[OT Security PSA] Shellshock: Update your bash, now!

[John Colvin via Digitalmars-d-announce]

On Friday, 3 October 2014 at 11:31:07 UTC, eles wrote:
> On Friday, 3 October 2014 at 07:16:14 UTC, Kagamin wrote:
>> On Thursday, 2 October 2014 at 12:44:08 UTC, eles wrote:
>>> I doubt. At least, not easily. However, installing LMDE 
>>> should be a one-time process (it's a rolling distribution).
>>
>> Do rolling distributions guarantee to not overwrite fstab? How 
>> mint package update differs from a rolling distro package 
>> update?
>
> Mint is release-based. All packages are updated in a large 
> group that is called "a release", unlike rolling distributions, 
> where packages are updated package-by-package, sometimes even 
> on daily basis.
>
> The former attempt stability (because all packages are tested 
> together, along with their interactions), while the latter 
> attempt cutting-edge software (you update software as it gets 
> produced).
>
> No matter the distribution, security packages usually comes in 
> in rolling-manner (because very important).
>
> Unlike other release-style distribution, Mint simply does not 
> support hot-upgrades, they recommend full reinstall (back-up 
> your files, clean harddisk, install, restore files).
>
> Anyway, the fact that they do not support it does not mean is 
> not possible. It's just that they disclaim responsibility and 
> they do not want to invest support into that.
>
> So, it is possible, but you must be a bit of geek. And you 
> cannot request their official helps/guides for that. Think of 
> it as "undocumented feature" from their POV.

I recently upgraded a mint install by changing any and all 
references to repositories to the corresponding ones for the new 
release and then running apt-get dist-upgrade

It worked, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Clean reinstalls or rolling release are better approaches to the 
problem of updating an OS. Ubuntu, Windows and OS X have all 
subtlely or not-so-subtley let me down with automated upgrades at 
one point or another.