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HowTo: Install the Testers-Only Version of Qubes-Whonix ™

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Introduction[edit]

To install the stable version instead, see HowTo: Install the Stable Version of Qubes-Whonix ™.


FREE

First time user?[edit]

Whonix first time users warning 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.

Installation[edit]

Qubes Version[edit]

Remove Old Versions[edit]

If you are already running any version of Qubes-Whonix ™, it must be uninstalled before a complete (re-)installation is performed. This applies to those who:

Before re-installation, back up any existing data stored in Whonix VMs.

In summary, three options are available (listed in order of preference):

  1. Uninstall Qubes-Whonix ™ and then Install Qubes-Whonix ™; OR
  2. Reinstall the Whonix TemplateVM; OR
  3. Upgrade Whonix 14 to 15

Update dom0[edit]

To launch a dom0 terminal, click the Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") and then open the Terminal Emulator (Xfce Terminal).

Qubes-whonix1.png

Upgrade Qubes dom0. This step is mandatory. [1] 

sudo qubes-dom0-update

Configure salt using Qubes dom0 Community Testing Repository[edit]

Testers only. If you are a tester interested, click on Expand on the right.

The following command will configure Qubes dom0 salt to use qubes-templates-community-testing for downloading Whonix ™. [2] 

sudo qubesctl top.enable qvm.whonix-testing pillar=true

The following steps for enabling qubes-templates-community-testing repository usually should be no longer required. Please report if these steps were necessary for you

If you are a tester interested, click on Expand on the right.

Enable qubes-templates-community-testing repository.

1. View the Qubes Templates .repo [archive] file. 

cat /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo

2. Ensure the file contains [qubes-templates-community-testing].

The following text should be included. 

[qubes-templates-community-testing]
name = Qubes Community Templates repository
#baseurl = https://yum.qubes-os.org/r$releasever/templates-community-testing
metalink = https://yum.qubes-os.org/r$releasever/templates-community-testing/repodata/repomd.xml.metalink
enabled = 0
fastestmirror = 1
gpgcheck = 1
gpgkey = file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-qubes-$releasever-templates-community

3. Fix any missing sections.

If the [qubes-templates-community-testing] section is missing, then the user has probably already modified the file. In this case dnf [3] preserves user changes by saving updates to /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo.rpmnew [4] instead of overwriting the file. Since the .repo.rpmnew file is ignored by qubes-dom0-update, the .repo file must be manually updated.

Either:

  • Manually add the changes from .repo.rpmnew to the .repo file; or
  • Overwrite the .repo file with the .repo.rpmnew file: 
    • sudo cp /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo.rpmnew /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo
    • And then manually add back necessary changes. If the command fails because /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo.rpmnew does not exist, then the user probably has [qubes-templates-community-testing] already.

Adjust Whonix Version Number[edit]

In dom0.

Open file whonix.jinja with root rights. [5] 

sudo nano /srv/formulas/base/virtual-machines-formula/qvm/whonix.jinja

Change 14 to 15.

Save.

Please report if this step was necessary or unnecessary for you!

Download Whonix ™ Templates and Configure sys-whonix and anon-whonix[edit]

Ambox warning pn.svg.png Before you execute the call in this section, keep in mind it can take a long time to execute. It is dependent on your internet connection. The time it will take can range from a few minutes, to twenty or more. It will take longer over Tor. No progress indicator is shown. Do not interrupt the salt process once it has started or this can lead to an unstable system [archive]. [6]

The following qubesctl command [7] will:

  • Download both Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™ TemplateVMs.
  • Configure sys-whonix and anon-whonix safely. [8]

In dom0, run. 

sudo qubesctl state.sls qvm.anon-whonix

For troubleshooting please see the footnotes. [9] [10] [11]

Qubes R4 Only: Optional Whonix ™ DVM Template VM[edit]

In Qubes R4 and above, a whonix-ws-15-dvm DVM Template can optionally be set up as a base for Disposable VMs. [12]

In dom0, run. 

sudo qubesctl state.sls qvm.whonix-ws-dvm

Optional: Updates over Tor[edit]

TemplateVMs[edit]

To force all TemplateVM updates over Tor, [13] use salt in dom0. 

sudo qubesctl state.sls qvm.updates-via-whonix

To undo this setting, modify /etc/qubes-rpc/policy/qubes.UpdatesProxy in dom0. [14] See also Qubes/UpdatesProxy.

dom0[edit]

To force dom0 updates over Tor, set Qubes' dom0 UpdateVM to sys-whonix. [15]

Qube Manager → System → Global Settings → Dom0 UpdateVM: sys-whonix → OK

To revert this change, set Qubes' dom0 UpdateVM to sys-firewall or another preferred VM. [16]

Qubes Manager → System → Global Settings → Dom0 UpdateVM: sys-firewall → OK

Optional: Enable AppArmor[edit]

If you are interested, click on Expand on the right.

