Host Firewall

From Whonix
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Host Firewall Settings and Testing

Upstream[edit]

Since Whonix is based on Kicksecure, the user can follow these instructions Kicksecure logo Host Firewall Onion Version (links to the Kicksecure website)

Whonix specific[edit]

Filtering Ports[edit]

Introduction[edit]

From time to time a user asks which incoming/outgoing ports are required by Whonix-Gateway. The answer is:

  • Incoming: none.
  • Outgoing: all.

An alternative technique for controlling ports might be corridor (a Tor traffic whitelisting gateway), since it can act as a firewall. [1]

Incoming[edit]

Whonix-Gateway itself does not open any ports. Users are advised to close all ports on the host as outlined in the Host Firewall Essentials entry.

Outgoing[edit]

Warning: This procedure is not recommended. Port-based filtering of outgoing traffic is not applicable (as in useful) in the case of Whonix-Gateway.

Filtering outgoing ports is difficult, since Tor entry guards or bridges listen on a variety of different ports. Limiting ports Tor uses for outgoing traffic is still possible, but recommended against, since it reduces anonymity. The effect is fewer entry guards or bridges are made available to the user. If users wish to proceed despite the risk, follow the instructions below.

On Whonix-Gateway.

Open file /usr/local/etc/torrc.d/50_user.conf in a text editorarchive.org of your choice with sudoedit.

If you are using Qubes-Whonix, complete the following steps.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q")Whonix-Gateway ProxyVM (commonly named sys-whonix)Tor User Config (Torrc)

If you are using a graphical Whonix-Gateway, complete the following steps.

Start MenuApplicationsSettings/usr/local/etc/torrc.d/50_user.conf

If you are using a terminal-only Whonix-Gateway, complete the following steps. sudoedit /usr/local/etc/torrc.d/50_user.conf

Add.

ReachableDirAddresses *:80 ReachableORAddresses *:443 ## maybe: FirewallPorts PORTS ## See Tor manual: https://2019.www.torproject.org/docs/tor-manual.html.en

Save.

Reload Tor.

After changing Tor configuration, Tor must be reloaded for changes to take effect.

Note: If Tor does not connect after completing all these steps, then a user mistake is the most likely explanation. Recheck /usr/local/etc/torrc.d/50_user.conf and repeat the steps outlined in the sections above. If Tor then connects successfully, all the necessary changes have been made.

If you are using Qubes-Whonix, complete the following steps.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q")Whonix-Gateway ProxyVM (commonly named 'sys-whonix')Reload Tor

If you are using a graphical Whonix-Gateway, complete the following steps.

Start MenuApplicationsSettingsReload Tor

If you are using a terminal-only Whonix-Gateway, click HERE for instructions.

Complete the following steps.

Reload Tor.

sudo service tor@default reload

Check Tor's daemon status.

sudo service tor@default status

It should include a a message saying.

Active: active (running) since ...

In case of issues, try the following debugging steps.

Check Tor's config.

sudo -u debian-tor tor --verify-config

The output should be similar to the following.

Sep 17 17:40:41.416 [notice] Read configuration file "/usr/local/etc/torrc.d/50_user.conf".
Configuration was valid

This issue was also discussed in the old Whonix forumarchive.org.

Footnotes[edit]

We believe security software like Whonix needs to remain open source and independent. Would you help sustain and grow the project? Learn more about our 12 year success story and maybe DONATE!