It is absolutely crucial to subscribe to and read the latest Whonix ™ news category 'important-news' to stay in touch with ongoing developments. This way users benefit from notifications concerning important security advisories, potential upgrade issues and improved releases which address identified issues, like those affecting the updater or other core elements.

Whonix ™ News[edit]

For user convenience, there are multiple avenues for receiving news. Choose the most suitable option below.

Whonix ™ Important News Forum Tag ^[archive] (v3 onion ^[archive]) - Only critical information is reported. This includes security advisories specific to Whonix ™ and new stable Whonix ™ versions. It is best suited for people with very limited time and interest in Whonix ™ development and news.
Whonix ™ News Forums ^[archive] (v3 onion ^[archive]) - This includes everything including important news and has a relaxed posting policy. Testers-only and developers Whonix ™ versions are announced here, along with the publishing of news about updated articles, new features, future features, development, calls for testing, general project ideas and so on.
Whonix ™ Telegram News Channel: Whonix ™ website whonix.org server status updates as well as same as above.
Whonix ™ Newsletter ^[archive] - Has not been used yet. Will be used very infrequently for major news only.
Other choices. ^[1]

If time-constrained, users should at least read the Whonix ™ Important News Forum Tag. Follow the Whonix ™ News Forums if detailed anonymity / privacy / security-related issues are of interest, or to follow recent Whonix ™ developments.

Reason[edit]

In the future a theoretical situation might arise that requires users to be notified about a critical security vulnerability, for example: "A severe vulnerability in APT is being actively exploited by Tor exit relays against random users. Stop using APT until there is a solution." Therefore, a reliable mechanism is needed to quickly notify as many users as possible.

Debian Security Announcements[edit]

Since Whonix ™ is based on Debian, users should consider subscribing to the Debian security announcement mailing list ^[archive] to stay informed about the latest security advisories. See also chapter Debian Security Announcements.

Operating System Updates[edit]

As strongly recommended in the Security Guide, it is necessary to regularly check for operating system updates on the host operating system, and both the Whonix-Workstation ™ and Whonix-Gateway ™.

Social Media Profiles[edit]

There are some Official Whonix ™ Social Media Profiles online, but please do not rely on them for the latest Whonix ™ News or to contact Whonix ™ developers (see support and contact).

As some users will disregard this advice, messages from the Whonix ™ Feature Blog are most times posted on Whonix ™ Telegram News Channel, Whonix ™ Twitter Profile and the Whonix ™ Facebook Profile. However, they are most times not mirrored to other Whonix ™ social media profiles.

If it is safe to inform others about Whonix ™, feel free to Contribute via an anonymous account that follows or likes these profiles. This page can be shared on:

Source Code[edit]

If Whonix ™ source code updates are of interest, subscribe to code changes.

Tor Browser[edit]

Tor Browser's built-in update check mechanism also works in Whonix ™, so use it whenever updates become available. ^[2]

For additional information about Tor Browser updates see Tor Browser. Additionally, consider subscribing to https://blog.torproject.org ^[archive] for developments from The Tor Project.

Running systemcheck[edit]

See systemcheck.

Whonix ™ Repository Testers[edit]

Whonix ™ requires a critical mass of users to properly test planned updates by enabling the stable-proposed-updates or testers repository. ^[3] Otherwise, bugs might go undiscovered and be inadvertently introduced into the stable repository.

To ensure a stable Whonix ™ system is available at all times, willing testers should:

Create new Whonix-Workstation ™ and Whonix-Gateway ™ TemplateVMs solely for testing.
Enable the stable-proposed-updates or testers repository via the Derivative Repository Tool.
Platform-specific advice:
- Non-Qubes-Whonix ™: Create a clean snapshot or use Multiple Whonix-Workstation ™ / Multiple Whonix-Gateway ™.
- Qubes-Whonix ™: Use Multiple TemplateVMs and separate sys-whonix-test and anon-whonix-test TemplateBasedVMs.

Then perform normal user activities.

Please only report bugs after first searching relevant Whonix ™ forums and developer portals for the problem. (Please use Search Engines and see Documentation First)