Updates advice?

[tpprynn]

Although I'm not a complete novice at Linux use I do often see threads about updates and kernel updates causing issues. I'm wondering about how common or even adviseable it might be if someone has a working and satisfactory or better system, to nly download security updates, in other words to untick the other box. Is there much to be lost there? Sort of like a more extreme version of what Linux Mint does with Ubuntu updates and the kernel.

I've also wondered about live usb use too - I don't think I've ever seen it stressed that having Fedora or another distro on a stick is just a short term thing to try it out, yet a live usb stick will be without updates. I'm possibly being a bit naive - I turn a firewall on if it's off by default and tend to huff and puff about having to do any updates at all. I'm not a passive consumer using a computer like people use TV and food, I use a computer for creative things, but I've shirked learning too much about Linux security as it quickly seems too technical. The more fool me? Or can I relax?

Thanks for any clarification and views.

[DBelton]

1: You can update a live USB install of Fedora if you have persistent storage enabled.

2: I have very rarely had an update to completely break my system. IF a kernel update has problem, yum defaults to keeping 3 kernels installed, so you can just boot to the previous kernel. Most of the issues I have seen with kernel updates were when people had kernel modules that they had built (Like nvidia, etc..), and didn't realise that kernel modules have to be rebuilt every time you update the kernel.

Most of the time, if a package gets updated and has a problem, the problem package can be removed. However, if you still feel a little leery about the updates, you can wait on the updates and watch to see if people have problems before you update them on your system. It makes the updates more of a manual process, and you would have to pick and choose the updates you want, but it's an option.