When you log into an Ubuntu Server via SSH, you are greeted by a “Message of the Day” (MOTD). This message typically displays useful system information such as CPU load, memory usage, and available package updates. However, Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) also includes a dynamic “news” module in the MOTD that fetches promotional text, links to webinars, or blog posts directly from Ubuntu’s servers.
For system administrators managing professional environments, these news snippets are often seen as unnecessary clutter, distracting advertisements, or even a minor security/privacy concern (since the server must actively reach out to motd.ubuntu.com every time a user logs in).
Fortunately, you can completely disable the news feed while keeping the rest of the useful system information intact.
How to Disable Ubuntu MOTD News
The configuration for the MOTD news module is controlled by a simple text file located in the /etc/default/ directory.
- Connect to your Ubuntu server via SSH and open your terminal.
- Open the configuration file using a text editor like nano (you will need sudo privileges):
sudo nano /etc/default/motd-news
- Look for the line that says
ENABLED=1. - Change the
1to a0, so the line reads:
ENABLED=0
- Save the file and exit the text editor (in nano, press
Ctrl+O,Enter, thenCtrl+X).
How to Apply the Changes Immediately
While the change will take effect automatically the next time the server’s background timer runs, you might still see a cached news message if you log out and log back in right away. To clear the cache immediately, you need to delete the temporary news file and restart the MOTD service.
Run the following two commands:
sudo rm /var/cache/motd-news
sudo systemctl restart motd-news.service
Now, log out of your SSH session and log back in. The promotional text and blog links will be completely gone, leaving you with a clean, professional login screen that only displays your local system metrics.