NOOB: Purpose of a VPN inside Qubes

[FranklyFlawless]

@md0tz101

What is the purpose of running a VPN inside Qubes? I have a Mullvad VPN that I can use but what would be the reason for one to create a sys-vpn qube?

One example use case is a compartmentalized profile that utilizes geo-blocking circumvention, so any AppVMs based on this profile can use the sys-vpn while other compartmentalized profiles not using the sys-vpn remain unaffected.

@md0tz101

sys-vpn → sys-whonix → qube?
sys-whonix → sys-vpn → qube?

See also:

VPN + Whonix, or No VPN?

Hello. I am thinking would it make any sense in terms of OPSEC to connect to whonix through VPN, so ISP doesn’t see tor usage so clearly. I heard that if it’s done this way, VPN first —> tor, the tor route/used nodes would be always the same? Or? So, I’m using VPN on all other qubes to provide privacy, but thinking is it necessary to even bother with whonix, being reasonably secure already. And if so, why? Share your thoughts.

My response:

@FranklyFlawless

You can use Tor pluggable transports to obfuscate your Tor usage from your ISP:

CIRCUMVENTION | Tor Project | Tor Browser Manual

If this Tor + VPN still requires more insightful discussion, see this relevant GitLab issue:

TorPlusVPN · Wiki · Legacy / Trac · GitLab