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As you know , Ubuntu 17.04 has come to end of life. I'm hesitating to upgrade to 17.10. Is it worth it ? I can not afford re installing the Os nor the loss of very sensitive data. Will be any problem with my current 17.04 dektops programs? Thank you.

pLaTnOrm
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If you are not connected to the web; 17.04 is good.

Ubuntu 17.04 has not been patched for Meltdown, Spectre & any patches after 13-Jan-2018 which is not a problem if your machine is not connected to the web, but to protect your data if connected to the web upgrading will provide better security.

The decision is yours, but

  • If that data is important to you - backup!
  • If the data is sensitive and machine is connected to the web - stay updated & backup.
  • If you don't like upgrading - use LTS versions....

however if you're not connected to the web, 17.04 is all good

guiverc
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I agree with guiverc good advice about LTS versions. I went from 14.04 to 16.04 and have 18.04 on my to-do list next year.

There is another option to consider if you are on 17.04 and are reluctant to upgrade to 17.10.

  • You can still get protection from Meltdown security hole by manually installing Kernel version 14.14.13 today.
  • You can get protection from Spectre security hole by manually installing Kernel version 14.14.14 in a day or two when Ubuntu Kernel Team releases it.
  • Linux Kernel Team released 14.14.14 yesterday and Ubuntu Team is usually a day or two behind.

You can learn more from: How to update kernel to the latest mainline version without any Distro-upgrade?

WinEunuuchs2Unix
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