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90 lines
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Markdown
90 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: doc
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title: DisposableVms
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permalink: /doc/DisposableVms/
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redirect_from: /wiki/DisposableVms/
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---
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Disposable VMs (DispVMs)
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========================
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Background
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----------
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See [this article](http://theinvisiblethings.blogspot.com/2010/06/disposable-vms.html) for a background on why would one want to use a Disposable VM and what it is.
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Opening a file in a Disposable VM (via GUI)
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-------------------------------------------
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In some AppVM, right click on the file you wish to open in a Disposable VM (in the Nautilus file manager), then choose Scripts -\> Open in Disposable VM. Wait a few seconds and an default application for this file type should appear displaying the file content. This app is running in a whole new VM -- a disposable VM created for the purpose of view this very file. Once you close the viewing application then whole Disposable VM will get destroyed.
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Opening a fresh web browser instance in a new Disposable VM
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-----------------------------------------------------------
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Sometimes it is convenient to open a fresh instance of Firefox within a new fresh Disposable VM. This can be easily done by using the Start Menu: just go to Start -\> Disposable VM -\> Firefox and wait a few seconds until a web browser starts. Once you close the viewing application then whole Disposable VM will get destroyed.
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Opening a file in a Disposable VM via command line (from AppVM)
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---------------------------------------------------------------
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Use the `qvm-open-in-dvm` command line (from your AppVM), e.g.:
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{% highlight trac-wiki %}
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[user@work-pub ~]$ qvm-open-in-dvm Downloads/apple-sandbox.pdf
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{% endhighlight %}
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The qvm-open-in-dvm will not exit until you close the application in the Disposable VM.
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Starting an arbitrary application in a disposable VM via command line (from Dom0)
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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**Note:** Normally there should be no need for doing this -- this is just for Qubes hackers ;)
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{% highlight trac-wiki %}
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[joanna@dom0 ~]$ echo gnome-terminal | /usr/lib/qubes/qfile-daemon-dvm qubes.VMShell dom0 DEFAULT red
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{% endhighlight %}
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In fact the Disposable VM appmenu used for starting Firefox contains a very similar command to the above. Please note, however, that it generally makes little sense to start any other application other than a Web Browser this way...
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Starting an arbitrary program in a Disposable VM from an AppVM
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--------------------------------------------------------------
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Sometimes it might be useful to start an arbitrary program, such as e.g. terminal in an Disposable VM from an AppVM. This could be simply done this way:
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{% highlight trac-wiki %}
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[user@vault ~]$ qvm-run '$dispvm' gnome-terminal
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{% endhighlight %}
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Note the above command is issued in an AppVM, not in Dom0. The created Disposable VM can be normally accessed via other tools, such as e.g. `qvm-copy-to-vm`, using its 'dispX' name, as shown by the Qubes Manager or `qvm-ls` tools. The created Disposable VM will inherit firewall settings of the ancestor VM, which is useful in some cases (e.g. when the original AppVM had networking cut off).
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Using a non-default template as a basis for Disposable VM
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---------------------------------------------------------
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In some situations it might be beneficial to use a non-default template as a basis for Disposable VM. One example is to use a less-trusted template with some less trusted, 3rd party, often unsigned, applications installed, such as e.g. 3rd part printer drivers.
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In order to regenerate Disposable VM "snapshot" (called 'savefile' on Qubes) one can conveniently use the following command in Dom0:
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{% highlight trac-wiki %}
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[joanna@dom0 ~]$ qvm-create-default-dvm <custom-template-name>
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{% endhighlight %}
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This would create a new Disposable VM savefile based on the custom template. Now, whenever one opens a file (from any AppVM) in a Disposable VM, a Disposable VM based on this template will be used.
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One can easily verify if the new Disposable VM template is indeed based on a custom template (in the example below the template called "f17-yellow" was used as a basis for the Disposable VM):
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{% highlight trac-wiki %}
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[joanna@dom0 ~]$ ll /var/lib/qubes/dvmdata/
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total 0
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lrwxrwxrwx 1 joanna joanna 45 Mar 11 13:59 default_dvm.conf -> /var/lib/qubes/appvms/f17-yellow-dvm/dvm.conf
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lrwxrwxrwx 1 joanna joanna 49 Mar 11 13:59 default_savefile -> /var/lib/qubes/appvms/f17-yellow-dvm/dvm-savefile
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lrwxrwxrwx 1 joanna joanna 47 Mar 11 13:59 savefile_root -> /var/lib/qubes/vm-templates/f17-yellow/root.img
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{% endhighlight %}
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Disposable VMs and Local Forensics
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----------------------------------
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At this time, DispVMs should not be relied upon to circumvent local forensics, as they do not run entirely in RAM. For details, see [this thread](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/qubes-devel/QwL5PjqPs-4/discussion).
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