Building a Qubes/Whonix system on a Laptop - Need some help

[HarborFront]

Hi

I'm thinking of starting a Qubes/Whonix system on a laptop. Say starting from the hardware first

1) Do I need a Windows OS laptop with separate partitions or a totally wiped clean non-Windows laptop?
2) What hardware requirements like minimum amount of RAM? Understand Qubes needs minimum 32GB of space on a USB stick? Not sure of Whonix? Would a minimum of 512GB SSD be suffice?
3) Do the laptop needs to be Qubes-certified like the Purism's Librem 13/15?
4) Can Qubes/Whonix be installed in an laptop with UEFI setup only or one with BIOS or BIOS/UEFI setup? Some new laptop nowadays have no BIOS setup but only UEFI setup. A typical one is my MS SP4 (although strictly not a laptop) which only has UEFI setup not even the legacy BIOS setup.

Thanks

 

[Myriad]

@HarborFront

Good decision !

BUT .... Qubes needs a fair bit of work and reading on the part of the user .
It is definitely not a quick "point and click" type of thing .
Whonix is more approachable for newcomers , and I would strongly recommend getting familiar with that first ,
before jumping in the deep end with Qubes/Whonix.

As to your questions :-

1] No you don't need Windows , and dual-booting is not a good idea . Wiping is optional as the installation
will effectively do that for you . Compared to Qubes , Subgraph etc , Windows is the opposite of a secure system.

2] A quick look at this section of the Qubes website will tell you if your hardware is sufficient ( it almost certainly is )
512GB SSD is more than ample !

3] Definitely not a requirement , the recommendations for Qubes-certified machines is for the most extreme
security situations

4] I don't know , but I suspect there may be issues . I do not have any machines with UEFI ( and I hope it stays that way ! )
Hopefully someone else can answer that one for you in detail.

Good luck !
Don't be put off if it seems too difficult at first attempts ..... the rewards are great .

 

[HarborFront]

@HarborFront

Good decision !

BUT .... Qubes needs a fair bit of work and reading on the part of the user .
It is definitely not a quick "point and click" type of thing .
Whonix is more approachable for newcomers , and I would strongly recommend getting familiar with that first ,
before jumping in the deep end with Qubes/Whonix.

As to your questions :-

1] No you don't need Windows , and dual-booting is not a good idea . Wiping is optional as the installation
will effectively do that for you . Compared to Qubes , Subgraph etc , Windows is the opposite of a secure system.

2] A quick look at this section of the Qubes website will tell you if your hardware is sufficient ( it almost certainly is )
512GB SSD is more than ample !

3] Definitely not a requirement , the recommendations for Qubes-certified machines is for the most extreme
security situations

4] I don't know , but I suspect there may be issues . I do not have any machines with UEFI ( and I hope it stays that way ! )
Hopefully someone else can answer that one for you in detail.

Good luck !
Don't be put off if it seems too difficult at first attempts ..... the rewards are great .

Hi

Thanks for the replies.

Whonix and Qubes are more for securing a system against malware infections. Of course if they run Tor then you'll gain anonymity as well.

Are you using Whonix? How about the RAM requirements for Whonix (and with Qubes)?

And how to wipe clean the system? Using what software...a Windows-based low-level partition software or what? I suppose I'll need to boot up from a USB Stick to install Whonix then, right?

Thanks again

 

[Myriad]

Hi

Thanks for the replies.

Whonix and Qubes are more for securing a system against malware infections. Of course if they run Tor then you'll gain anonymity as well.

Are you using Whonix? How about the RAM requirements for Whonix (and with Qubes)?

And how to wipe clean the system? Using what software...a Windows-based low-level partition software or what? I suppose I'll need to boot up from a USB Stick to install Whonix then, right?

Thanks again

I have Whonix installed in VMs on a Windows machine and on Linux machines , and it runs sweetly , without any problems .
Qubes 3.2 has Whonix templates built-in , so it is ready to rock if you want to go down that road.

As regards RAM , all my machines have a minimum of 4GB and I have never had any issues .
If you have significantly less RAM you will have to search around for info .

I am still on "the learning curve " myself with Qubes , even after a year of playing with it .
The concept is so brilliant that I am totally fascinated , but I am not yet using it as my everyday machine.

If it is important to you that the target drive for Qubes is wiped before installation then DBAN is as good a choice as any .
An " oldy but goody " .... burn the ISO to a CD and let it off the leash
The "N" stands for "Nuke" BTW , and they ain't kidding .... be careful what you point it at !

If memory serves , it is also included in the "Hirens" package , if you already have that one .

 

[HarborFront]

I have Whonix installed in VMs on a Windows machine and on Linux machines , and it runs sweetly , without any problems .
Qubes 3.2 has Whonix templates built-in , so it is ready to rock if you want to go down that road.

As regards RAM , all my machines have a minimum of 4GB and I have never had any issues .
If you have significantly less RAM you will have to search around for info .

I am still on "the learning curve " myself with Qubes , even after a year of playing with it .
The concept is so brilliant that I am totally fascinated , but I am not yet using it as my everyday machine.

If it is important to you that the target drive for Qubes is wiped before installation then DBAN is as good a choice as any .
An " oldy but goody " .... burn the ISO to a CD and let it off the leash
The "N" stands for "Nuke" BTW , and they ain't kidding .... be careful what you point it at !

If memory serves , it is also included in the "Hirens" package , if you already have that one .

Hi

No, I do not have anything for the moment. I'm planning one.

OK, let's get with Whonix first.

You said you have Whonix running on a Windows machine. You mean you install Whonix in a separate partition on a Windows machine making it a dual-boot system or how do you do it?

Thanks

 

[Myriad]

No , look again at my posts.

I have Whonix installed in Virtual Machines

If you are not already experienced with VMs you have almost no chance of getting Qubes to work for you .
Sorry if that sounds blunt , but that's just how it is .

Get familiar with running operating systems in a VM first ( eg your fav Linux distro ) , then try Whonix in a VM.

These are all essential prerequisites before starting with Qubes ( IMO ).

 

[HarborFront]

No , look again at my posts.

I have Whonix installed in Virtual Machines

If you are not already experienced with VMs you have almost no chance of getting Qubes to work for you .
Sorry if that sounds blunt , but that's just how it is .

Get familiar with running operating systems in a VM first ( eg your fav Linux distro ) , then try Whonix in a VM.

These are all essential prerequisites before starting with Qubes ( IMO ).

Hi

I think I did not explain myself clearly. What I need is to install Whonix (or Qubes) on a clean laptop as the OS itself rather than running Whonix in VMs

In your opinion which would be more difficult - installing Whonix or Qubes?

Thanks