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Obscurix – Arch Linux-based OS configured for privacy, security and anonymity

88 points| URfejk | 5 years ago |obscurix.github.io | reply

24 comments

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[+] alex_reg|5 years ago|reply
A comparison with Tails would be nice.

A big difference is the base distro.

I used Arch for many years, so I love it as daily driver.

But for a security-critical context such as this, Debian with it's stability and very security-aware package maintainership seems like a better choice.

Some answers are in the FAQ: https://obscurix.github.io/faq.html

[+] URfejk|5 years ago|reply
>But for a security-critical context such as this, Debian with it's stability and very security-aware package maintainership seems like a better choice.

Or Centos.

[+] tipoftheiceberg|5 years ago|reply
How does this compare to Qubes+Whonix ?
[+] baobabKoodaa|5 years ago|reply
> How does this compare to Qubes+Whonix ?

From Obscurix FAQ:

"Whonix is another anonymity focused operating system. It is meant to be run inside virtual machines instead of from a USB like Obscurix. Whonix has a more leak-proof method of forcing all traffic through Tor but it isn't amnesiac or forensics resistant like Obscurix."

Basically, Whonix requires a VM sandbox escape in order to leak your IP address. Obscurix does not have any comparable protection against malicious applications leaking your IP address. The purported advantage of Obscurix is its "amnesiac" property, but it doesn't sound very compelling. Everyone should be using full disk encryption in any case, regardless of what OS they are running or what other steps they are taking to improve security. It's not clear to me why I should care about the amnesiac property of the OS when everything is encrypted.

[+] bobbyd3|5 years ago|reply
I understand the use cases for certain Linux distribution spinoffs that can eliminate complexity but it also breaks my heart when they use an ultra customizable distribution like Arch Linux.

Typically, I will [1] customize my own installation media to do or contain whatever software or configurations I need without a third-party making assumptions for me. This is quite possibly what I like most about Arch Linux. I know what is going on under the hood because I set it up. I'm likely not a typical user for most spinoffs. I use Arch Linux, FreeBSD, Gentoo, RHEL, Debian, SLES, and Ubuntu for different use cases as required.

[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/archiso

*EDIT: Forgot and added a couple distros that I actively use (wish I could consolidate to one. Maybe one day)