Support

Free Support[edit]

In the first instance, users should search the following free resources for their issue(s).

Computer Security[edit]

• General questions about computer security can be discussed at Information Security Stack Exchange ^[archive].

General[edit]

• Documentation.
• When Tor Browser Downloader is failing, refer to the Whonix ™ User Forums ^[archive]. Since many users are affected when it breaks, there is probably already an existing topic and documented solution.
• Linux/Debian related questions are welcome ^[1] on Unix and Linux Stack Exchange ^[archive].
  • Add the whonix tag ^[2], which will alert Whonix ™ developers and followers.

Tor[edit]

For general questions about about Tor configuration, specs, and technical issues.

• Documentation Main Page ^[archive].
• Wiki ^[archive].
• Trac Guide ^[archive].
• FAQs ^[archive].
• Tor-stable Manual ^[archive].
• Bridges ^[archive].
• Bug Tracker ^[archive].

For general Tor questions not directly related to Whonix ™ like "What are end-to-end correlation attacks?", use:

• Tor Stack Exchange ^[archive];
• The tor-talk mailing list ^[archive]; or
• IRC (Webchat ^[archive]).

For Tor-on-host questions unrelated to Whonix ™ such as "How do I configure bridges?", see:

• Tor Project contact page ^[archive];
• Tor Stack Exchange ^[archive];
• tor-talk mailing list ^[archive]; and
• IRC.
• Also available: Webchat ^[archive] or e-mail to help@rt.torproject.org

For Whonix ™-specific Tor questions, see:

• Tor Stack Exchange ^[archive]. Add the whonix tag, ^[3] which will alert Whonix ™ developers and followers. ^[4]
• For Whonix ™-specific questions that are unsuitable for the stackexchange Q/A format, use the Whonix ™ User Forums ^[archive].

Qubes OS[edit]

• Documentation ^[archive]
• Enhancements and community bug tracker - Github qubes-issues ^[archive].
• Various daily questions and/or problems - Google Groups qubes-users ^[archive].
  • HCL reports.
  • Installation problems.
  • Hardware compatibility problems.
  • General, how do I...?
• Mailing lists and other Help and Support ^[archive] resources.
• Also see: What to post in this Qubes-Whonix ™ forum and what not ^[archive].

Additional Support Resources[edit]

Whonix Chat[edit]

Symbol	Name	Main	Alternative	Documentation
	Telegram	@Whonix (inactive, read-only)	@Whonix_Chat_No_Media (inactive, read-only)	alternative channel (inactive, read-only)
	Matrix	Whonix ™ Matrix Chat (inactive, read-only)	-	-
-	IRC	https://xkcd.com/1782/ [archive]	-	-

See also Whonix ™ Policy of Whonix ™ Website and Whonix ™ Chat and Chat Rules.

Whonix Forums[edit]

Whonix ™ User Help Forums ^[archive]

Usage instructions:

• Whonix ™ Policy of Whonix ™ Website and Whonix ™ Chat
• Limitations on Free Speech on Whonix ™ Website ‎and Whonix ™ Chat
• Free Support Principle applies.
• If an anonymous email address is needed for signing up at Whonix ™ User Help Forums then click here.
• Posting Links for New Users
• Uploading Images for Support

Whonix ™ Forum Best Practices:

• Avoid Oneboxing for Anchored Links
• Before Creating a New Thread
• Bumping Old Threads
• Clean Mediawiki Links
• Clickable Quotes
• Editing Best Practices
• FAQ
• Forum Feature Requests
• See Also

Other Resources[edit]

• Help others by subscribing to Whonix ™ support channels.
• Professional Support.

Safety Advice[edit]

What is said may reveal personal information such as:

• Location / IP Address.
• Personality.
• Skills, Aims, Goals.
• Personal Details.
• ...

To keep the IP address hidden, visit these websites anonymously over Tor, using either the Whonix-Workstation ™ or Tor Browser ^[archive] from The Tor Project. To delink questions from an existing email or OpenID, it is advisable to create a separate email address, OpenID, and user name/s just for this purpose.

Be careful with the advice received from public places. Always get a second opinion and do not run commands or perform steps which you do not understand. Never post any custom code or output that pertains to your system or onion service specifically.

