If you are running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Servers, you may have found over the last week that the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Release is now being offered. That message is a part of the “Message Of The Day” (MOTD) system. If you have a system that will not be updated, below we will outline the steps to suppress the update message.
Like most things Linux, there are always 10 ways to skin a cat. By far the easiest method we have found to disable the message is by simply renaming the /etc/update-motd.d/91-release-upgrade file. This can be done using the code below.
mv /etc/update-motd.d/91-release-upgrade /etc/update-motd.d/91-release-upgrade.bkp
Logout and log back in and the New Release Available message should be gone.