Options to choose when installing Qubes vs. ISP

User Support General
1

I want to use a vpn virtual machine, which will be the NetVM of my virtual machine to browse the internet, and the NetVM of my sys-whonix (using a vpn I will hide the TOR connection - I know this is controversial).

I want to select the UTC time zone for my Qubes system. I’ve seen posts on the forum that it’s better for privacy.

Can my ISP see the UTC time zone of my Qubes system?

When setting the UTC time zone during Qubes installation, should I also set UTC in BIOS/UEFI?

Can my ISP see UTC time in BIOS/UEFI?

Can my ISP see the keyboard layout and language of my Qubes system?

2

No, you ISP only ‘see’ your network packets you send out… and that’s not contains any of the setting you mentioned.

It might see and recognise your NTP traffic, but that always using UTC, and locally modify the results according your local timezone settings.

3

You wrote that the ISP does not see:

  • The keyboard layout and language of my Qubes system
  • The UTC time zone of my Qubes system
  • UTC time in BIOS/UEFI
    But could you elaborate on the following thought?

It might see and recognise your NTP traffic, but that always using UTC, and locally modify the results according your local timezone settings.

If my ISP doesn’t know what time zone I’ve set in Qubes, how can they modify the results locally according to my local time zone settings?

4

locally modify the results according your local timezone settings

This is refers to your NTP agent on your laptop. Not the ISP.
That’s how you got your time/date in your own timezone, regadless how the NTP is synchronizing…

5

Thank you for the explanation.

That is:
NTP traffic always uses UTC and my ISP always sees UTC (regardless of what time zone is set on my Qubes system. This downloaded UTC time is then modified locally on my computer by an NTP agent according to what time zone is set in my Qubes system (UTC time is left or modified to BST for example).
Did I understand it correctly?

6

Yepp