Boot Clock Randomization
From Whonix
Introduction[edit]
The TimeSync page notes:
- Using Boot Clock Randomization, i.e. after boot, the clock is set randomly between 0 and 180 seconds into the past or future. This is useful to enforce the design goal, that the host clock and Whonix-Workstation ™ clock should always slightly differ. It is also useful to obfuscate the clock when sdwdate itself is running, because naturally at this time, sdwdate hasn't finished.
- sdwdate runs after booting.
By randomly moving the system clock a few seconds (and nanseconds) in the past or future during boot, this enforces the design goal of a slightly different host clock and Gateway/Workstation clock, even before secure timesync has succeeded. This prevents time-based fingerprinting and linkability issues, thereby improving anonymity and privacy. [1]
For technical discussion on the Boot Clock Randomization design, see here [archive]. [2]
Log Inspection[edit]
sudo journalctl -b --no-pager -u bootclockrandomization
Disable[edit]
Disabling of Boot Clock Randomization is discouraged because it is not usually required. However, it may be useful for offline (vault) VMs.
Run the following command. Note:
- Qubes-Whonix: Use a StandaloneVM or a separate TemplateVM.
- Non-Qubes-Whonix: No extra steps are required.
sudo systemctl mask bootclockrandomization
Boot Clock Randomization will no longer occur after reboot.
See Also[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ https://github.com/Whonix/bootclockrandomization [archive]
- ↑ Notably, one recent change is the 0-5 second time window is no longer excluded in the process as it was found to aid fingerprinting.
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