Whonix for Windows, macOS, Linux inside VirtualBox

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Getting started with Whonix in 4 simple steps.

GUI

Whonix Xfce in VirtualBox

• Whonix with Xfce graphical user interface (GUI).
• This version of Whonix is designed to run inside VirtualBox.
• Beginner-friendly and easy to use.
• It is the right choice for most users.

Please follow these steps to install Whonix Xfce for VirtualBox.

This page is fully functional without JavaScript, but enabling JavaScript significantly enhances the user experience.

1 Download Whonix Xfce

Whonix Xfce is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Download Whonix Xfce for VirtualBox (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

Version: 17.2.3.7

• Digital signatures are a tool enhancing download security. They are commonly used across the internet and nothing special to worry about.
• Optional, not required: Digital signatures are optional and not mandatory for using Whonix, but an extra security measure for advanced users. If you've never used them before, it might be overwhelming to look into them at this stage. Just ignore them for now.
• Learn more: Curious? If you are interested in becoming more familiar with advanced computer security concepts, you can learn more about digital signatures here digital software signatures.

Choose your verification method below. This step requires that you have already downloaded Whonix Xfce .

OpenPGP

OpenPGP Signature

---

Download Whonix OpenPGP Key

signify

SHA-512 checksum file

---

SHA-512 checksum file signify signature

---

Download Whonix signify Key

How to verify the Whonix Images : Whonix virtual machine images are signed by Whonix developer Patrick Schleizer using OpenPGP and signify.

Do you already know how to perform digital software verification using an OpenPGP and/or signify key?

YES Then acquire the Whonix Signing Key and the Whonix signatures straight away and proceed.

NO Then consider the following instructions:

For Linux

For Windows

For macOS

2 Install VirtualBox

Download and install VirtualBox for your operating system.

Windows

Download VirtualBox for Windows (FREE!)

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package

If you see the following error message:

Figure: Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package Error

Oracle VM VirtualBox needs Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable package installed first. Please install and restart the installation of Oracle VM VirtualBox.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package must be installed.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

VirtualBox for Windows is not signed with OpenPGP / gpg. It is signed with authenticode.

After downloading the VirtualBox installer exe and starting it, the user should verify that sure that Verified publisher: is Oracle Corporation.

Figure: Windows signature signature verification window for VirtualBox

Advanced users might wish to learn more about Authenticode (Windows Digital Software Signatures) to perform a deeper verification.

macOS

Download VirtualBox for macOS (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

VirtualBox for macOS is not signed with OpenPGP / gpg. It is notarized for macOS's gatekeeper.

See also Apple's official documentation Safely open apps on your Mac.

Ubuntu

For Ubuntu host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

A Automated VirtualBox Installation : Ubuntu users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

B Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Tested on October 2022 using Ubuntu version 22.04. Older versions are not recommended.

Command Line (All Users)

1 On the host : Open a terminal.

2 Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

3 Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-generic

4 Add your current user to group vboxusers.

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

5 Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Software Center (only if not using SecureBoot)

Ubuntu Software Center can be used to install VirtualBox. The process is similar to installation of most other applications.

This only works for users with computers that do not have "SecureBoot" enabled. If the user's computer is using "SecureBoot" the user need to either disable "SecureBoot" in the BIOS or use the command line based instructions.

1 Open the start menu.

2 Click on the Ubuntu Software Center icon.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center icon

3 Click on the magnifying glass to search. → Type virtualbox. → Press enter. → In the search results, click on VirtualBox.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - Search For VirtualBox

4 Click on Install and wait.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center Search Result

5 Installation of VirtualBox has been completed.

When the installation has completed, the install icon changes to the uninstall icon. Do not click the uninstall button.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - VirtualBox has been installed

6 Click on Show Applications. → Click on Virtual Box start the VirtualBox graphical user interface (GUI).

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center #4

7 Done.

The procedure of installing and starting VirtualBox is complete.

Debian

For Debian host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

A Automated VirtualBox Installation : Debian users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

B Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Select your Debian release below to get the matching instructions.

