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!
Bill
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
Hi Bill,
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).
Hi, Michael,
Thanks for that response. I did search through the threads to find where that discussion came up earlier, and it wasn't so detailed. I also did some research online already, so I am not totally shooting in the dark, but it's nice to have an actual human being to talk with about what these words actually mean.
At the moment, I have nothing but time, although I do have to use it wisely. Also I still have my working desktop machine, so that I am not cut off while going through the installation and learning process on Qubes/Whonix. I figure, hey, it's now or never. I had already got some extra flash drives, and also found some micro SD cards for super cheap (for my music collection, to put on my phone, and for portability of some data). Seriously, 256 GB of micro SD was the cheapest storage I could get; cheaper than flash drives with half or a third of that capacity.
Since I will making a few trips with this machine, new risks and concerns arise. I am not so much worried about the MIBs breaking in and seizing my stuff (unless they are having a really slow day); but I do want to take care about securing my data for when I am "out there" on a train or plane, so that if something gets stolen or whatever, I don't lose my data along with my machine.
One thing I neglected to ask: I am inexperienced with UEFI installations. When this first started to be implemented, a friend of mine bricked her laptop by trying to install Linux on a new machine. I had not heard about UEFI at that time, so I couldn't even give some warning.
Since then, however, I've been building my own UEFI-free machines out of parts, but this here new machine I don't want to eff up with UEFI. My reading tells me that,Debian, since Buster (and maybe Devuan?), have adapted to these changes, that it's no longer a danger. But like I said, I don't want to end up with a brick; I know I could find somebody to restore it, but there's another big pain in the seat of my behind.
Also, I was thinking of "upgrading" the machine, before installation, by replacing the factory-issued SSD with something much bigger; say, a 500 GB or 1 TB (because at present it only has a 128 GB SSD). I am voiding the warranty, technically, merely by unscrewing it and taking out the SSD, but then I can make an iso of the Windoze installation, just in case anything goes horribly wrong. But I was wondering, will this work?
I couldn't find any help online by research, probably because no other fools have thought to ask such a question before now. I also came across somebody who suggested installing Qubes to a flash drive, then using it to boot any machine. I've done that before with Devuan, created a working portable version of my machine, which can stay in my pocket until I really need to use it.
If I do this, I am hoping that I will create what is essentially a no-OS laptop, on which I can install Linux from scratch, without all those extra calories.
My private email, by the way:
doctor<underscore>contendo<at>zoho<dot>com (hoping to elude our pesky spammers) I forgot to include it earlier.
Sorry for the OT post, but I hope that others may benefit from the discussion.
Bill
To Michael or whoever else is interested.
chapter 1 - The Adventure Begins
So the most curious thing ... to me, anyway ...
I upgraded the hard drive in my laptop, that went fine, then booted up the Qubes installation iso. After a bit of futzing round with it, I got it to install more or less like a would do for a Debian or Devuan system.
Somehow or other, wifi is disabled. I am not sure if I did that, in trying to keep my machine from connecting automatically. I hate that kind of thing, machines that try to do my thinking for me. If there is a way to get the wifi going without either wifi or an ethernet connection, please holler!
I considered abandoning Qubes until I had studied more about the wifi problem. So I considered returning to Debian/Devuan, intending to return to Qubes later. Except, here is that curious thing. When I tried to install both Debian and Devuan, my screen goes crazy. I get weird psychedelic lines across the screen, like it can't display the plain Debian/Devuan expert installation shell.
We have wireless internet here. There is nowhere for me to plug into ethernet for a direct connection. So, I have got this far. Qubes looks nice, seems to run well, except for this snag. It will be nice to get out of this xfce desktop and into TDE again.
1. How do I get connected to the Internet? so that I can proceed to the next phase. I've already tried iwconfig and ifconfig and ifup and ifdown and all that. 2. Also, the xfce file manager, caja, is there, but I cannot get it to start up. Do I need to create new Qubes in order to do these things?
Please feel free to take this over to my private email: doctor<underscore>contendo<at>zoho<dot>com
Thanks for any help or suggestions!
Bill
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Michael -
William Morder