Fedora 15 Automatic Updates

Now why would a Linux distribution have automatic updates? They don’t. They never have. They allow the user to maintain software updates without intervention. Automation is performed by the administrator and that’s why most folks use Linux.

Not any more.

I was tailing the system log on my Fedora 15 desktop yesterday when I see this message roll across the display:

Jul 14 16:32:14 my-desktop dbus-daemon: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.PackageKit' (using servicehelper)
Jul 14 16:32:14 my-desktop dbus-daemon: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.PackageKit'
Jul 14 16:33:53 my-desktop yum[18560]: Updated: 32:bind-license-9.8.0-7.P4.fc15.noarch
Jul 14 16:33:55 my-desktop yum[18560]: Updated: 32:bind-libs-9.8.0-7.P4.fc15.i686
Jul 14 16:33:59 my-desktop yum[18560]: Updated: 32:bind-utils-9.8.0-7.P4.fc15.i686
Jul 14 16:34:01 my-desktop yum[18560]: Updated: 32:bind-libs-lite-9.8.0-7.P4.fc15.i686
Jul 14 16:34:03 my-desktop yum[18560]: Updated: kernel-headers-2.6.38.8-35.fc15.i686
Jul 14 16:34:15 my-desktop yum[18560]: Installed: kernel-devel-2.6.38.8-35.fc15.i686
Jul 14 16:34:28 my-desktop yum[18560]: Installed: kernel-2.6.38.8-35.fc15.i686

Now I’m no fan of PackageKit. I dislike the new era of deveopers who have come in and name their daemons, packages, and config files in camel case going against the long running standard of using all lower case. This is especially true of anything with a Kit appended to the name. This is the same movement that is trying to take the desktop with Linux and destroying the simple nature of a beautiful system.

Now, here is how you disable the automatic updates:
1. Install or confirm that you have gnome-packagekit installed.
2. Run ‘gpk-prefs’ and configure it to never check for any updates.