Using Ubuntu Live CD and Update Manager

[Atlantian]

Hello all!

I am using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS as a Live CD and I was wondering if there is any point to downloading and installing the "important security updates" from the Update Manager? I have been downloading and installing them anyway, but of course it asks me to "restart" which I find funny since it is a Live CD. I did notice that after I download them it asked me to restart Firefox which I was using at the time. In any case I download them because... That is what I do.

As for what I am using the Live CD for basically when I do not have access to my own computer I use the Live CD of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, download Google Chrome, and go from there. I have to admit that this is mostly for when I have to do online banking and such. I cannot understand why people run Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X without any security software, but that is just me.

 

[linux_0]

It's a good idea to install the security updates even on a live cd but if you reboot those updates are lost since they're installed on a ramdisk.

So install them if you want but don't reboot.

It's kinda silly for ubuntu to ask you to reboot, Linux updates almost never require a reboot unless you're upgrading the kernel. I'm not quite sure why ubuntu is so reboot happy, Linux isn't windoze

It's usually best to download the latest firefox from https://www.mozilla.com/ and verify it. You'll need 32bit libraries to run it tho.

Good luck

 

[Atlantian]

Thanks linux_0

I tried updating again but this time without selecting any of the kernel updates and this time it did not ask me to reboot. It did, however, ask me to restart Firefox but that was because I forgot to close it before the update.

This brings up a question if I am just browsing with the latest versions of Google Chrome and Adobe Flash do I need to install the "important security updates" for the kernel? In essence no downloading or installing programs from the Internet. Also I have to admit that I am impressed that Ubuntu 10.04 LTS does not allow you to execute a file as a program by default that is not registered/verified (that is not exactly the correct term but its almost 4 am).

Basically I am wondering what the kernel security updates do because for the rest of them I understand what they do.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[linux_0]

You can't really use the kernel updates anyway since you can't boot the new kernel so it doesn't really matter as long as you're running the live CD.

If you decide to install natively on your hard drive or inside a virtual machine like virtualbox then you should always apply all updates as soon as they come out.

The kernel's the core of the operating system, so like I said it's important to keep it updated if you're running on a non-live cd, some updates may be really critical, like patching a security problem or adding important features. The Linux kernel gets updated constantly, it's not always necessary to run the latest kernel from the official kernel source, but it's important to apply the updates from your distro.

There's some very advanced ways to patch your kernel while it's running with ksplice and other methods like it but it's really impractical for the average user or on a live cd.

Good luck

 

[Atlantian]

Best answer selected by Atlantian.

 

[randomizer]

So install them if you want but don't reboot.

It's kinda silly for ubuntu to ask you to reboot, Linux updates almost never require a reboot unless you're upgrading the kernel. I'm not quite sure why ubuntu is so reboot happy, Linux isn't windoze

I think Ubuntu asks you to restart whenever glibc is updated as well. It's not the only distro to ask that. I can't remember what other one I've seen does though.