Aha! I only just noticed that unattended-upgrades is part of the default ubuntu and xubuntu install. I therefore agree the current configuration file defaults make sense.
It is NOT part of the default install of Kubuntu. Changing that would be a better wishlist item. -- unattended-upgrades needs manual configuration https://launchpad.net/bugs/52126 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs