The Apport Pop-up Problem
Ubuntu Linux utilizes a background crash-reporting daemon known as “Apport.” Whenever an application freezes, fails to launch, or crashes silently in the background, Apport intercepts the error and immediately throws a large, disruptive pop-up window onto your screen reading “System program problem detected.” It then asks for your permission to send telemetry and crash data back to Canonical’s servers. If you are running experimental software, beta drivers, or a complex development environment, these crashes might happen dozens of times a day, turning the helpful pop-ups into an unbearable annoyance.
How to Disable the Apport Crash Reporter
The most permanent and effective way to silence these errors is to completely disable the Apport background service by editing its core configuration file via the terminal.
1. Open your terminal application.
2. Open the Apport configuration file in the nano text editor with root privileges by typing: sudo nano /etc/default/apport and pressing Enter.
3. Enter your administrator password if prompted.
4. The text file is very short. Look for the very last line, which will read: enabled=1.
5. Delete the “1” and replace it with a “0”, so the line now reads exactly: enabled=0.
6. Press Ctrl + O, then press Enter to save the file.
7. Press Ctrl + X to exit the nano editor.
Stopping the Current Process
Although you have changed the configuration file, the Apport service is still actively running in your current session. You do not need to reboot your computer to stop it. Simply run the following command in your terminal: sudo systemctl stop apport. From this moment forward, Ubuntu will no longer intercept application crashes, and you will never see the “System program problem detected” pop-up again. The system will simply allow failing applications to close quietly.