Information About Snap Packages

Alexzee

Alexzee

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I found this article and found it informal at the very least about snap packages.

Mint founder Clement Lefebvre made it very clear that the Ubuntu spin-off does not approve of the new package format and wouldn’t include it on base installs. Further, he announced that Mint 20 would actively block users from installing the snap framework through the package manager. It can still be installed manually, but this move is seen as a way to prevent it from being added to the system without the user’s explicit consent.

hackaday.com

What’s The Deal With Snap Packages?

Who would have thought that software packaging software would cause such a hubbub? But such is the case with snap. Developed by Canonical as a faster and easier way to get the latest versions of so…
hackaday.com hackaday.com

My concern is if removing snap will break an os?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/h7y4p3

When I used Google to ask: are snap packages secure? I got:

According to Garret, “Any Snap package you install is completely capable of copying all your private data to wherever it wants with very little difficulty.”

Here's the search if you'd like to do research of your own.

 


Alexzee said:
Mint founder Clement Lefebvre made it very clear that the Ubuntu spin-off does not approve of the new package format and wouldn’t include it on base installs.
Click to expand...
It is my understanding that 'Mint' does not approve of the installation of the 'Snap Store' or the Snap downloader or whatever it is called without alerting the user that it is being installed.

Alexzee said:
Further, he announced that Mint 20 would actively block users from installing the snap framework through the package manager. It can still be installed manually,
Click to expand...
It seems that 'Mint' did not actually "block" it but just made it more difficult to install AND ensures that the user knows what is transpiring.
"but this move is seen as a way to prevent it from being added to the system without the user’s explicit consent."
I, for one, agree with 'Mint' on this.

Alexzee said:
My concern is if removing snap will break an os?
Click to expand...
No. But it may 'break' Snap package updates.

Alexzee said:
According to Garret, “Any Snap package you install is completely capable of copying all your private data to wherever it wants with very little difficulty.”
Click to expand...
This is true. But it is also true of any package which a user installs from any source.
Including from the OS 'official' repositories.
The only assurance we, as users, have is the reputation and trustworthiness of the maintainers.
If a person does not 'trust' the maintainers of a distro's repositories then the person should probably not install that distro!

I have always had 'doubts' and concerns regarding Snap packages. Mostly because I could not find any assurance that the Snap packages were being 'curated'. I 'assume' that the packages in my distro's repositories are or have been tested and/ or inspected by the distro maintainers or upstream. Sooner or later you have to trust someone - or just unplug the machine and walk away.
 
Alexzee said:
When I used Google to ask: are snap packages secure? I got:

According to Garret, “Any Snap package you install is completely capable of copying all your private data to wherever it wants with very little difficulty.”

Here's the search if you'd like to do research of your own.

Click to expand...
Some users are concerned are about Snap packages collecting personal data and sending it to Canonical.

These same users have no concerns about a wife or family member in their house using Windows 10 and collecting personal data and sending it to Microsoft.

Hmm.

Don't make a lot of sense does it.
 
Vrai said:
It is my understanding that 'Mint' does not approve of the installation of the 'Snap Store' or the Snap downloader or whatever it is called without alerting the user that it is being installed.


It seems that 'Mint' did not actually "block" it but just made it more difficult to install AND ensures that the user knows what is transpiring.
"but this move is seen as a way to prevent it from being added to the system without the user’s explicit consent."
I, for one, agree with 'Mint' on this.


No. But it may 'break' Snap package updates.


This is true. But it is also true of any package which a user installs from any source.
Including from the OS 'official' repositories.
The only assurance we, as users, have is the reputation and trustworthiness of the maintainers.
If a person does not 'trust' the maintainers of a distro's repositories then the person should probably not install that distro!

I have always had 'doubts' and concerns regarding Snap packages. Mostly because I could not find any assurance that the Snap packages were being 'curated'. I 'assume' that the packages in my distro's repositories are or have been tested and/ or inspected by the distro maintainers or upstream. Sooner or later you have to trust someone - or just unplug the machine and walk away.
Click to expand...
Thanks for chiming in Vrai.
Getting your ideas and feedback about things that are going on always helps.

You're right, we have to trust the maintainers or just not use that particular distro. I completely agree.

I'm not sure where to look on my Elementary OS install to find out if those snap pkg's are installed, any ideas?
 
Nelson Muntz said:
Some users are concerned are about Snap packages collecting personal data and sending it to Canonical.

These same users have no concerns about a wife or family member in their house using Windows 10 and collecting personal data and sending it to Microsoft.

Hmm.

Don't make a lot of sense does it.
Click to expand...
No, it doesn't make a lot of sense.
Furthermore, what exactly is Canonical doing with that data and what's the real motive behind it?
So many questions--

Is there a way Nelson Muntz to disable the snap updates?
 
Last edited:
I recently installed Linux Lite XFCE on a friends laptop and he was happy with it.
However; he found out yesterday that Linux Lite uses the snap pkg system and the updates are done automatically.
My friend is not happy about this so I have to figure out either how to disable this or find another distro for that laptop.
 
