Whonix ™ for macOS: Download and Installation
From Whonix
Whonix ™ 
for Apple macOS 
inside VirtualBox 
.
1. Install VirtualBox
Download VirtualBox by clicking on 'OS X hosts' and when prompted decide to either open or save the Apple disk image file (e.g. VirtualBox-5.2.22-126460-OSX.dmg). After it mounts, install it by double-clicking on the blue VirtualBox logo.
2. Download Whonix ™ XFCE for macOS
FREE
By downloading, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to our Terms of Service and License Agreement.
This release introduces unified ova downloads. Rather than separate Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™ ova downloads, there is now only a single Whonix ova which includes both Whonix virtual machines (VMs), Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™. [1] [2] [3]
Version: 15.0.0.3.3
| Whonix |
Anonymous Download Possible [4] |
Download Security without Verification |
Download Security with Verification | |
 |
Yes [4] | Medium | High [5] | |
|
OpenPGP Signature ( sha512 , sig ) |
Yes [4] | - | - |
|
Verify images using this Signing Key | Yes [4] | - | |
Verify the Whonix ™ Images
It is important to check the integrity of the downloaded virtual machine images to ensure that neither a man-in-the-middle attack or file corruption occurred (see Download Security).
Warning:
Do not continue if verification fails! This risks using infected or erroneous files! The whole point of verification is to confirm file integrity.
Whonix virtual machine images are cryptographically signed by Whonix developer Patrick Schleizer using OpenPGP. [6]
If you know how to use an OpenPGP key, download the Whonix Signing Key and the Whonix signatures straight away.
Otherwise, use the following instructions:
3. Import Whonix ™ into VirtualBox
For Whonix ™ VirtualBox import instructions, please press on expand on the right.
Start VirtualBox
Click on Filethen choose Import Appliance...
Navigate and select the Whonix ™ image and press next
Do NOT change anything! Just click on Import
Then press Agree
Wait until Whonix-Gateway.ova has been imported
Repeat the import step for Whonix-Workstation.ova
Miscellaneous
Video Tutorials are also available.
If you still need help, please check the Support page.
After the Whonix ™ .ova files are imported they can be removed. VirtualBox will make a new directory with the live virtual machines Whonix-Gateway.vbox and Whonix-Workstation.vbox, and they are contained in directories of the same name. By default this is /Users/(yourusername)/VirtualBox VMs
4. Start Whonix
Starting Whonix ™ is simple. Start VirtualBox, and then double-click on Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™.
Start both Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™
5. VirtualBox Screen Resolution Bug
If the display presents like the image on the right-hand side, then you are affected by a screen resolution bug which only occurs in the XFCE version of Whonix in VirtualBox. To correct the resolution, apply the following workaround.
- Maximize the window.
VirtualBox VM Windows→View→Virtual Screen 1→Choose any, resize to another resolutionVirtualBox VM Windows→View→Auto-resize Guest Display
First time user?
Whonix default username: user
Whonix default password: changeme
Warning:
- If you do not know what metadata or a man-in-the-middle attack is.
- If you think nobody can eavesdrop on your communications because you are using Tor.
- If you have no idea how Whonix works.
Then read the Design and Goals, Whonix ™ and Tor Limitations and Tips on Remaining Anonymous pages to decide whether Whonix is the right tool for you based on its limitations.
Miscellaneous macOS Advice
If the same VMs will be used on multiple systems like Boot Camp or even two different physical machines, then they can be moved to a shared or external hard drive:
- Copy the VirtualBox VMs folder mentioned earlier to the new location.
- Select the VMs you moved and then click remove.
- When prompted, select "Delete files".
- Re-add the VMs from their new location by selecting
Machine=>Add, then navigating to the new folder.
exFAT is the easiest format for cross platform file sharing with Windows and Linux. exFAT is an option built into Apple's "Disk Utility.app" when initializing or reformatting a storage device. Select exFAT from the drop down menu that appears when you click "Erase". The default option is HFS+ on 10.13 "High Sierra" and earlier and APFS on 10.14 "Mojave".
Note that with its POSIX kernel and BSD roots, many issues that arise on macOS hosts can be addressed using strategies similar to other Unix-like OSes.
Virtualization on non-Apple Hardware
Virtualization on osx86 aka "Hackintosh" machines with unmodified "vanilla" kernels works well, but some additional BIOS/UEFI settings need to be confirmed to ensure system stability. As of November 2018 Intel VT-d is not recommended, although some systems may function if it is enabled. Later BIOS revisions from American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) seem to have improved support compared to earlier releases.
AMD-Vi is not supported, since kernel modifications violating Apple Inc.'s End User License Agreement (EULA) are required to run macOS on platforms other than Intel. It is also recommended to disable the Integrated Graphics Processing Unit (IGPU) if PCIe graphics are in use, as well as disabling any SuperIO/Serial Port options if listed in BIOS. If virtualization problems related to unsupported architectures or features are encountered, please first consult appropriate community forums and wikis available on the Internet.
See Also
- ↑ https://forums.whonix.org/t/whonix-virtualbox-14-0-1-4-4-unified-ova-downloads-point-release/6996
- ↑ https://forums.whonix.org/t/whonix-kvm-14-0-1-4-4-unified-tar-gz-download-point-release/7061
- ↑ This change reduces the number of steps users are required to apply (one download instead of two). No functionality was lost. This improves usability, makes Whonix downloads more standardized compared to other software, and simplifies Whonix infrastructure maintenance work. The Whonix split VM design (separate Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™) remains unmodified.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 By using the Tor Browser Bundle (TBB). For an introduction, see Tor Browser. See also Hide Tor and Whonix from your ISP.
- ↑ It does not matter if the bulk download is done over an insecure channel if OpenPGP verification is used at the end.
- ↑ OpenPGP is a standard for data encryption that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication through the use of keys owned by its users.
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Footnotes