qubes+privacy for idiots??
Im using framework. my home networks isnt safe (it belongs to my family and google) and i would like to use the internet in public uncensored. someone also has a virus (they will not remove it dont ask why i do not know either) I know qubes is for security but Tails isnt for me. any reasonable ways to make Qubes private in my situation?
btw heres why i want security/privacy (i dont know my terminology)
I will be opening risky files and pirating
Don't like survillence policing/capitalism or censorship
Will be reading political things but dont want to be manipulated by my views
Love disposable identities that are hard to connect together
thanks for reading
14 replies
You are pretty clearly just starting off on this journey. What I'll say is this:
If you don't know what a risk profile is, then start there. That will help you understand what you should and should not be doing at your level of knowledge. Then, just get started, but be open minded. Nothing is a silver bullet.
I've personally found Qubes to be the best privacy/anonymity solution for my risk profile, but explaining that would be hundreds of pages. You just have to try it. For example, here's one challenge: you know that VPN is recommended for torrenting. How do you use Qubes with a VPN? That is a great road to go down for understanding, and you can start by searching the Qubes forums and documentation.
Accept that this will take a good chunk of your time, especially if you only have one PC and will be daily driving Qubes. So, maybe don't start this journey during a busy time in your life when you have lots of other responsibilities. This stuff is best done as a "deep dive", where you just set aside time and work until you've accomplished your goal.
Finally: interact with the community. Hit a dead end? Post in the appropriate community (or post asking where that is). Join group chats, which are faster than forums and more personal. Don't just go it alone... you will burn out quick!
thanks so much man wish i could double upvote
Why do you say Tails isn't for you? If it's because it's inconvenient to use, I doubt you're going to like Qubes.
Amnesia and extreme difficulty to install new software kills it for lots of people.
Whonix solves those (at the risk ofc that it's persistent and you could install malware)
yeah amnesia seems to be for people worried about psychical access and not remote access
its not the tradeoffs im willing to take (the amensia and being only on usb) and qubes has some features that i would benefit from more than tails
also not for me since im not being hunted down
(also dont think tails is supposed to be daily use)
Qubes requires a lot of configuring to be properly secure and you have to have a fair bit of understanding about virtualization.
I'd suggest starting with Whonix . It still uses some of the same virtualization technology, and like Tails routes everything over Tor, and provides excellent protection against threats on your local network (due to separating Gateway into its own VM)
Also Whonix is straightforward to set up. You first install VirtualBox, then literally just double-click the Whonix
.OVAfile to install. It fires up two virtual machines: Gateway and Workstation. You use the Workstation; the Gateway handles Internet traffic (and you generally don't login to it)You can save files, customize your desktop, use it like a normal computer.
EDIT: just noticed this
For that, your best bet is a burner laptop that you re-image regularly. Qubes is also a pretty good way to do this; you'd set up an extremely locked-down execution environment for the "risky file".
But if the risky file attacks Linux-based OSes, you're hosed even under Whonix or Tails.
I feel there's a lot of bandwidth with "risky files" anyway. If that's just a select few pirated games, creating two seperate user accounts might do. I did that for a while. Had one regular account for all my files, browsing etc. And another one with Lutris and some pirated games from ye good ol times... If there's some Windows virus included, it can't access any of my files.
If someone does computer security research, or plans to deliberately execute the nastiest malware, ransomware... that's obviously not enough by any means.
But people are in different kinds of situations. So pick what's best for you. And my priorities changed over time. These days I -for example- don't pirate as much software anymore. In case I want some of my Portal2 memories back, I'll just wait for the next Steam sale and buy it for 5 bucks... and for the rest of my software needs I have Linux and the Free Software community. I still keep the separate user accounts for random games and work and personal stuff, though.
just for clarity, you mean system accounts or accounts on a website?
system accounts
or even better, fire up a disposable VM
Yes, operating system accounts. And a good follow-up step is to check whether that account is really unable to read the files from other accounts. Sometimes Linux distributions come with weird default settings, I think Debian allows read access to files per default. I'm not 100% sure.
Virtual machines are way better at isolating stuff. Downside might be some extra effort to set them up, and maybe some fiddling with the graphics card.
thanks but i dont have the money for a burner letalone one that is powerful enough for qubes
thanks for the commen it helps other people see this
Look op, you kind of want to drive around without wanting to put in the work to either lern how a car works or what the road rules are.
Security is not something you install and the you got it.
I highly suggest to learn what the common risks are and how they work, then how to counter them.
This whole security and privacy thing requires both effort and knowledge, that is why corpos fuck over people so much, because they ain't willing to put in the work to care.
P.s sorry I reread my answer and I come off a bit harsh, what I mean is that by prompting a community like this with your kind of questions like if we were an AI will not work towards getting you good answers. You need to learn first and one of the first lessons is that there is no security and a casual "I will be opening sketchy files". A better question is: how can I open sketchy files and still be safe?
nah its fine man 👍 thanks for the advice friend )
btw do you have any resources for learning that you recommend?
(ps i meant risky files as in i will pirate or just get curious im not a high profile guy)