Anonymity tools: “whonix”(first impressions)

Just started trying “whonix”, an anonymity-hardened Linux distribution.

“whonix” is based on Debian Linux and uses TOR for all external connections.

Interestingly, it consists of two separate virtual machines, “whonix workstation” and “whonix gateway”. That machine where the user can perform anonymous tasks  (“whonix workstation”) is isolated from the external physical network and can only communicate with the internet via the “whonix gateway”, which relays TOR traffic to the TOR network and the internet.

The main design decision for “whonix” is that the user’s physical IP should not be disclosed even if the “whonix workstation” is compromised with some types of malware. Indeed, the “whonix workstation” does not have access to the external network, which is a very interesting concept.

I’ll be writing more about “whonix”, TOR and Anonymity soon.

Why Anonymity Matters (quoted from https://www.torproject.org/)

Tor protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location.

References:

• http://www.kitploit.com/2016/06/whonix-13-anonymous-operating-system.html?m=1
• https://www.whonix.org/
• https://www.torproject.org/