mirror of
https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-doc.git
synced 2024-10-01 01:25:40 -04:00
322 lines
11 KiB
HTML
322 lines
11 KiB
HTML
---
|
|
layout: default
|
|
title: Introduction
|
|
permalink: /intro/
|
|
redirect_from:
|
|
- /tour/
|
|
- /en/tour/
|
|
- /tour/#what-is-qubes-os
|
|
- /about/
|
|
- /en/about/
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
<h2>What is Qubes OS?</h2>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-12 col-md-12">
|
|
<p>
|
|
Qubes OS is a free and open-source, security-oriented operating system for
|
|
single-user desktop computing. Qubes OS leverages
|
|
<a href="https://wiki.xen.org/wiki/Xen_Project_Software_Overview">
|
|
Xen-based virtualization</a> to allow for the creation and management of
|
|
isolated compartments called <a href="/doc/glossary#qube">qubes</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 text-left">
|
|
<p>
|
|
These qubes, which are implemented as <a href="/doc/glossary#vm">virtual
|
|
machines (VMs)</a>, have specific:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li class="more-bottom">
|
|
<b>Purposes:</b> with a predefined set of one or many isolated
|
|
applications, for personal or professional projects, to manage the
|
|
<a href="/doc/networking/">network stack</a>,
|
|
<a href="/doc/firewall/">the firewall</a>, or to fulfill other
|
|
user-defined purposes.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li class="more-bottom">
|
|
<b>Natures:</b> <a href="/doc/standalone-and-hvm/">full-fledged</a> or
|
|
<a href="/getting-started/#appvms-qubes-and-templatevms">
|
|
stripped-down</a> virtual machines based on popular operating systems,
|
|
such as <a href="/doc/templates/fedora">Fedora</a>,
|
|
<a href="/doc/templates/debian">Debian</a>, and
|
|
<a href="/doc/windows/">Windows</a>.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li class="more-bottom">
|
|
<b>Levels of trust:</b> from complete to non-existent. All windows are
|
|
displayed in a unified desktop environment with
|
|
<a href="/getting-started/">unforgeable colored window borders</a> so
|
|
that different security levels are easily identifiable.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-9 col-md-9">
|
|
<a href="/attachment/site/qubesosdiagram.png">
|
|
<img src="/attachment/site/qubesosdiagram.png"
|
|
class="center-block more-bottom" alt="Qubes system diagram">
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<div class="alert alert-info more-bottom" role="alert">
|
|
<i class="fa fa-info-circle"></i>
|
|
<b>Note:</b> See our <a href="/doc/glossary/">glossary</a> and
|
|
<a href="/faq/">FAQ</a> for more information.
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<h2 class="more-bottom">Features</h2>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Strong isolation</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Isolate different pieces of software as if they were installed on separate
|
|
physical machines using <a href="/doc/glossary/#pv">PV</a> or
|
|
<a href="/doc/glossary/#hvm">HVM</a> virtualization techniques.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Template system</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Use <a href="/getting-started/#appvms-qubes-and-templatevms">AppVMs</a> to
|
|
share a root file system without sacrificing security using the innovative
|
|
<a href="/doc/templates/">Template system</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Multiple operating systems</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Use multiple operating systems at the same time, including
|
|
<a href="/doc/templates/fedora">Fedora</a>,
|
|
<a href="/doc/templates/debian">Debian</a>, and
|
|
<a href="/doc/windows/">Windows.</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>DisposableVMs</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Create <a href="/doc/disposablevm/">DisposableVMs</a> on the fly that
|
|
self-destruct when shut down.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Whonix integration</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Run <a href="https://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a> securely system-wide
|
|
using <a href="/doc/whonix/">Whonix with Qubes</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Device isolation</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Secure <a href="/doc/device-handling/">device handling</a> through
|
|
isolation of network cards and USB controllers.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Split GPG</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Utilize <a href="/doc/split-gpg/">Split GPG</a> to keep your private keys
|
|
safe.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>U2F proxy</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Operate <a href="/doc/u2f-proxy/">Qubes U2F proxy</a> to use your
|
|
two-factor authentication devices without exposing your web browser to the
|
|
full USB stack.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Open-source</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Users are free to use, copy, and modify Qubes OS and
|
|
<a href="/doc/contributing/">are encouraged to do so!</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<div class="alert alert-info more-bottom" role="alert">
|
|
<i class="fa fa-info-circle"></i>
|
|
<b>Note:</b> Given the technical nature of Qubes OS, prior experience with
|
|
Linux can be helpful.
