10 Dec
2021
10 Dec
'21
2:04 a.m.
On Thursday 09 December 2021 02:27:01 pm William Morder via tde-users wrote:
Sorry for the off-topic post, but I believe it was
Mike, Michael, somebody
here on the list, who recommended I try out Whonix.
I did give it a brief try a few years ago, but don't remember much. Now,
however, I have at last acquired a half-decent machine, 64-bit (Lenovo
Ideapad 3 15.6" laptop), able to do the job. I hope I chose well.
If I recall, one OS runs inside the other in a virtual machine ...?
something like that. Anyway, if anybody can point me in the right
direction, give me a few tips, then I think I'll be good to go. I've
already managed to move through several different types of Linux distros,
so I just need some advice for Whonix beginners.
Already downloaded Qubes and Whonix iso images, in both Buster and Chimaera
versions.
Please feel free to write to my private email, so we don't clutter the list
with my off-topic pursuits. ;-)
Thanks for any help!
Hi Bill,
That was probably me. I'll reply this time to the list to clarify something
for everyone, and if you need any questions answered, like you said, we can
take it private (or use the MX forum as they don’t have users with issues
about OT threads).
Qubes OS, https://www.qubes-os.org/ , gets installed on bare metal. If you’re
considering it, do create a Live USB of it to test out that it and your
hardware work well together. As using Qubes is a radically different work
flow, do expect to sink 10 to 40 hours of learning time into it (probably
preferably on the Live USB).
Whonix, https://www.whonix.org/ , can be installed either through Virtualbox
on an existing distribution or inside Qubes (I believe Qubes default installs
it). Installing Oracle VM Virtualbox is actually harder to install than
Whonix (Whonix having a very clear user install guide).
Virtualbox Installation (Debian derivatives):
Use root, or add sudo to each line. Do pay attention to the prompts, you must
answer ‘yes’ to the Oracle license(s). I can’t remember if installing each
separately is required, but this is my notes for the procedure, which
worked ;).
<install_package_names>
apt-get install virtualbox
apt-get install virtualbox-ext-pack
apt-get install virtualbox-guest-additions-iso
<postinstall>
gpasswd -M $(getent group users | cut -d: -f4) vboxusers
One consideration:
Qubes doesn’t ‘share’ data between VMs very easily. So if you can only use
your printer from a Window VM, it’s problematic getting the print job from a
Linux VM to the Windows VM. This is not a flaw, but a security architecture
decision. Virtualbox allows VMs to have shared folders with the host, so you
don’t run into this issue.
My final thoughts:
If you just want to obfuscate your online presence, then go with
Virtualbox/Whonix. If you have a physical safety issue for your data then
I’d lean towards Qubes.
My 2 cents, HTH, and best,
Michael