Is it safe to manually download a package from this site and then install the .deb file using apt? Is there anything more secure about using apt to download the package?
Is it safe to manually download a package from this site and then install the .deb file using apt? Is there anything more secure about using apt to download the package?
it is, but what’s the point? normally this is used for installing .debs provided by third parties that aren’t on Debian’s repos. but using it this way is just overcomplicating the installation.
Installing stuff on a system without a network connection?
you’re downloading the .deb anyway, so you need a network connection unless you’re downloading the packages in a difderent machine and then transferring them to the target.
but OP didn’t mention two machines and it is just too rare and specific to be assumed.
I don’t think it’s as rare as you think. There are machines that companies will run without an internet connection for years at a time for security reasons. But then one day they need to update some specific program.
No, I don’t think that’s OPs situation, I was just responding to your question about when that ever made sense to do.
Occasionally I’ll have to manually dl a .deb for network firmware but that is a no-network situation. For OPs case I think he should just stick to apt.
That usually doesn’t work, because you need all the dependencies, too. You can download each of those as .deb as well, if you really have no way of accessing the internet, but it’s certainly no fun.
You can do this instead: https://tadeubento.com/2023/debian-iso-downloads-and-offline-archives/ + https://tadeubento.com/2023/debian-iso-images-as-apt-repositories/ and have it all.
I’ve done it before where a newer version of a program is available that hasn’t been backported, just need to watch the dependencys. Sometimes it works out fine, othertimes you need a second package or 2 to update, othertimes it’s time to upgrade to the latest bleeding edge release of the OS