Debian bookworm (stable) or bullseye (oldstable)

To acquire the Recommended VirtualBox version tested with Whonix, package virtualbox-qt should be installed from Debian fasttrack repository according to the following instructions.

1 On the host : Open a terminal.

2 Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

3 Install the Debian fasttrack signing key.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends fasttrack-archive-keyring

4 Add the Debian fasttrack repository.

echo 'deb https://fasttrack.debian.net/debian/ bookworm-fasttrack main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fasttrack.list

5 Add Debian the backports repository.

echo 'deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-backports main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/backports.list

6 Update the package lists again.

sudo apt update

7 Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-$(dpkg --print-architecture)

8 Add your current user to group vboxusers.

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

9 Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Debian Testing

VirtualBox can be installed by adding the Debian unstable (sid) repository and APT pinning. The details of this are unspecific to Whonix and undocumented.

Debian Unstable

VirtualBox can be installed by adding the Debian unstable (sid) repository.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-$(dpkg --print-architecture)

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

The details of this are unspecific to Whonix and undocumented.

Other Debian Releases

Other Debian releases might work, but this is untested. In case of other Debian release:

See also "Linux host operating systems" below.

See also "Linux" on the right.

Kicksecure

Kicksecure^™ host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

A Automated VirtualBox Installation : Kicksecure^™ users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

B Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Instructions for Kicksecure^™ are simpler than instructions for Debian.

1 On the host: Open a terminal.

2 Update package lists.

sudo apt update

3 Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt

4 Add your current user to group vboxusers.

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

5 Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Linux

Hosts using a non-Debian operating system:

• Install VirtualBox as per the normal mechanism for your Linux distribution. No special instructions for Whonix are required. The installation of a recent VirtualBox host software is unspecific to Whonix. Consult the documentation of your Linux distribution.
• Whonix has has been tested with, expects VirtualBox version latest.
• For example the outdated VirtualBox version 5.2.18 is incompatible.

General recommendations for users using Linux as a host operating system:

Linux kernel version:

• The recommended host Linux kernel version is the same version that Debian bookworm is using, see linux-image-amd64.
• Newer host Linux kernel versions are likely to break VirtualBox VMs in many ways since these are unsupported by VirtualBox.

Host operating system. The recommended host Linux distributions are:

• preferably the stable version of Kicksecure^™ 17, or
• Debian Linux version bookworm.

3 Import Whonix into VirtualBox

For Whonix VirtualBox import instructions, please press the learn more button on the right.

Follow these steps to import Whonix into VirtualBox. Click images to enlarge

• 
  1 Start VirtualBox
• 
  2 Click on File then choose Import Appliance...
• 
  3 Navigate and select Whonix image and press next
• 
  4 Do NOT change anything! Just click on Import
• 
  5 Then press Agree
• 
  6 Wait until Whonix .ova has been imported
• 
  7 Now start Whonix-Gateway and Whonix-Workstation

Miscellaneous

There are also Video Tutorials.

If you still need help, please check the Support page.

For command line import instructions, see footnote.

4 Start Whonix

Starting Whonix is simple:

1. Start VirtualBox.
2. Double-click the Whonix-Gateway^™ and Whonix-Workstation^™.

5 Support the Future of Whonix

Whonix is made possible thanks to the donation of people like you.

Please support the Whonix development with a donation.

Donate to Whonix

CLI

Whonix CLI in VirtualBox

• Whonix with command line interface (CLI).
• This version of Whonix is designed to run inside VirtualBox.
• Whonix with CLI is a version suited for advanced users -- those who want Whonix without a graphical user interface (GUI). Everyone else should install the user-friendly Whonix VirtualBox with GUI Xfce.

Please follow these steps to install Whonix CLI for VirtualBox.

This page is fully functional without JavaScript, but enabling JavaScript significantly enhances the user experience.

