Virtual machines 101Ī virtual machine (VM) is a fake computer running inside your real computer. And finally I’m going to give a brief overview of Qubes, an operating system that’s more secure than most anything currently available, and takes isolation security to its logical limits. Then I’m going to show off Whonix, an operating system you can run in a virtual machine to maximize your online anonymity it’s ideal for maintaining a secret identity.

Then I’m going to outline a handful of ways you can use virtual machines to reduce your risk of getting hacked, and go over some security caveats. In this column, I’m going to start with a simple primer on virtual machines, including how to install the Ubuntu distribution of Linux in one of them, and I encourage you to follow along. You can also use this technology to ensure that your anonymous online activity remains anonymous, safeguarding the privacy protections offered by Tor by ensuring that absolutely all internet traffic gets routed through it - even if your software, like Tor Browser or Pidgin, gets hacked specifically to bypass Tor. Using virtualization software, the same technology that powers much of so-called cloud computing, it’s possible for you to protect your system even as you open attachments that might be sketchy, visit websites that you’re not too sure about - porn sites, torrent sites, pirated TV and sports sites - or test out software downloaded from random websites. They can start logging your keystrokes, taking screenshots, and even listening to your microphone and watching through your webcam.īut it’s possible to isolate the most risky files and programs from other parts of your computer. If that attacker gets the ability to run programs of their choice on your computer, as they often aim to do, they have access to all of your files. One mishap - opening the wrong email attachment, installing malware that pretends to be Flash, not updating your software quickly enough - and you’ve given the keys to the kingdom to an attacker.

A LL MAJOR CONSUMER operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, are way too easy to hack.

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