What is Whonix-Workstation?

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Whonix-Workstation Xfce VM running in the VirtualBox virtualizer (illustrative image)

Whonix-Workstation is a software component of Whonix designed to provide users with a secure and anonymous environment for running applications and performing online tasks.

Whonix-Workstation Overview[edit]

Whonix-Workstation is a software component of Whonix, which is designed to provide users with a secure and anonymous environment for running applications and performing online tasks. Once installed, Whonix-Workstation is connected to Whonix-Gateway, which runs Tor processes and acts as a gateway, while Whonix-Workstation runs user applications on a completely isolated network.

All user applications, such as Tor Browser, should be launched from Whonix-Workstation to ensure they utilize the Tor network, as only Tor connections are permitted. Whonix-Workstation also provides stream isolation for many pre-installed or custom-installed applications, such as Hexchat and Thunderbird, using a dedicated Tor SocksPort to prevent identity correlation that may otherwise occur.

Whonix-Workstation is already pre-configured for use with Whonix-Gateway. For a functional network connection, Whonix-Gateway must be started before Whonix-Workstation. However, if the startup sequence is reversed, Whonix-Workstation can only be used offline without a running Whonix-Gateway, as it will either use the Tor network or have no network connectivity at all.

Whonix is based on security-focused Linux Distribution Kicksecure The Web Archive Onion Version . To learn more about Whonix, please see the Overview and Features pages. [1]

Figure: Whonix-Workstation Xfce VM in virtualizer VirtualBox (real screenshot)

Whonix-Workstation in virtualizer VirtualBox (real screenshot)

See Also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

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