General Advice[edit]

• How to Ask Smart Questions ^[archive]
• How to Report Bugs Effectively ^[archive]
• XyProblem ^[archive]

Free Support Principle[edit]

Brief Recommendations[edit]

It is recommended to follow these steps in order:

1. Please use Search Engines and see Documentation First.
2. Check the Documentation to see if the question has already been discussed. Use the Whonix ™ internal search engine and external search engines (DuckDuckGo, Startpage).
3. Search the Whonix ™ User Forums ^[archive] and issue tracker for the problem.
4. If possible, search for a solution without the Whonix ™-specific part of the question, as it may have been answered in mainstream Linux fora. (unspecific)
5. Check if the problem can be replicated in vanilla operating system environments like Debian ^[archive] bullseye, XFCE, inside the virtualizer, or over Tor ^[archive].
6. See General Advice.
7. After completing steps 1-5, a specific support request should be made if the user cannot locate a similar reference for their problem. Suitable options may include Debian user forums, unix stackexchange, VirtualBox forums, KVM mailing lists, Qubes' issue tracker, Tor mailing lists, software-specific community / developer forums (for example, LibreOffice), and so on.
8. See also Support Request Policy.
9. In case Whonix ™ specific issues or feature requests see also Bug Reports and Software Development.
10. Consider Generic Bug Reproduction.
11. If no solution is found, the user should create a new post in the Whonix ™ User Forums ^[archive].
12. If a solution is provided, please consider editing the Whonix ™ Documentation as a small contribution and/or providing a complete answer in the Whonix ™ User Forums.

Free Support Principle Rationale[edit]

In an ideal world, all free support requests would be answered with minimal to no effort or systems would run flawlessly, thus negating the need for asking questions. Unfortunately, real world systems are flawed and developer time and knowledge is limited. This is further elaborated in Whonix ™ Support Policy Rationale.

Whonix ™ will always be free in price as well as in freedom (Why?). In order to create a solid open source software solution, Whonix ™ has adopted the approach of treating users as co-developers. ^[6] This concept is further elaborated below.

The User Co-developer Concept[edit]

The majority of common questions have been answered in the available Documentation. If the solution to an issue is already documented, users will usually receive just a link to the documentation in response to their question.

Whonix ™ is a Linux distribution, with Whonix ™ developers and users playing the role of integrators. Whonix ™ itself is based on several components and software distributions developed by other projects; it is standing on the shoulders of giants.

In simple terms, Whonix ™ is based on: ^[7]

• A supported platform (Debian ^[archive]).
• Two software packages produced by The Tor Project (TPO) ^[archive] - Tor ^[archive] and Tor Browser.
• A host of other software packages.

It is impossible for the Whonix ™ contributors to be aware of the solution to each and every problem that is encountered. Users are therefore encouraged to first consider if their problem is general, and unspecific to Whonix ™.

Putting this principle into action means rephrasing the question, seeking solutions in other arenas, and preferably documenting this solution in the Documentation. Experience has shown that for some questions, this is the only realistic way to solve them.

Users might expect Whonix ™ to provide a unified experience similar to a Windows machine. While the Whonix ™ developers make every effort to meet user expectations, limited funding and human resources makes meeting these expectations impossible. ^[8]

Whonix ™ Reliance on Debian[edit]

In oversimplified terms, Whonix ™ is just a collection of configuration files and scripts. Whonix ™ is not a stripped down version of Debian; anything possible in "vanilla" Debian GNU/Linux can be replicated in Whonix ™. Likewise, most problems and questions can be solved in the same way. For example: "How do I install VLC Media Player on Whonix ™?" -- "The same way as in Debian apt install vlc. Whonix ™ does not break anything, limit functionality, or prevent installation of compatible software.

An example of an inappropriate question seeking Whonix ™ support would be "How do I save a document in Libre Office as a PDF?". The solution is easily found by use of Internet search engines. Even if a solution was difficult to find, LibreOffice would behave identically on Debian and other operating systems. Logically, the recipient for the question should be the LibreOffice community.

On the other hand, in the unlikely event this hypothetical problem only occurred in Whonix ™, then it would constitute an appropriate support referral, for example: "I know how to save a document in LibreOffice as a PDF. It doesn't work in Whonix ™. How can I make it work in Whonix ™?"

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Professional Support[edit]

https://www.encrypted-support.com ^[archive]

Footnotes[edit]

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