The following process works with all WordPress versions after version 3.7. There are several other options for disabling automatic background updates for WordPress including but not limited to: utilizing Jetpack with WordPress.com and utilizing WordPress plugins.
Turning off Automatic Background Updates in this fashion means that WordPress will not automatically update whenever a new major or minor release is available. To reverse the process visit the tutorial on: Enabling Automatic Background Updates for WordPress Core Disabling Automatic Background Updates via wp-config.php
For a refresher on editing files with vim see: New User Tutorial: Overview of the Vim Text Editor
Navigate to your root WordPress directory (in this case: /home/example/public_html) and edit the wp-config.php file:
vim wp-config.php
or
vim /home/example/public_html/wp-config.php
Add the following to the file:
/* Disable Automatic Background Updates for WordPress Core */
define( ‘WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE’, false );
In this case, I added the above code just above:
/* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */
Then exit and save the file with the command :wq .