Best/safest way of installing Chrome -- without messing up repo or Plasma settings?

[ThorstenNY]

What?s the current recommended way of installing (Google) Chrome?

Opening google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb (downloaded from Google) in Discover or the package installer gives a missing dependencies messages.

Trying a manual process that recommended

wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

as the first step gave

Warning: apt-key is deprecated. Manage keyring files in trusted.gpg.d instead (see apt-key(8)).
gpg: no valid OpenPGP data found.

With older Kubuntu releases, installing Chrome or other 3rd-party Gnome-targeting applications sometimes messed up Plasma settings for GTK applications, so I?m looking for a confirmed safe way that won?t do that.

I very happily use Firefox for virtually all my web browsing needs (its standards compliance is much better in almost all aspects), but wouldn?t mind having Chrome for testing. (Also, my kid wants the changeable Google Meets background, which Firefox apparently doesn?t support.)

Thanks!

[TWPonKubuntu]

YMMV BUT, I never use anything from Google if I can avoid it. It's a privacy and security issue which Google fails, miserably.

Yes, I agree that some websites are tied to Google scripting by design. I've not found any such website which I absolutely must view, so I just say 'thanks but no thanks' and close the tab. I also have script blocking set to refuse Google scripts (NoScript).

It's up to you, but take this as a strong advisory against using anything Google.

Your kids may complain, but they need to be guided about the dangers of using the 'net. Don't expect their schools to give that guidance... In fact, public/private schools are sources of poor, bad and even misguided information about online security and privacy and YOU have little or no input about what they are teaching your kids.

Remember that it's a jungle out there and you are the first line of defense in your computer firewalls (plural). Same goes for your kids.

No, Life Is Not Fair.

[oshunluvr]

I have Chrome installed here without problem. I don't really use it, preferring Brave these days.

What depends are missing? Your key ring entry looks malformed to me:

sudo apt-key --keyring <insert gpg location here> add -

but maybe that's because I'm not that familiar with wget usage in that manner.

[ThorstenNY]

Somehow the code line ("wget ...") got screwed up when I originally posted it here. (I fixed it above, sorry.)

The error occurs regardless.

[oshunluvr]

I'm confused: If you downloaded a deb package, you don't need a GPG key. AFAIK that's only needed if you add a PPA. So which are you attempting?

If you just want to install the deb, just double-click on it in dolphin. If you have gdebi installed, it will open it and check depends and install if it's OK.

If you are trying to add a repository you didn;t need to download the deb package. https://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/google_chrome

[oshunluvr]

The "official" way to add the ppa:

wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list'
sudo apt update
sudo apt install google-chrome-stable

[ThorstenNY]

If you downloaded a deb package, you don't need a GPG key.

Obviously. I had first tried one method, then the other. Both failed. appeared to fail, but I just now realized that apt-key only gave a WARNING message. So the manual process seems to work after all. :facepalm:

[claydoh]

The key is borked, or has been changed. I think this happens every so often, google changes its key or something, usually iirc the key is normally included in the OS or the external keyservers have the info. But the new one is not there.
At least I think it is the reason for this. Could be Discover's fault.


Two options to remedy:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Kubuntu/com...hen_trying_to/

wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google.list'

sudo apt update

sudo apt install google-chrome-stable

or

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gdebi

open gdebi -> navigate to .deb file and install

[claydoh]

or of course:

sudo dpkg -i  google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

I think it may be Discover, possibly, at least the version used here. No issues installing the deb in Neon, which is using 20.04 in terms of apt, etc. but a newer version of KDE Applications(Discover)

[ThorstenNY]

Two options to remedy:

wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google.list'

sudo apt update

sudo apt install google-chrome-stable

Right, so that's the one I tried and which ended up working, albeit with a warning message.

More importantly, this hasn't affected any of my other settings, GTK or otherwise. I also installed Chromium from the standard repo, and all three browsers (incl. Firefox) appear to coexist just fine. So it's all good. Thanks again.

[woodsmoke]

Hi,
I do not like Chrome( tm ) and do not use Chrome (tm) . Except...

That the college whereat I teach is now ..."very kindly suggesting" ...that we spend hours a week viewing "preachy" presentations to "enhance" us and they all LOUDLY SHOUT that they absolutely cannot be viewed properly except on Chrome..

And the unstated threat is that if we do not view their presentations that we may not have contracts next year...

So, ok. I went to the Chrome website and just downloaded it.

The website decided that I was running "a Linux" and provided a dropdown menu for "many" distros and file systems and I chose Ubuntu .deb and the usual window popped about whether I wanted to install i right then and there using ARC or download and install.

I chose the latter. It worked, very simply.

Every once in a while the OS pops a notification that there is an update, I do that and it runs fine.

But, guess what... Just like i KNEW would happen... I can run their presentations using Firefox and it works just fine.

just a comment about where I got mine.

woodsmoke

[TWPonKubuntu]

Woodsmoke, sounds like the PTB in academia have been bought by Google/Chrome. This would not surprise me in the least...

I'm so glad I got out of the public Ed. system...

[jglen490]

"Bought"? That's a bit harsh.

There's nothing more wrong with Chrome than any other browser, and in fact there are times when Chrome presents better than some other browsers.

[TWPonKubuntu]

Not nearly harsh enough. The company behind Chrome, Google, is the problem. They should NOT be trusted to protect the privacy and security of their users. That includes users of their Chrome browser. Users of Google/Chrome ARE the product.

I'm an advocate of personal privacy. In particular and in this instance, online privacy. YMMV, but it is your choice... for now.

[revmacian]

Not nearly harsh enough. The company behind Chrome, Google, is the problem. They should NOT be trusted to protect the privacy and security of their users. That includes users of their Chrome browser. Users of Google/Chrome ARE the product.

I'm an advocate of personal privacy. In particular and in this instance, online privacy. YMMV, but it is your choice... for now.

I don't believe these forums exist to force our beliefs/opinions/views on others. If you have nothing productive to add to the conversation, then perhaps you should bow out. Criticism, fear and doubt are NOT productive.