Best Practice for USB Input Devices?

User Support
1

I need to use both a USB mouse and keyboard for carpal tunnel, even though they are not ideal from a security perspective.

Reading the docs, I would like to have more clarity on the most ‘harm reduced’ way of attaching both.

I’ll start by describing my manual config edits, and post-boot process:

I needed to do the manual setup for keyboards in dom0 as described here, so in my /etc/qubes-rpc/policy/qubes.InputKeyboard, the first line is:
sys-usb dom0 ask,default_target=dom0

Unfortunately, when it is set as follows, I never receive a ‘Operation execution’ prompt. Would this perhaps be because non-input functionality is recognized with my keyboard model?
sys-usb dom0 ask,default_target=dom0,usbcore.authorized_default=0

After unlocking LUKS/ user account login with the laptop keyboard, I plug in the USB keyboard. I am prompted with 3 identical ‘Operation execution’ permission dialogs for operation: Input.Keyboard from sys-usb to dom0 (I OK all 3) and 1 permission dialog for Input.Mouse to dom0 (I press cancel).

I plug in my mouse. I am prompted with 1 ‘Operation execution’ permission dialog for operation: Input.Mouse from sys-usb to dom0 (OK), and 6 identical prompts for Input.Keyboard (I press cancel).

Is there room for improvement here, either in config or process?

My X230 does not have a PS/2 port, and even if it did I doubt the ability to find an ergonomic keyboard that isn’t USB.

" How to enable a USB keyboard on a separate USB controller" is recommended for a system with multiple USB controllers, but am I correct that a Thinkpad X230 would only have one?

Any help/insight is incredibly appreciated :slight_smile:

2

It seems it should have 3 USB controllers: Community-recommended computers.

3

That’s great news. In that case I will implement those instructions for the input devices to go through a separate USB controller. However I notice the setting usbcore.authorized_default=0. Given the lack of prompt when I set this in the policy file with my specific keyboard model, as described above, would this indicate these instructions won’t work for my keyboard?