The following steps should be completed in dom0 for both whonix-gw-15 and whonix-ws-15 TemplateVMs. [17] After these settings have been applied to the Whonix templates, the sys-whonix (ProxyVM) and anon-whonix (AppVM) will inherit the AppArmor kernel settings.

It is unnecessary to recreate the sys-whonix and anon-whonix TemplateBasedVMs to benefit from the new kernel parameters.[18] It is also important for users to verify AppArmor is active in the sys-whonix and anon-whonix VMs after making these changes.

Whonix-Gateway ™[edit]

1. Open a dom0 terminal.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → System Tools → Xfce Terminal

2. List the current kernel parameters. 

qvm-prefs -g whonix-gw-15 kernelopts

Qubes R4 and later releases will show.

nopat

3. Keep the existing kernel parameters and add 'apparmor=1 security=apparmor'.

For example. 

qvm-prefs -s whonix-gw-15 kernelopts "nopat apparmor=1 security=apparmor"
qvm-prefs -s sys-whonix kernelopts "nopat apparmor=1 security=apparmor"

4. List the current kernel parameters again (hit the up arrow key twice; it is unnecessary to type the command again). 

qvm-prefs -g whonix-gw-15 kernelopts

The output should show AppArmor is part of the new kernel parameters. For example.

nopat apparmor=1 security=apparmor

5. Start the sys-whonix ProxyVM and confirm AppArmor is now active. 

sudo aa-status --enabled ; echo $?

The output should show.

0

Whonix-Workstation ™[edit]

1. Open a dom0 terminal.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → System Tools → Xfce Terminal

2. List the current kernel parameters. 

qvm-prefs -g whonix-ws-15 kernelopts

Qubes R4 and later releases will show.

nopat

3. Keep the existing kernel parameters and add 'apparmor=1 security=apparmor'.

For example. 

qvm-prefs -s whonix-ws-15 kernelopts "nopat apparmor=1 security=apparmor"
qvm-prefs -s anon-whonix kernelopts "nopat apparmor=1 security=apparmor"

4. List the current kernel parameters again (hit the up arrow key twice; it is unnecessary to type the command again). 

qvm-prefs -g whonix-ws-15 kernelopts

The output should show AppArmor is part of the new kernel parameters. For example.

nopat apparmor=1 security=apparmor

5. Start the anon-whonix AppVM and confirm AppArmor is now active. 

sudo aa-status --enabled ; echo $?

The output should show.

0

Update and Launch Applications[edit]

Before starting applications in the Whonix-Workstation ™ AppVM, update both Whonix-Gateway ™ and Whonix-Workstation ™ TemplateVMs.

To launch an application like Tor Browser:

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → Domain: anon-whonix → Tor Browser (AnonDist)

To learn about known bugs affecting this release, see here.

Additional Information[edit]

It is recommended to refer to these additional references:

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Which is invoked by qubes-dom0-update.
  4. ↑ Note the file extension .repo.rpmnew.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ add salt download progress indicator [archive]
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ If an error message appears stating that qubesctl does not exist or the command is not recognized, then it is necessary to enable the testing repository and install salt. 
    sudo qubes-dom0-update --best --allowerasing --enablerepo=qubes-dom0-current-testing qubes-mgmt-salt-dom0-virtual-machines
    Please report if this step was necessary for you!
  10. ↑ Sometimes the Qubes Community Templates repository must also be enabled by editing Qubes dom0 repository definition files.

    In dom0.

    1) Open file /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo with root rights. 

    sudo nano /etc/yum.repos.d/qubes-templates.repo

    2) In section [qubes-templates-community] set 

    enabled = 1

    3) Save.

    Please report if step this was necessary for you!

  11. ↑ If qubesctl still does not work, try shutting down Qubes OS and rebooting the machine. Please report if this step was necessary for you!
  12. ↑ https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-mgmt-salt-dom0-virtual-machines/blob/master/qvm/whonix-ws-15-dvm.sls [archive]
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ https://groups.google.com/forum/?_escaped_fragment_=topic/qubes-users/_jI2uWPPMMA#!topic/qubes-users/_jI2uWPPMMA [archive]
  15. ↑ Or manually set the torified UpdateVM in dom0 terminal. 
    qubes-prefs updatevm sys-whonix
  16. ↑ To revert this change in dom0 terminal, run. 
    qubes-prefs updatevm sys-firewall
  17. ↑ While Debian enabled AppArmor by default since Debian buster, Fedora does not. This matters since Qubes, which is Fedora based, by default uses dom0, not VM kernel. Therefore this is still required even though Whonix 15 is Debian buster based.
  18. ↑ Since Qubes R3.0, TemplateBasedVMs inherit the kernelopts setting of their TemplateVM [archive].

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