Can't find newly installed software, not in "All Apps."

[runbux]

I can install new software from the Package manager. No problem there. It works fine.

Once Packages are installed (or so the package manager says,) the package names are NOT listed in the "All Applications" menu, they do not start when I type the package name into a terminal window. I search the filesystem, to the best of my meager ability, but it's too confusing. The only thing I have found is a mint icon in the Downloads folder that offers to upgrade the lost application, which seems worthless. This same series of events has happend several times with dfferent packages.

Immedately, I click "Completely Remove Package." It is sucessfully removed but there seems to be files remaining from the removed package that can't be excluded from the "Backup Tool." Which greatly increases backup size and length of time to complete.

Results: Net Loss. I'm worse off than when I began.

Where do the installed packages go, and why can't they be run?

[vincent]

It depends on what those installed packages actually are. Many of the packages in Synaptic Package Manager are lib packages (everything that starts with "lib", basically); those mainly serve as dependencies and are required for certain other programs to work properly, essentially. A lot of those packages are terminal-based programs, programs that are designed to work without a GUI. These command-line based programs will not show up in mintMenu since they don't have a GUI, and therefore must be called and run in a Terminal instead.

Completely removing a package/"sudo apt-get purge package_name" will remove the package and all its config and documentation files, basically anything it has put in /usr, /lib, /etc, and /opt. Purging a program will not delete files that the program has produced, i.e. if you install OpenOffice.org and decide you don't want it and want a lightweight Office suite instead, say Gnome Office, the documents and reports you've created with OOo will not suddenly disappear from your Home directory (that would be bad, imagine if you lost the essay you were working on for the past week or something ), and neither will your personal OOo profile be deleted (/home/<user>/.openoffice.org; it's a hidden folder).

[runbux]

Thanks Vincent, I'll try that.

Follow up question to the forum.

So I tried to use a "text based" cd ripper called crip. It installed fine and I started it in the terminal, the text based questions were straight forward and seemed to start ripping the cd.

Now, when I try to open or delete the file which was saved in "root," Mint says I dont have "permission." How do I delete this file automatically saved into "root" by crip? Isn't this the kind of thing forum members have been trying to tell me could NEVER happen in Linux?

I am a moderately intelligent man, but all this stuff that Linux puts in my way and doesn't work as described is REALLY confusing and frustrating. This time it's also scary.

If Linux is so good at preventing attacks, why was my root directly accessed by crip without MY permission? Is my system compromised? It sure seems strange that Linux will allow applications to access directories that I can't even access myself.

[gordon.cooke]

@runbux- in the future open a new thread, this is a different topic from t first question. It makes it easier for others with a similar problem to find the answer. Please repost in a new thread if you want further answer

Now, as for you question. Would need more info to answer appropriately (see above). How did you run crip? If you used 'sudo crip' then it thought you were root and put the files in your directory (ie /root). Looking at the README file for crip it says that you should navigate to the folder you want the files to go into and then run crip from there, so I assume you must have been in the root folder when you executed crip. So essentially you did give it permission to put files in root.

Im not totally familiar with crip, it is possible for programs to have permissions associated with them (where the program has admin permissions even if the user does not). Id guess unlikely, but maybe it needs it for accessing the cd drive? I really have no idea. But if this is the case, it would allow the behavior and was introduced when you installed the software. You had to give permission to install via the software manager, so you also gave permission for the software to behave however it does.

You can access the root folder yourself, but you need to elevate yourself by entering you password. Try using sudo in front of you open, copy and delete commands. Alternately- you could manipulate the files via the gui instead of the command line. Open the menu, open Computer, then right click on Filesystem and select 'Open as Administrator' (so you'll be able to delete and such)

All in all none of this would seem to have any indications of your system being compromised. Unless of course you didnt ever install crip and it just appeared one day.

[vincent]

gordon.cooke explained it pretty well, but I just want to add a further word of warning. Do NOT run a program as root if you do not understand what it will do, or if you do not trust it. If you give a program elevated (root) privileges to do its task (which is required of certain programs...say, mintUpdate), you must realise that the moment you give it root privileges, it has the privileges to do utterly anything with your system (root = admin, after all). That's where the concept of "least user access" comes in, and why it is so important on Unix and Unix-like systems (including Linux).