Linux mint updates

General Discussion
1

as a new linux mint user,after the initial download of the distro there are numerous updates to the system all of which i have accepted and downloaded,now i have extra downloads to the system in notifications,1 bind 9 internet domain server.2 netplan io declarative network config for various backend.3 pulse audio command line tools for the pulse audio sound server.the only download which strikes a chord is No 3 even then do i need to download <these extras?if it dose not matter if they are downloaded i will go ahead and do so,just getting familiar with the system so please advise you good people.

2

Hi,

If it’s trying to download / upgrade them, then there is likely a dependency for them somewhere. Command line tools for sound are likely tiny so not likely to be a problem in terms of space consumed.

In terms of do you “need” them, typically if the system is trying to load them, you have “another” package already on the system that either needs them or would potentially like to use them … so unless you have a reason “not” to want them, then general approach would be to just go with what the system recommends.
:slight_smile:

1 Like
3

many thanks madpenguin,for swift reply,your explanation to this newbee is taken onboard so ill go ahead and download said updates,one thing i have to get rid of is the miÂŁcsf$t mind set of suspect downloads,so in time my pc mind will heal lol.

4

Ok, so if you’re downloading from the system repositories, this is about as safe as it’s going to get.

Caveat
Safe as in trustworthy publisher, that’s not to say there aren’t more levels of “safeness” from the perspective of the publisher being compromised in some way.

When you consider which applications to install there are typically 4 types of package you might be offered.

  1. A Native Linux application installed on your system from the apt repositories, typically the highest level of risk as this will likely be installed as ‘root’ and have access to your system.

  2. Various safer variants that run inside containers and as such are partitioned off from your main system and have very limited access to your files, these include;

    • snap packages
    • flatpak packages
    • docker packages

    These sometimes come with a slight performance hit and occasionally some compatibility issues, but are typically more robust or resistant to security issues in general.