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<h2 class="more-bottom">Why Qubes OS?</h2>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Physical isolation is a given safeguard that the digital world lacks</h3>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-6 col-md-6 text-left">
|
|
<p>
|
|
Throughout our lives, we engage in various activities, such as going to
|
|
school, working, voting, taking care of our families, and visiting with
|
|
friends. These activities are spatially and temporally bound: They happen
|
|
in isolation from one another, in their own compartments, which often
|
|
represent an essential safeguard, as in the case of voting.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
In our digital lives, the situation is quite different: All of our
|
|
activities typically happen on a single device. This causes us to worry
|
|
about whether it's safe to click on a link or install an app, since being
|
|
hacked imperils our entire digital existence.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Qubes eliminates this concern by allowing us to divide a device into many
|
|
compartments, much as we divide a physical building into many rooms.
|
|
Better yet, it allows us to create new compartments whenever we need them,
|
|
and it gives us sophisticated tools for securely managing our activities
|
|
and data across these compartments.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-6 col-md-6">
|
|
<a href="/attachment/wiki/GettingStarted/r2b1-qubes-manager-2.png">
|
|
<img src="/attachment/wiki/GettingStarted/r2b1-qubes-manager-2.png"
|
|
class="center-block more-bottom" alt="Qube Manager">
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Qubes allows you to compartmentalize your digital life</h3>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-6 col-md-6">
|
|
<a href="/attachment/site/qubes-partition-data-flows.jpg">
|
|
<img src="/attachment/site/qubes-partition-data-flows.jpg"
|
|
class="center-block more-bottom" alt="Compartmentalization example">
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-6 col-md-6 text-left center-block">
|
|
<p>
|
|
Many of us are initially surprised to learn that our devices do not
|
|
support the kind of secure compartmentalization that our lives demand, and
|
|
we're disappointed that software vendors rely on generic defenses that
|
|
repeatedly succumb to new attacks.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
In building Qubes, our working assumption is that all software contains
|
|
bugs. Not only that, but in their stampeding rush to meet deadlines, the
|
|
world's stressed-out software developers are pumping out new code at a
|
|
staggering rate — far faster than the comparatively smaller
|
|
population of security experts could ever hope to analyze it for
|
|
vulnerabilities, much less fix everything. Rather than pretend that we can
|
|
prevent these inevitable vulnerabilities from being exploited, we've
|
|
designed Qubes under the assumption that they <em>will</em> be exploited.
|
|
It's only a matter of time until the next zero-day attack.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
In light of this sobering reality, Qubes takes an eminently practical
|
|
approach: confine, control, and contain the damage. It allows you to keep
|
|
valuable data separate from risky activities, preventing
|
|
cross-contamination. This means you you can do everything on the same
|
|
physical computer without having to worry about a single successful
|
|
cyberattack taking down your entire digital life in one fell swoop. In
|
|
fact, Qubes has
|
|
<a href="https://invisiblethingslab.com/resources/2014/Software_compartmentalization_vs_physical_separation.pdf">
|
|
distinct advantages over physical air gaps</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Made to support vulnerable users</h3>
|
|
|
|
<div class="row">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-12 col-md-12 text-left">
|
|
<p>
|
|
Qubes provides practical, usable security to vulnerable and
|
|
actively-targeted individuals, such as journalists, activists,
|
|
whistleblowers, and researchers. Qubes is designed with the understanding
|
|
that people make mistakes, and it allows you to protect yourself from your
|
|
own mistakes. It's a place where you can click on links, open attachments,
|
|
plug in devices, and install software free from worry. It's a place where
|
|
<em>you</em> have control over your software, not the other way around.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="/attachment/wiki/GettingStarted/snapshot12.png">
|
|
<img src="/attachment/wiki/GettingStarted/snapshot12.png"
|
|
class="center-block" alt="Qubes desktop screenshot">
|
|
</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<hr class="add-top more-bottom">
|
|
|
|
<div class="row more-bottom">
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Video Tours</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Want to see Qubes OS in action? Sit back and watch a guided tour!
|
|
</p>
|
|
<a href="/video-tours/" class="btn btn-primary more-bottom">
|
|
<i class="fa fa-play-circle"></i> Video Tours
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Screenshots</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
See what using Qubes actually looks like with these screenshots of various
|
|
applications running in Qubes.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<a href="/screenshots/" class="btn btn-primary more-bottom">
|
|
<i class="fa fa-picture-o"></i> Screenshots
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-xs-12">
|
|
<h3>Getting Started</h3>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Ready to get started with Qubes? Here's what you need to know after
|
|
installing.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<a href="/getting-started/" class="btn btn-primary more-bottom">
|
|
<i class="fa fa-cubes"></i> Getting Started
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<h2>More information</h2>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
This page is just a brief introduction to what Qubes is all about, and many
|
|
technical details have been omitted here for the sake of presentation.
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If you're a current or potential Qubes user, you may want to check out the
|
|
<a href="/doc/">documentation</a> and the
|
|
<a href="/faq/#users">user FAQ</a>.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If you're a developer, there's dedicated
|
|
<a href="/doc/#developer-documentation">developer documentation</a> and a
|
|
<a href="/faq/#developers">developer FAQ</a> just for you.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
Ready to give Qubes a try? Head on over to the
|
|
<a href="/downloads/">downloads</a> page, and read the
|
|
<a href="/doc/installation-guide">installation guide</a>.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
Need help, or just want to join the conversation? Learn more about
|
|
<a href="/support/">help, support, the mailing lists, and the forum</a>.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|