The Qubes OS Privacy Question

[fsflover]

@capsizebacklog

I know that adding whonix support to qubes os is great for privacy even though I got the impression this was done for security of updates and installs but regardless of what the reason behind it was, it’s still great for privacy.

Just to link to the respective discussions:

Feature request: disabling all clearnet update checks during installation process

That already exists as an easy one-click option in the installer (and has for a long time now). However, it doesn’t apply to update checks, only to updates themselves, hence:

Prevent Qubes OS clearnet leaks

Introduction This setup is only useful for people who want to block non-VPN / non-Tor traffic. By default, Qubes OS checks for updates of qube’s templates using running qubes themselves generating traffic through their current netvm. To some people, this can be seen as a privacy issue because queries Qubes OS’s packages repository, which immediately flag the user as a Qubes OS user. Even if you use sys-whonix or a VPN qube for all your qubes, there are 3 qubes that could leak netwo…

Preventing non-Tor connections