Thank you for your further response. I have tried to answer your questions, which will show you that I am completely at sea.
On Thursday 23 March 2017 09:03:01 didier gaumet wrote: > Le 23/03/2017 à 02:06, Lisi Reisz a écrit : > > Thank you. Yes, I have read and tried to follow it. I quote: > > --------- > > To install these packages, run the following command as root: > > > > # apt-get install unattended-upgrades apt-listchanges > > The default configuration file for the unattended-upgrades package is > > at /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades. The defaults will work > > fine, but you should read it and make changes as needed. > > > > # editor /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades > > --------- > > > > It clearly says that the defaults will work fine. They don't. They > > don't seem to work at all, in fact most of the files don't seem to be > > there. > > I don't really understand: what files are not there that should be there? Let's start with the file you mention: /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades It isn't there. > > I have tried to read and follow the whole thing. I have googled for > > other things. I have got no-where. So any more useful pointers would be > > greatly welcomed. > > the part of the procedure you quoted is the installation of > unattended-upgrades: you can verify that unattended-upgrades is working > the way you want simply by running it as root in console. lisi@Eros:~$ su Password: root@Eros:/home/lisi# unattended-upgrades root@Eros:/home/lisi# What has that done? I can verify nothing because I can't see what it has or has not done. It took a long while doing it, but appears to have dome nothing. > this part of > the procedure does not automatize anything, so if you do not run > yourself unattended-upgrades you may have the false impression that it > is not working. If I have to run it myself, then it isn't working. The whole point, from my point of view, is for it to work unattended. > did you follow the rest of the procedure, and which part, in order to > automatize the execution of unattended-upgrades? what is the content of > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades ? I have clearly completely misunderstood what unattended-upgrades is intended to do. If it won't work automatically but requires me to run it, in what sense is it unattended? It said that it runs by default. I have obviously misunderstood what "run" means in this context. As I said above, /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades doesn't exist. > also, I seem to remember that the default set-up for unattended-upgrades > is upgrading only security issues for the stable channel. That is what I have been trying unsuccessfully to achieve. If the defaults work fine, then what are they doing? If I need to run it, in what way is it any different from or preferable to any other method of running upgrades? > If you want > something like proposed updates or follow testing or unstable channels, > you have to alter the default set-up So, to summarise, it is my expectations that are at fault. Unattended-upgrades does not by default run unattended. One has to set up a cron job or something. Having been reading the file /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades, which does exist, I have come to the conclusion that sadly this is all well above my pay-grade anyway. Lisi