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In the last few days, my system has started popping up an Ubuntu default web-browser and making a request to nmcheck.gnome.org website and immediately shutting off.

Since this happened, I cannot run system updates.

Also, I am a php developer and cannot run composer install or composer update

sudo apt update

software update

How can I find this script and delete it forever?

Nonny Moose
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Rushabh Joshi
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  • Chech which plugin's / add-on's there are installed in your browser(s). – Soren A Aug 31 '18 at 10:41
  • I am using Firefox and I already disabled each extension but it is not opening Firefox it is using Ubuntu default browser – Rushabh Joshi Aug 31 '18 at 10:43
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    What leads you to believe that "Ubuntu software update blocked my IP"? Please answer questions by editing your original question. Comments are not intended for conversation. – user535733 Aug 31 '18 at 13:41
  • Most Linux distributions come with Firefox installed and set as the default browser. – NickT Aug 31 '18 at 13:49
  • sudo lsof -i will show internet connections. Adding namechk.com to your /etc/hosts with an IP of 127.0.0.1 will prevent the connection. – waltinator Aug 31 '18 at 13:50
  • suddenly one time this popup browser did not shut and I finally know the url of the request and it is nmcheck.gnome.org, sorry previously I can not see url properly. Thank you – Rushabh Joshi Aug 31 '18 at 19:11
  • Sorry but you mention namechk.com and nmcheck.gnome.org. Which is it? – Rinzwind Aug 31 '18 at 19:13
  • nmcheck.gnome.org for sure previously I did not see the url properly so I search nmcheck in google and it suggested me namechk.com but it is nmcheck.gnome.org for sure – Rushabh Joshi Aug 31 '18 at 19:15
  • Typically, you should use sudo netstat -tulpan to see connection and corresponding process name and PID that make the connection. – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy Aug 31 '18 at 19:23

4 Answers4

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on Ubuntu 20.04 no [Connectivity] line like accepted answer in /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf.

But you can disable the auto connectivity check by:

  1. Go to Settings app
  2. Go to Privacy menu
  3. On Connectivity tab, uncheck Connectivity Checking
Muhammad Dyas Yaskur
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    Actually there is, if you type NetworkManager --print-config you'll see that option, it's just that's inside /etc/NeworkManager/conf.d/20-connectivity.conf. – Emanuele Jun 03 '22 at 12:08
25

nmcheck.gnome.org is not malware. It is the gnome network manager connectivity check (for captive portals/hotspots). Click the link and you will see a single text file with a text in it. It should be "NetworkManager is online".

Check /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf. There probably is a section with this in it:

[Connectivity] 
uri=http://nmcheck.gnome.org/check_network_status.txt
Rinzwind
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nmcheck.gnome.org is a host used by NetworkManager to verify that it has Internet connectivity. gnome.org is owned by the Gnome project. This is not a suspicious domain.

nmcheck.gnome.org hosts a single file; network_status.txt, which indicates that NM is actually connected to the Internet.

In short, nothing to worry over.

Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
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vidarlo
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    but it is alway popup around 5 minutes and this is occurring all of a sudden still I can not update software see image That I have attached – Rushabh Joshi Aug 31 '18 at 19:24
  • any suggestion why software update is not running? – Rushabh Joshi Aug 31 '18 at 19:31
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    I suggest that you ask your actual question, and not what you imagine the problem to be. Make a new question (or edit the current one) about why updates fail. – vidarlo Aug 31 '18 at 19:31
0

This is painful when connecting to public or free hotspots, of course until you "log on" there is no DNS so this always fails.

It can also pop up during modem/router boots or when the wifi NIC has issues.

If it happens at the same time every day then something is going offline or rebooting. Maybe a firmware push check.

mckenzm
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