Installation of Whonix ™ on a USB
Whonix ™ can be used as a plug-and-play operating system on a USB data stick. This is particularly interesting for users looking for a portable persistent or live operating system.
Current Situation[edit]
Yes, Whonix ™ can be used on a USB.
- Select a suitable host operating system.
- Install it on USB.
- Install a supported virtualizer.
- Finally install Whonix ™.
At this time, Whonix ™ does not provide a USB creator / image.
There are a number of online guides explaining how to install Linux on a USB. These instructions can be followed to create a live Whonix ™ USB, with the exception that both a supported virtualizer and Whonix ™ must also be installed on the external media.
If it is actually booting into non-persistent live boot is what you're interested in, look into live mode.
Specifically useful as a host operating system on USB is Kicksecure ™
which comes with the
grub-live
software package installed by default, which makes it possible to boot the host operating system into Live Mode.
Advantages[edit]
A higher level of security is attained by installing the host operating system(s) required for Whonix ™ on a dedicated, (encrypted), external disk(s) like a USB flash drive, FireWire or eSATA device:
- Using external media reduces the risk of other operating system(s) infecting the Whonix ™ host operating system.
- When Whonix ™ disk(s) are not in use, they can either be removed or hidden.
- Optional Live Mode.
Related[edit]
Future[edit]
Whonix-Host Operating System Live ISO, Whonix-Host Installer. Community contributions are most welcome.