1 Download Whonix CLI

Whonix CLI is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Download Whonix CLI for VirtualBox (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

Version: 17.2.3.7

• Digital signatures are a tool enhancing download security. They are commonly used across the internet and nothing special to worry about.
• Optional, not required: Digital signatures are optional and not mandatory for using Whonix, but an extra security measure for advanced users. If you've never used them before, it might be overwhelming to look into them at this stage. Just ignore them for now.
• Learn more: Curious? If you are interested in becoming more familiar with advanced computer security concepts, you can learn more about digital signatures here digital software signatures.

Choose your verification method below. This step requires that you have already downloaded Whonix CLI .

OpenPGP

OpenPGP Signature

---

Download Whonix OpenPGP Key

signify

SHA-512 checksum file

---

SHA-512 checksum file signify signature

---

Download Whonix signify Key

How to verify the Whonix Images : Whonix virtual machine images are signed by Whonix developer Patrick Schleizer using OpenPGP and signify.

Do you already know how to perform digital software verification using an OpenPGP and/or signify key?

YES Then acquire the Whonix Signing Key and the Whonix signatures straight away and proceed.

NO Then consider the following instructions:

For Linux

For Windows

For macOS

2 Install VirtualBox

Download and install VirtualBox for your operating system.

Windows

Download VirtualBox for Windows (FREE!)

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package

If you see the following error message:

Figure: Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package Error

Oracle VM VirtualBox needs Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable package installed first. Please install and restart the installation of Oracle VM VirtualBox.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package must be installed.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

VirtualBox for Windows is not signed with OpenPGP / gpg. It is signed with authenticode.

After downloading the VirtualBox installer exe and starting it, the user should verify that sure that Verified publisher: is Oracle Corporation.

Figure: Windows signature signature verification window for VirtualBox

Advanced users might wish to learn more about Authenticode (Windows Digital Software Signatures) to perform a deeper verification.

macOS

Download VirtualBox for macOS (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

VirtualBox for macOS is not signed with OpenPGP / gpg. It is notarized for macOS's gatekeeper.

See also Apple's official documentation Safely open apps on your Mac.

Ubuntu

For Ubuntu host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

A Automated VirtualBox Installation : Ubuntu users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

B Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Tested on October 2022 using Ubuntu version 22.04. Older versions are not recommended.

Command Line (All Users)

1 On the host : Open a terminal.

2 Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

3 Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-generic

4 Add your current user to group vboxusers.

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

5 Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Software Center (only if not using SecureBoot)

Ubuntu Software Center can be used to install VirtualBox. The process is similar to installation of most other applications.

This only works for users with computers that do not have "SecureBoot" enabled. If the user's computer is using "SecureBoot" the user need to either disable "SecureBoot" in the BIOS or use the command line based instructions.

1 Open the start menu.

2 Click on the Ubuntu Software Center icon.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center icon

3 Click on the magnifying glass to search. → Type virtualbox. → Press enter. → In the search results, click on VirtualBox.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - Search For VirtualBox

4 Click on Install and wait.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center Search Result

5 Installation of VirtualBox has been completed.

When the installation has completed, the install icon changes to the uninstall icon. Do not click the uninstall button.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - VirtualBox has been installed

6 Click on Show Applications. → Click on Virtual Box start the VirtualBox graphical user interface (GUI).

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center #4

7 Done.

The procedure of installing and starting VirtualBox is complete.

Debian

For Debian host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

A Automated VirtualBox Installation : Debian users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

B Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Select your Debian release below to get the matching instructions.

Debian bookworm (stable) or bullseye (oldstable)

To acquire the Recommended VirtualBox version tested with Whonix, package virtualbox-qt should be installed from Debian fasttrack repository according to the following instructions.

1 On the host : Open a terminal.

2 Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

3 Install the Debian fasttrack signing key.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends fasttrack-archive-keyring

4 Add the Debian fasttrack repository.

echo 'deb https://fasttrack.debian.net/debian/ bookworm-fasttrack main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fasttrack.list

5 Add Debian the backports repository.

echo 'deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-backports main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/backports.list

6 Update the package lists again.

sudo apt update

7 Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-$(dpkg --print-architecture)

8 Add your current user to group vboxusers.

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

9 Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Debian Testing

VirtualBox can be installed by adding the Debian unstable (sid) repository and APT pinning. The details of this are unspecific to Whonix and undocumented.

