The new release of Whonix 17.4 is now available, with a focus on providing guaranteed anonymity, security, and privacy for users’ information. This distribution, based on Debian GNU/Linux, utilizes Tor to ensure anonymity. The project’s components are distributed under the GPLV3 license. Virtual machine downloads are available in OVA format for VirtualBox (2.3 GB XFCE and 1.5 GB console), which can be converted for use with the KVM hypervisor.
The primary components launched are Whonix-Gateway, serving as a network gateway for anonymous communications, and Whonix-Workstation with a desktop environment. These components are isolated systemic environments within one loading image, running in separate virtual machines. The Whonix-Workstation network is only allowed to connect to the outside world through the Whonix-Gateway, providing protection against real IP address leakage in case of browser hacks or vulnerabilities.
Any attempt to hack the Whonix-Workstation will only result in obtaining fictitious network parameters, as the real IP and DNS parameters are concealed. The traffic is directed solely through Tor by the Whonix-Gateway. It is advised not to run Whonix-Workstation on the same machine as Whonix-Gateway, to avoid potential exploitation of virtualization platform vulnerabilities.
WHONIX-WORKSTATION includes the default XFCE user environment, along with programs like vlc, Tor Browser, and pidgin. Whonix-Gateway provides a suite of server applications, including Apache HTTPD, NGINX, and IRC servers for organizing hidden Tor services. Users can also configure Tor tunnels for Freeneet, i2p, Jondonym, SSH, and VPN connections.
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