Watch for system upgrades on Debian
by
Pierre-Yves Landuré
—
last modified
Apr 30, 2015 09:30
The number one rule to secure an operating system is to keep its software up to date. This howto setup a e-mail alert when new upgrades are available.
This howto is tested on :
- Debian 5.0 Lenny
- Debian 6.0 Squeeze
- Debian 7.0 Wheezy
Installation
Install cron-apt :
command apt-get install cron-apt
Setup the tool to send a e-mail to the root account when new upgrades are available :
command echo '
# Send mail to root user when upgrade is available.
MAILTO="root" MAILON="upgrade"' \ >> '/etc/cron-apt/config'
The root account will receive a daily e-mail when upgrades are available on the system.
Make sure that the system administrator read the root account e-mails. The guide to setup the needed alias is available in Additions to a fresh Debian GNU/Linux install.