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Mostly based on discussions with @feffiboujike on the [forum](https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/anonymizing-mac-address-documentation-clarification/14731). References #217
70 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
70 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
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Anonymizing your MAC address
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============================
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Although the MAC address is not the only metadata broadcast by network hardware, changing your hardware's default [MAC Address](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address) could be [an important step in protecting privacy](https://tails.boum.org/contribute/design/MAC_address/#index1h1).
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Qubes OS 4.1 and later already anonymize all Wi-Fi MAC addresses [by default](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-core-agent-linux/blob/master/network/nm-31-randomize-mac.conf) - they change during every Wifi session.
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So there is **no need** to apply any of the instructions below if you're only interested in Wi-Fi connections. Users requiring Ethernet MAC address anonymization may want to read on.
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## Randomize a single connection
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Right click on the Network Manager icon of your NetVM in the tray and click 'Edit Connections...'.
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Select the connection to randomize and click Edit.
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Select the "Cloned MAC Address" drop-down list and pick either 'Random" or "Stable'.
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'Stable' will generate a random address that persists until reboot, while 'Random' will generate an address each time a link goes up.
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Save the change and reconnect the connection (click on Network Manager tray icon and click "Disconnect" under the connection, it should automatically reconnect).
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## Randomize all Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections
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These steps should be done inside a template to be used to create a NetVM as it relies on creating a config file that would otherwise be deleted after a reboot due to the nature of AppVMs.
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Write the settings to a new file in the `/etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/` directory, such as `00-macrandomize.conf`.
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The following example enables Wi-Fi and Ethernet MAC address randomization while scanning (not connected), and uses a randomly generated but persistent MAC address for each individual Wi-Fi and Ethernet connection profile.
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It was inspired by the [official NetworkManager example](https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/NetworkManager/NetworkManager/-/blob/main/examples/nm-conf.d/30-anon.conf).
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~~~
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[device]
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wifi.scan-rand-mac-address=yes
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[connection]
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wifi.cloned-mac-address=stable
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ethernet.cloned-mac-address=stable
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connection.stable-id=${CONNECTION}/${BOOT}
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#the below settings are optional (see the explanations below)
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ipv6.addr-gen-mode=stable-privacy
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ipv6.ip6-privacy=2
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ipv4.dhcp-client-id=stable
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ipv6.dhcp-duid=stable-uuid
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~~~
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* `cloned-mac-address=stable` in combination with `connection.stable-id=${CONNECTION}/${BOOT}` generates a random MAC address that persists until reboot. You could use `connection.stable-id=random` instead, which generates a random MAC address each time a link goes up.
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* `ipv6.ip6-privacy=2` will cause a random IPv6 address to be used during every session. If you want to use an IPv6 address based on the already random MAC address, choose `ipv6.ip6-privacy=0`. Leaving this setting at the default is not recommended as it is basically undefined.
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* `ipv6.addr-gen-mode=stable-privacy` is a default explicitly set by current versions of `NetworkManager` when creating new connection profiles. Setting it globally just makes sure that previously created connection profiles will use the same setting.
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* `ipv4.dhcp-client-id=stable` and `ipv6.dhcp-duid=stable-uuid` instruct `NetworkManager` instruct `NetworkManager` to use a DHCP client identifier based upon the random MAC address. According to the current `NetworkManager` documentation the default is undefined. So it makes sense to set one explicitly.
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To see all the available configuration options, refer to the man page: `man nm-settings`
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Next, create a new NetVM using the edited template and assign network devices to it.
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Finally, shutdown all VMs and change the settings of sys-firewall, etc. to use the new NetVM.
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You can check the MAC address currently in use by looking at the status pages of your router device(s), or inside the NetVM with the command `sudo ip link show`.
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## Anonymize your hostname
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DHCP requests _may_ also leak your hostname to your LAN. Since your hostname is usually `sys-net`, other network users can easily spot that you're using Qubes OS.
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Unfortunately `NetworkManager` currently doesn't provide an option to disable that leak globally ([NetworkManager bug 584](https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/NetworkManager/NetworkManager/-/issues/584)).
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However the `NetworkManager` versions as of Qubes OS 4.1 were found to not leak the hostname as long as the file `/etc/hostname` does **not** exist. This behaviour may be subject to change in future `NetworkManager` versions though.
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So please always double check whether your hostname is leaked or not on e.g. your home router, via `wireshark` or `tcpdump`.
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If you want to decide per connection, `NetworkManager` provides an option to not send the hostname:
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Edit the saved connection files at `/rw/config/NM-system-connections/*.nmconnection` and add the `dhcp-send-hostname=false` line to both the `[ipv4]` and the `[ipv6]` section.
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