Installing Qubes #
Download and Burn the Installation Media
- Go to qubes-os{dot}org and download the latest available ISO
- Burn the ISO to a USB
- Boot up the installation USB on your computer of choice
Go through the Qubes Installation
- It is highly recommended to follow DoD data destruction standards before installing Qubes to a storage device.
- Upon boot, select Test Media and Install Qubes OS X.X.X
- Select your language and keyboard layout
- Under system, select the Installation Destination and leave it on auto configuration unless you require specific partioning.
- Select I would like to make additional space then Encrypt My Data
- When you click Done on this section, you will be prompted to create a Disk Encryption password. It is recommended to make this as long as possible while still retaining memory of it!
- Save the Disk Encryption Password
- Select Delete All and then Reclaim Space (delete’s existing partitions)
- You will be redirected to the main menu where you can proceed to Date & Time and select your timezone.
- Leave the root accound disabled.
- Now create your user with a strong password differing from your encryption password.
- Once back at the main installation screen, select Begin Installation
- Wait for Qubes OS to install
- Once installation is complete, select Reboot System
Go through the Qubes Configuration
- Enter Qubes with Hypervisor Enabled
- Decrypt your Disk
- Select Qubes OS
- Select your desired Qube templates to install (Fedora 36, Debian 11, and/or Whonix)
- Enable Use sys-net qube for both networking and USB devices
- Enable System and template updates over the Tor anonimity network using Whonix
- Select Done and click Finish Configuration
- Wait for default templates to install. (Do not be alarmed if the installation freezes, it’s still working, please be patient)
Get familiar with your Qubes desktop environment
- Log into your user account
- The Qube Manager Tray is the blue isometric cube icon in the top-right corner of your desktop. You can manage/view your currently running qubes and their resource usage.
- In the Qube Manager, you may create, delete, and manage all your qubes.
- The System Menu is located in the top-left corner of your desktop. Here, you can launch various tools as well as isolated application qubes.
- Your Qubes Devices are located in the top-right corner of your desktop. Here you can view all your connected devices and provide passthrough to specific qubes (USB passthrough is blocked by default).
- The Network Manager is located in the top-right corner of your desktop. Here you can connect to various wifi and ethernet access points.
Setup Network Devices
- Open Qube Manager from the blue isometric cube icon in the top-right corner of your desktop.
- Select sys-net and shutdown the qube
- Once shut down, open the sys-net qube settings
- Go to the devices tab and locate your USB controllers (<font color"red">keep this window open until you click ok)
- Move each desired USB controller to the right panel to enable them (<font color=“red"This is only recommended if you absolutely need access to USB devices such as storage controllers and network adapters)
- Click Apply! <font color=“red If your laptop has internal USB peripherals (not PS2) such as a keybaord, modifying these options may disable it and could break your installation if you restart. Remove each USB passthrough one at a time and restart the sys-net qube until your interal peripheral works again.
- Click OK to close the USB passthrough window
- Start the sys-net qube and wait for initialization
- You should now have access to your external network adapter
- <font color=“red"Connect to the internet
Update your Qubes OS
- In the top-left System Menu, open the Terminal Emulator
- Run the following update command
Qubes R4.0 and before:
sudo qubes-dom0-update
sudo qubes-dom0-update --show-output --console
- This command may fail at first, a Connection Wizard popup may appear to configure your internet connection for Whonix.
- Rerun the update command above and wait for the systems to update. (These updates are routed through the Tor Network and may take a long time to complete)
- Once the update verifies packages, you will need to enter Y when prompted, the default is NO and if you press enter, you will need to restart the update process.
Installing Recommended Software in the Whonix Template
- Open the System Menu and hover over Template: whonix-ws-XX (IMPORTANT) and open the XFCE terminal.
- Update the Whonix system template
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
Install Kleopatra to use PGP encryption.
sudo apt-get install kleopatra
Close the XFCE terminal.
Installing VeraCrypt (requires a debian-11 qube)
- Open the System Menu and hover over Template: debian-11 (IMPORTANT) and open the terminal.
- Update the system template
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
Install VeraCrypt to use PGP encryption.
- Get the VERACRYPT_DOWNLOAD_LINK from www.veracrypt.fr
- Choose the Debian 11 package and copy the download link into the wget command. (<font color=“red"Always verify PGP signatures before installing!)
wget VERACRYPT_DOWNLOAD_LINK -o vc.deb
Install the .DEB package
sudo dpkg -i vc.deb
Any installation errors should be fixed with
sudo apt-get --fix-broken install
sudo dpkg -i vc.deb
- Open Qube Manager and select the whonix-ws-XX template.
- Open Settings > Applications and move KeePassXC and Kleopatra to the right panel.
- Click Apply and OK.
- Shutdown the anon-whonix qube in the Qube Manager.
- Open Settings > Applications and move KeePassXC and Kleopatra to the right panel.
- Click Apply and OK.
I2P #
Now that you have Qubes installed properly you can install and use i2p! Follow the i2p guide.