goal is that running apt update && apt upgrade regularly enough to patch up existing vulnerabilities.

ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
The one you mentioned are met-packages, i.e., they merely give instructions to install a list of packages. Removing the meta-packages does not remove any of the packages that were installed by them.
David avatar
cn flag
By what magic does this happen? However, I've been wondering if not updating these packages could somehow prevent me from getting needed security updates, and leave my computer outdated and vulnerable.
Atai Ambus avatar
in flag
Yeah, I understand that these are metapackages, I guess where I'm confused is about what package the system updates that pop up come from, so when I remove the metapackage it won't get automatically removed. I'll edit my question to clarify.
mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.