Alexzee said:
I'm not sure where to look on my Elementary OS install to find out if those snap pkg's are installed, any ideas?
Click to expand...
Code: 
snap list

Alexzee said:
Is there a way Nelson Muntz to disable the snap updates?
Click to expand...
Here is some info along with the sources:
Code: 
disable
Disables a snap in the system

The disable command disables a snap. The binaries and services of the snap will no longer
be available. But all the data is still available and the snap can easily be enabled
again.

Usage: snap [OPTIONS] disable [disable-OPTIONS]

Code: 
stop
Stop services

The stop command stops, and optionally disables, the given services.

Usage: snap [OPTIONS] stop [stop-OPTIONS]

Code: 
--disable
As well as stopping the service now, arrange for it to no longer be started on
boot.

Ubuntu Manpage: snap - Tool to interact with snaps

manpages.ubuntu.com manpages.ubuntu.com

___________________________________________________________________

The snap Cheat Sheet

Using snap packages is pretty simple, but we’ve compiled a list of some commands that will help you:

To search for a package:
Code: 
snap find package_name
To install a package:
Code: 
sudo snap install package_name
To see all installed packages:
Code: 
snap list
To get information about a single package:
Code: 
snap info package_name
To change the channel a package tracks for updates:
Code: 
sudo snap refresh package_name --channel=channel_name
To see whether updates are ready for any installed packages:
Code: 
sudo snap refresh --list
To manually update a package:
Code: 
sudo snap refresh package_name
To uninstall a package:
Code: 
sudo snap remove package_name

From: https://www.howtogeek.com/660193/how-to-work-with-snap-packages-on-linux/
__________________________________________________________________________

More info to check out:

Disabling Snaps in Ubuntu 20.10 (and 20.04 LTS) - Kevin Custer

With the newly released Ubuntu 20.10 upon us, and the recently released LTS (20.04), many have mixed feelings about the proliferation of snap packages in Ubuntu. In this article I'll show you how to completely remove the snap system from Ubuntu if you prefer a purely apt sytem
www.kevin-custer.com www.kevin-custer.com

askubuntu.com

How to stop snapd from auto-updating?

I've just installed Ubuntu 18.04. After a few minutes I noticed my bandwidth is remarkably low. I installed nethogs and realized /usr/lib/snapd/snapd is consuming my internet. Questions: How can I
askubuntu.com askubuntu.com

askubuntu.com

How to disable autorefresh in snap

Is it possible to disable autorefresh in snap? This link says that Snaps are updated automatically in the background to the latest version, every day. Some snaps (e.g. vlc) are built daily, and it ...
askubuntu.com askubuntu.com

snapcraft.io

Managing updates | Snapcraft documentation

Snaps are containerised software packages that are simple to create and install. They auto-update and are safe to run. And because they bundle their dependencies, they work on all major Linux systems without modification.
snapcraft.io snapcraft.io
 
Here's how you create a Snap free Linux distro.
You download and install the Ubuntu core and the desktop you want and install that and then only what you want and need.



There are other Snap free distros.
Linux Mint 20
Lubuntu 20.04 LXQT

PCLinux OS
Antix Linux
MX Linux

I'm sure there are many more you just have to search to find which distros are Snap free.

Just because a Ubuntu based distro offer Snaps doesn't mean Snaps come installed by default.

Most Ubuntu based distros I've looked at offer Snaps although Snaps aren't always installed.

Generally a user has to download and install the Snap store and install the Snaps.

To my knowledge the mainstream flagship Ubuntu 20.04 is the only distro that comes with the Snap store installed by default.
 
Nelson Muntz said:
Here's how you create a Snap free Linux distro.
You download and install the Ubuntu core and the desktop you want and install that and then only what you want and need.



There are other Snap free distros.
Linux Mint 20
Lubuntu 20.04 LXQT

PCLinux OS
Antix Linux
MX Linux

I'm sure there are many more you just have to search to find which distros are Snap free.

Just because a Ubuntu based distro offer Snaps doesn't mean Snaps come installed by default.

Most Ubuntu based distros I've looked at offer Snaps although Snaps aren't always installed.

Generally a user has to download and install the Snap store and install the Snaps.

To my knowledge the mainstream flagship Ubuntu 20.04 is the only distro that comes with the Snap store installed by default.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help mate.
 
Alexzee said:
I recently installed Linux Lite XFCE on a friends laptop and he was happy with it.
However; he found out yesterday that Linux Lite uses the snap pkg system and the updates are done automatically.
My friend is not happy about this so I have to figure out either how to disable this or find another distro for that laptop.
Click to expand...
According to this Linux Lite is Snap free.

Snaps

Snaps
www.linuxliteos.com
 
Let's just call it what it is .... a "fingerprint".

Probably not a 'big-deal' given all of the hundreds of fingerprints and metrics our devices are tagged with ... but .... just one more reason I believe the user should be informed up front and there should be transparency when installing software.

