Other Desktop Environments

From Whonix

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Current Situation[edit]

The Downloadable Whonix ™ versions are available with either:

  • Xfce desktop environment; OR
  • CLI text terminal only (no desktop environment).

However, other desktop environments like GNOME, KDE, LXDE and so on can be manually installed.

Risks[edit]

When installing your own desktop environment such as GNOME, you're on your own. If you are going that path, start with Whonix ™ CLI, the text terminal only version of Whonix ™, which comes without a desktop environment installed by default, and install a desktop environment of your choice there. This is much better than starting with Whonix ™ Xfce and then uninstalling Xfce to install another desktop environment.

Other desktop environments install other background services. The Whonix ™ project hasn't researched the security/privacy implications of having these installed. For example, GNOME automatically installs GeoClue. (systemcheck warns if that very package is installed, but still... Other desktop environments also ship a different selection of default applications that have not necessarily been checked for security/privacy. Installing your own desktop environment may result in installing software packages not well hardened or chosen based on security wise.

Future[edit]

Since Whonix ™ is an Open Source / Freedom Software project, Whonix ™ developers are hoping that other developers join the project and maintain other desktop environments. That someone could be you?

See Also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]


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