Debian Unstable

VirtualBox can be installed by adding the Debian unstable (sid) repository.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-$(dpkg --print-architecture)

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

The details of this are unspecific to Whonix and undocumented.

Other Debian Releases

Other Debian releases might work, but this is untested. In case of other Debian release:

See also "Linux host operating systems" below.

See also "Linux" on the right.

Kicksecure

Kicksecure^™ host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

A Automated VirtualBox Installation : Kicksecure^™ users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

B Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Instructions for Kicksecure^™ are simpler than instructions for Debian.

1 On the host: Open a terminal.

2 Update package lists.

sudo apt update

3 Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt

4 Add your current user to group vboxusers.

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

5 Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Linux

Hosts using a non-Debian operating system:

• Install VirtualBox as per the normal mechanism for your Linux distribution. No special instructions for Whonix are required. The installation of a recent VirtualBox host software is unspecific to Whonix. Consult the documentation of your Linux distribution.
• Whonix has has been tested with, expects VirtualBox version latest.
• For example the outdated VirtualBox version 5.2.18 is incompatible.

General recommendations for users using Linux as a host operating system:

Linux kernel version:

• The recommended host Linux kernel version is the same version that Debian bookworm is using, see linux-image-amd64.
• Newer host Linux kernel versions are likely to break VirtualBox VMs in many ways since these are unsupported by VirtualBox.

Host operating system. The recommended host Linux distributions are:

• preferably the stable version of Kicksecure^™ 17, or
• Debian Linux version bookworm.

3 Import Whonix into VirtualBox

For Whonix VirtualBox import instructions, please press the learn more button on the right.

Follow these steps to import Whonix into VirtualBox. Click images to enlarge

• 
  1 Start VirtualBox
• 
  2 Click on File then choose Import Appliance...
• 
  3 Navigate and select Whonix image and press next
• 
  4 Do NOT change anything! Just click on Import
• 
  5 Then press Agree
• 
  6 Wait until Whonix .ova has been imported
• 
  7 Now start Whonix-Gateway and Whonix-Workstation

Miscellaneous

There are also Video Tutorials.

If you still need help, please check the Support page.

For command line import instructions, see footnote.

4 Start Whonix

Starting Whonix is simple:

1. Start VirtualBox.
2. Double-click the Whonix-Gateway^™ and Whonix-Workstation^™.

5 Support the Future of Whonix

Whonix is made possible thanks to the donation of people like you.

Please support the Whonix development with a donation.

Donate to Whonix

First Time User / Questions and Answers

First Time User / Questions and Answers

• Default username: user
• Default password: No password required. (Passwordless login.)

Warning:

• If you do not know what metadata or a man-in-the-middle attack is.
• If you think nobody can eavesdrop on your communications because you are using Tor.
• If you have no idea how Whonix works.

Then read the Design and Goals, Whonix and Tor Limitations and Tips on Remaining Anonymous pages to decide whether Whonix is the right tool for you based on its limitations.

• Can I combine Whonix-Gateway^™ CLI with Whonix-Workstation^™ Xfce? Yes, you can! Learn more.
• Why use VirtualBox over KVM?
• Why use VirtualBox over Qubes?
• FAQ

See Also

See Also

• Documentation
• Follow Whonix Developments
• In case of issues, see VirtualBox Troubleshooting.

For additional VirtualBox guides and information, please press on expand on the right.

• Known Issues
• VirtualBox Troubleshooting
• VirtualBox Guest Additions
• VirtualBox Clipboard Sharing
• VirtualBox Shared Folder
• VirtualBox Hardening
• Installing Newer Versions of VirtualBox

Help Wanted

• Work on the VirtualBox development task list.

Footnotes

Footnotes

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Whonix is proudly supported until 2025 by Power Up Privacy, a privacy advocacy group that seeks to supercharge privacy projects with resources so they can complete their mission of making our world a better place. (Strictly subject to our sponsorship policy.)

At Whonix we value freedom and trust, supporting Open Source and Freedom Software

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