The Snap Store web UI can be used to track installation and usage statistics for snaps published with your developer account.

To accomplish this, the store assigns an anonymous identifier, the device-serial, to every new snapd client it sees. This exchange usually happens when a new installation contacts the store, and the identifier persists for the lifespan of the machine.
Click to expand...
snapcraft.io

Snap Store metrics | Snapcraft documentation

Snaps are containerised software packages that are simple to create and install. They auto-update and are safe to run. And because they bundle their dependencies, they work on all major Linux systems without modification.
snapcraft.io snapcraft.io

IoT devices and other specific workflows based on Ubuntu Core, use a more elaborate device-serial assignment which can be integrated with hardware identification capabilities and their factory provisioning process.
Click to expand...
snapcraft.io

The power of installed-base snap metrics | Snapcraft

The Snap Store is able to provide insightful information to Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) about usage of their snap applications. Our goal is to help snap publishers interact better with their users and make the most of their relationship. The primary metric provided by the store is the...
snapcraft.io snapcraft.io
 
Alexzee said:
what exactly is Canonical doing with that data and what's the real motive behind it?
Click to expand...

Privacy Notice – Events | Ubuntu and Canonical Legal | Ubuntu

This Privacy Notice tells you about the information collected from you when you participate in the Canonical event.
ubuntu.com ubuntu.com

www.ghacks.net

Ubuntu wants to collect more diagnostic data - gHacks Tech News

Canonical's Will Cooke revealed in an email to the Ubuntu development list that the company plans to collect more diagnostic data from desktop.
www.ghacks.net
 
Nelson Muntz said:
According to this Linux Lite is Snap free.

Snaps

Snaps
www.linuxliteos.com
Click to expand...
You're right.
When I ran 'snap list' in the console it returned:
snap command not found.

Last week after going through all of the setting in Linux Lite and making a few changes a small window opened and said that snap packages would be installed and updated automatically.

Anyway, Linux Lite is running great on my friends Toshibia laptop and snap has not be enabled.

Thank you Vrai and thank you Nelson Muntz for your help.
 
Alexzee said:
Last week after going through all of the setting in Linux Lite and making a few changes a small window opened and said that snap packages would be installed and updated automatically.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I don't recall seeing that after two Linux Lite installs. Perhaps I just missed it? But I did install the 32bit version (3.8 I think).
I think I will install Linux Lite in a VM and 'poke around'. :)
 
Alexzee said:
According to Garret, “Any Snap package you install is completely capable of copying all your private data to wherever it wants with very little difficulty.”
Click to expand...

Just to clarify for The Viewers, that is Matthew Garrett.

Article here

https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux...tu-16-04s-new-snap-format-is-a-security-risk/

Matthew is first lieutenant to Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux Kernel. Matthew and Linus, between them, sign off against all changes made to the Linux Kernel.

Matthew is also the author of Shim, which is used to allow Linux distros to satisfy Windows requirements in order for Linux Distros to run alongside Windows.

Bear in mind, though, that that ZDNet article was written over 4 years ago.

As @Vrai has said, removing Snap does not break a distro, provided it is done properly.

The snap issue was also covered with regard to installation of Chromium browser here, by none other than yours truly.

https://linux.org/threads/linux-min...tall-chromium-browser-in-a-snap-or-not.29724/

Cheers all and

Avagudweegend

Wizard
 
Vrai said:
Interesting. I don't recall seeing that after two Linux Lite installs. Perhaps I just missed it? But I did install the 32bit version (3.8 I think).
I think I will install Linux Lite in a VM and 'poke around'. :)
Click to expand...
It runs really fast on my friends Toshibia Satellite laptop and it was really easy to install.
 
Kubuntu 20.04.1 LTS. On a clean install, Kubuntu did install snap, but no chromium, because I don't use chromium and it was not anywhere on my computer, including any .config files. I removed snap and it's dependencies via Synaptic.
Today:
Code: 
john@john-Desktop:~/Downloads$ sudo find / -iname snap
[sudo] password for john:
john@john-Desktop:~/Downloads$ sudo find / -iname snapd
john@john-Desktop:~/Downloads$
No snap, no snapd. No snap software at all.

Now are snaps "evil"? Not any more or less than any other software written by the hand of man. I do believe they are inefficient, and a poor implementation of a hardened containerized system. They have no place on my PC.

Your choice is your choice.
 
Nelson Muntz said:

Privacy Notice – Events | Ubuntu and Canonical Legal | Ubuntu

This Privacy Notice tells you about the information collected from you when you participate in the Canonical event.
ubuntu.com ubuntu.com

www.ghacks.net

Ubuntu wants to collect more diagnostic data - gHacks Tech News

Canonical's Will Cooke revealed in an email to the Ubuntu development list that the company plans to collect more diagnostic data from desktop.
www.ghacks.net
Click to expand...
Thanks for the links.
Finally got some time to read them.
 
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