Privacy

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Why Ubuntu is calling Canonical? (feddit.nl)

submitted 3 months ago by skaarl@feddit.nl to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

When I connect to a VPN my Ubuntu laptop calls to an ip address BEFORE CONNECTING and the whois is:

inetnum:        185.125.188.0 - 185.125.191.255
netname:        UK-CANONICAL-20151111
country:        GB
...
organisation:   ORG-CGL14-RIPE
org-name:       Canonical Group Limited
country:        GB
org-type:       LIR
address:        5 New Street Square
address:        EC4A 3TW
address:        London
address:        UNITED KINGDOM

What is this and why?? Why does Ubuntu check in to Canonical HQ when I connect to internet??

all 13 comments

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[–] ShellMonkey@lemmy.socdojo.com 29 points 3 months ago (1 children)

My guess would be an online connectivity check. Most systems try and reach some domain to say if they have network or not. Would be a logical place for them to try.

[–] 0xtero@beehaw.org 1 points 2 months ago

Or NTP sync

[–] Tundra@lemmy.ml 22 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Canonical is the company that create Ubuntu

https://canonical.com/

[–] Cadende@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

It may be the basic ubuntu telemetry (relatively non-invasive, but still a concern for the privacy-minded) sent by this tool unless you opted out at install:

https://github.com/ubuntu/ubuntu-report

from that page:

So it would not surprise me if it was scheduled to send, failed, and then re-triggered upon activation of a new network connection (the VPN).

Edit: Or even more likely, it is a connection from networkmanager to connectivity-check.ubuntu.com

https://ubuntu.com/core/docs/networkmanager/snap-configuration/connectivity-check

[–] drspod@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 months ago

tcpdump that shit

[–] Dran_Arcana@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

It's almost certainly related to cloud-init, (the canonical tool for handling deployment automation) or Ubuntu pro (extra long support for backporting security packages to older distros, plus some conveniences). They're pre installed as a convenience to paid users of those services, that's the (IMHO, quite reasonable) model they use to fund the distro. I would expect that some or all of that traffic would disappear if you disable/remove those two services.

https://cloud-init.io/

https://ubuntu.com/pro

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 3 points 3 months ago

What exactly is the connection?

[–] golden_zealot@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 months ago

Sniff the packets and see if you can determine what the data is.

[–] 0xtero@beehaw.org 2 points 3 months ago

DNS?