Of course I tried other mirrors, 3 of them in fact. All reported the same error. I then tried the Debian forums and discovered the blocking problem. That's when I sent the message below. Having never experienced either problem in the past, I thought the problems were related.
While waiting for a response, I tried more mirrors and finally found one that worked. This little incident could sum up my entire career with computers. I routinely encounter the most unlikely of coincidences, confounding straightforward attempts at troubleshooting. I could write a book, but anyone reading it would be encouraged to avoid computers like a plague. -- "The world is a dangerous place to live -- not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it." --Albert Einstein On Tue, Mar 8, 2016, at 12:55, Rick Thomas wrote: > > On Mar 6, 2016, at 11:12 PM, MH <haa...@fastmail.net> wrote: > > > Debian Jessie > > > > Recently ran into a problem with aptitude. I get the following message: > > > > E: The method driver /usr/lib/apt/methods/https could not be found > > > > Since I am not using ANY HTTPS repos, I should not be getting the above > > error. > > Still, after searching the Internet for similar problems I installed the > > apt- > > transport-https package. I got a different error. > > > > I tried to submit a request for help on the Debian forums, but when I tried > > to > > register I received a warning that my ISP had been blocked as a source of > > spamming networks. > > > > I'm guessing the two issues are related, since I can still access > > non-official > > repositories, including Kubuntu repositories (VM) without a problem. While > > I > > can sympathize with a need to fight spam, I don't think blocking access to > > security updates is the best way to go about this. > > > > Since I have only one ISP option (rural Thailand), I'm concerned. I've > > brought > > the matter to the attention of my ISP, but given the Debian mirrors and > > forums > > are the only sites I can find (out of about 100 regularly visited) that are > > blocking my ISP, it's going to be a tough sell to get them to do anything. > > I'm > > sure few if any of their other users are complaining. > > > > Please advise. I'd hate to have to abandon Debian after nearly 10 years of > > daily use just to keep my computers up to date. > > > > -- > > "The world is a dangerous place to live -- not because of the people who are > > evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it." > > > > --Albert Einstein > > There are lots of Debian repo mirrors. If one is blocking you, maybe try > another? > > Hoping that helps... > Rick
