Linux Mint's Update Manager To Encourage Users To Apply Security Updates

Last week the Linux Mint project shared the troubling news how many of its users are behind on important security updates or in some cases even running end-of-life versions. In trying to help address the issue, Linux Mint is working on improvements to its Update Manager to encourage users to apply updates.

The Linux Mint project posted this morning their February 2021 monthly report. In there they outlined some of the pending Update Manager work to encourage users to update. "In the next release the manager won’t just look for available updates, it will also keep track of particular metrics and be able to detect cases where updates are overlooked. Some of these metrics are when was the last time updates were applied, when was the last time packages were upgraded on the system, for how many days has a particular update been shown...In some cases the Update Manager will be able to remind you to apply updates. In a few of them it might even insist."

Linux Mint has also been working on a number of bug fixes, support for limiting the maximum amount of RAM that the Cinnamon desktop will be allowed to use (at which point it will restart itself), improved spice management for their desktop, and other desktop-level enhancements to this Ubuntu/Debian-based user-focused distribution.

More details on the project's ongoing efforts via the Linux Mint blog.