Issue How do i remove everything that node.js installed?

[Linulex]

Server operating system version

Almalinux 8.9

Plesk version and microupdate number

Version 18.0.57 Update #3

I saw to late that node.js was installed and now i want to remove it back from our servers. But simply removing the extension isn't enough. There is a lot of unwanted stuff left behind.
I have removed the extension and blacklisted it in panel.ini, but i want to clean up everything it left behind.

I have identified these packages so far:

mod_passenger 6.0.18-2.redhat.8+p18.0.58.0+t231120.0820
passenger 6.0.18-2.redhat.8+p18.0.58.0+t231120.0820
passenger-devel 6.0.18-2.redhat.8+p18.0.58.0+t231120.0820
passenger-native-libs 6.0.18-2.redhat.8+p18.0.58.0+t231120.0820

and the map

/opt/plesk/node/

Are there any other rpm packages and/or maps i must delete to remove everything node.js installed?

Is there a list somewhere of what the extension installed?

I have examined /var/log/plesk/install/autoinstaller3.log but there is so much packages from the whole 18.0.57 install that i have no idea what are from node.js and what not. I don't want to break plesk by removing to many.

Regards and thanks in advance
Jan

 

[salvis]

Indeed, why are unwanted extensions forcibly deployed by updates?

Best,
Hans

 

[Peter Debik]

Maybe you want to vote to change the behavior in future Plesk versions?

Block new extensions to be installed during Plesk Upgrades

Add the possibility of switching off any new default extension to be installed automatically during the Plesk Upgrade process without the need of blacklist this explicitly one by one but to block all new extensions installations entirely.

plesk.uservoice.com

 

[salvis]

Yes, thank you, Peter!

Laravel Toolkit was also added behind our backs, and I spent/wasted 5 minutes trying to figure out what it would do, without success.

Installing bloatware is the opposite of healthy server maintenance!

 

[Linulex]

Maybe you want to vote to change the behavior in future Plesk versions?

Block new extensions to be installed during Plesk Upgrades

Add the possibility of switching off any new default extension to be installed automatically during the Plesk Upgrade process without the need of blacklist this explicitly one by one but to block all new extensions installations entirely.

plesk.uservoice.com

Isn't this the world upside down ???

We (paying customers) should vote (beg) to have a supplier (you) not install a heap of unwanted software on our systems?

It is good that node.js extension exists, but you should never ever install it when people don't want it. The person at Plesk that thought this was a good idea should be sent on a security course: NEVER EVER install install unused software on a production server! I am sorry this sounds hard, but that is a basic security principal: everything that is not on a server can't be hacked.

We host more then ten thousand websites and in all the 23 years we do hosting there is 1 (one) client that ever asked about node.js. Not to actually use it, but he "wanted to see what it was". So i can say from experience that it is not very well known or widely used. Ruby is ever asked for by 0 (zero) clients.

And if you install something, at least remove everything it installed back from the server when a user removes it. I had to figure out for myself what was installed: apart from the above packages there are also a bunch of ruby packages.

Regards
Jan

 

[salvis]

I used to trust Plesk and enabled
Automatically install Plesk updates (Recommended) and even
Automatically install updates for third-party components shipped by Plesk.

It's only by chance that I found out that the bloatware had been forced onto my servers.

The trust in Plesk has been betrayed.

 

[Maarten]

A word of advice (based on years of experience with Plesk):
- Don't enable automatic updates for Plesk and the extensions.
- Plesk updates are released every 5 or 6 weeks on a Tuesday.
- When a major Plesk update (as in 18.0.58, 18.0.59, 18.0.60) is released, wait at least 4 weeks.
- After 4 weeks, check the logs for important features/updates and make changes to the panel.ini if necessary.
- If all is well, apply the Plesk update yourself. If you have a VPS, create a snapshot before you apply the update.

Do the same for the extensions:
- Check the log off each extension that has updates.
- Apply the updates yourself.

 

[salvis]

Thank you, Maarten — disabled...

How do we know the exact name to use in panel.ini?

 

[Maarten]

Thank you, Maarten — disabled...

How do we know the exact name to use in panel.ini?

The names of the extensions are usually specified in the changelog: