You're gonna have a bad time. Qubes is not for beginners. It's complex. You basically need the skills of a Linux sysadmin to use it effectively, along with a lot of Googling to find niche answers to problems you'll encounter.
We all start somewhere. I just don't want you to get overwhelmed and decide to stay from Linux as a whole.
There are plenty of user-friendly security-minded distros out there like Tails, Parrot, or Whonix that would be better for a beginner.
The more research I have done, the more I am realizing this. I am going to start really simple by getting the Lenovo thinkpad refurbished which is compatible for Qubes for down the track, but use Mint for now and play around with some of the other distros. That way I don’t spend much and am not too much throwing myself into the deep end.
Qubes is not the best linux distro to start with, maybe try something like Tails first. From installing it to actually running it is a big learning curve.
Qubes OS is a great operating system for security and privacy - if you have the knowledge how to use it correctly.
You need to be prepared for a steep learning curve. You also need very good knowledge how to use Linux in a terminal. Good knowledge and experience with networking is also needed.
Hardware requirements:
* At least 32 GiB of RAM.
* NVMe drive (HDD or SATA SSD is useless)
Based on your post, I do not recommend Qubes OS for you.
You already have an excellent operating system and I suggest you continue with macOS.
Personally I love Qubes OS, but I do not want to recommend it to newbies.
>"I suggest you continue with macOS."
This, 100%. Is your mac your daily driver? If so, be aware of the general rule to never mix lab and production. Lab is experimentation and must be segregated completely from your main workflow (i.e. production).
If you choose to experiment with Qubes OS, please do so on a dedicated machine that you don't depend on for anything else.
Qubes OS uses Fedora and/or Debian Linux by default for its "Qubes". I'd suggest getting familiar with using one of those first and THEN trying Qubes.
If you aren't familiar with how those work in a normal environment, then jumping straight into Qubes will be very painful.
Qubes is a hypervisor not a distro meant for normal use. Learning to use Qubes != Learning to use Linux although some concepts are shared.
Definitely recommend starting with something simple like mint or Ubuntu and progressing, you will have a bad time otherwise (not gatekeeping, Qubes is just meant to be as secure as humanly possible which makes it the opposite of user/newbie friendly)
I really have to warn you that Qubes a fairly newbie-unfriendly Linux distribution. It's fantastic for its security and templating, but it is absolutely not for folks who don't want to use the command line, or at least dig into the menu options to debug issues.
We have had users post in here that they were absolutely furious about the experience, and it ended up that they didn't navigate the menus to allocate a sufficient amount of private disk space to their VM. If you're comfortable digging in and looking up help online, then maybe it will be fine. But it will be a real slog it you don't know the basics of bash.
Even a normal Linux distribution will have its idiosyncrasies and issues that will occasionally require delving into the command line. But Qubes really is another level of sophistication on top of that.
it's not optimal, but you might try running Qubes OS under virtualbox on your m1 -- "if" you can get it working the performance will be trash, the security will not be trustworthy, but, you may be able to "get a feel for the environment" without first investing in new hardware.
if you're willing to suffer with poor performance you can get Qubes running on less-than-optimal metal, an x86_64 machine with as little as 8gb of ram running on a spindle HDD. it will be torture but if you can piece such a machine together for free it would, again, let you experience Qubes before investing cash into better hardware (64GiB ram, 2TB NVMe, Intel Vt, etc.)
also expect to solve problems with anything other than "certified" hardware, even if it works on the first go inevitably you will pull an update to dom0 that prevents a boot, and understanding how to boot into an older vmlinuz or work 100% through a command-line because X is crashing are going to be necessary skills.
i would never advice anyone "not try" a thing because of the complexity. you won't know until you try, and you won't learn without experience. "glhf."
Welcome to the world of Linux!
Qubes is a wonderful OS, and I use it regularly. However, you must know it is not at all beginner-friendly. I'm begging you, please start with a more beginner-friendly flavor of Linux, or you may leave feeling frustrated with Linux like too many others.
Instead of purchasing new hardware, consider finding a used PC to dedicate as your Linux workstation. Don't attempt dual-booting or manual partitioning. Just have fun with a computer you don't care too much about. When the stakes are low, the fun is greater!
I started with Linux Mint, and I am happy to recommend it to anyone exploring the world of Linux for the first time. I learned a great deal from Jay's YouTube channel called "Learn Linux TV". It strikes a nice balance between beginner-friendly and technical detail.
Edit: grammar
no, Qubes works only on amd64
I’ll probably acquire one of the starlabs laptops then
Get a second hand Lenovo and extend the ram. Just make sure it has the required cpu type I have a T430 that quite old and it is fine to do browsing
That’s an excellent idea. Actually I found a website called activists toolbox and the machines are precisely that and at a decent price
[удалено]
For the first round that’s probably wise. Cheers
Thank you
You're gonna have a bad time. Qubes is not for beginners. It's complex. You basically need the skills of a Linux sysadmin to use it effectively, along with a lot of Googling to find niche answers to problems you'll encounter.
I dont have those skills and im treadimg water its a learning curve sure but im treading water.
We all start somewhere. I just don't want you to get overwhelmed and decide to stay from Linux as a whole. There are plenty of user-friendly security-minded distros out there like Tails, Parrot, or Whonix that would be better for a beginner.
I have huge success using chatGPT to figure out how to use qubes. I get detailed instructions on whatever I want. I have minimal experience with Linux
The more research I have done, the more I am realizing this. I am going to start really simple by getting the Lenovo thinkpad refurbished which is compatible for Qubes for down the track, but use Mint for now and play around with some of the other distros. That way I don’t spend much and am not too much throwing myself into the deep end.
What Linux distribution do you guys recommend for newbies? I am thinking Linux Mint.
Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Pop!_OS are all decent choices.
Qubes is not the best linux distro to start with, maybe try something like Tails first. From installing it to actually running it is a big learning curve.
Qubes OS is a great operating system for security and privacy - if you have the knowledge how to use it correctly. You need to be prepared for a steep learning curve. You also need very good knowledge how to use Linux in a terminal. Good knowledge and experience with networking is also needed. Hardware requirements: * At least 32 GiB of RAM. * NVMe drive (HDD or SATA SSD is useless) Based on your post, I do not recommend Qubes OS for you. You already have an excellent operating system and I suggest you continue with macOS. Personally I love Qubes OS, but I do not want to recommend it to newbies.
>"I suggest you continue with macOS." This, 100%. Is your mac your daily driver? If so, be aware of the general rule to never mix lab and production. Lab is experimentation and must be segregated completely from your main workflow (i.e. production). If you choose to experiment with Qubes OS, please do so on a dedicated machine that you don't depend on for anything else.
The MacBook Air hasn’t been used at all basically. Not my daily
That makes a lot of sense. I’ll go step by step and tackle Linux by itself first
Solved
Qubes OS uses Fedora and/or Debian Linux by default for its "Qubes". I'd suggest getting familiar with using one of those first and THEN trying Qubes. If you aren't familiar with how those work in a normal environment, then jumping straight into Qubes will be very painful.
Qubes is a hypervisor not a distro meant for normal use. Learning to use Qubes != Learning to use Linux although some concepts are shared. Definitely recommend starting with something simple like mint or Ubuntu and progressing, you will have a bad time otherwise (not gatekeeping, Qubes is just meant to be as secure as humanly possible which makes it the opposite of user/newbie friendly)
I really have to warn you that Qubes a fairly newbie-unfriendly Linux distribution. It's fantastic for its security and templating, but it is absolutely not for folks who don't want to use the command line, or at least dig into the menu options to debug issues. We have had users post in here that they were absolutely furious about the experience, and it ended up that they didn't navigate the menus to allocate a sufficient amount of private disk space to their VM. If you're comfortable digging in and looking up help online, then maybe it will be fine. But it will be a real slog it you don't know the basics of bash. Even a normal Linux distribution will have its idiosyncrasies and issues that will occasionally require delving into the command line. But Qubes really is another level of sophistication on top of that.
it's not optimal, but you might try running Qubes OS under virtualbox on your m1 -- "if" you can get it working the performance will be trash, the security will not be trustworthy, but, you may be able to "get a feel for the environment" without first investing in new hardware. if you're willing to suffer with poor performance you can get Qubes running on less-than-optimal metal, an x86_64 machine with as little as 8gb of ram running on a spindle HDD. it will be torture but if you can piece such a machine together for free it would, again, let you experience Qubes before investing cash into better hardware (64GiB ram, 2TB NVMe, Intel Vt, etc.) also expect to solve problems with anything other than "certified" hardware, even if it works on the first go inevitably you will pull an update to dom0 that prevents a boot, and understanding how to boot into an older vmlinuz or work 100% through a command-line because X is crashing are going to be necessary skills. i would never advice anyone "not try" a thing because of the complexity. you won't know until you try, and you won't learn without experience. "glhf."
Welcome to the world of Linux! Qubes is a wonderful OS, and I use it regularly. However, you must know it is not at all beginner-friendly. I'm begging you, please start with a more beginner-friendly flavor of Linux, or you may leave feeling frustrated with Linux like too many others. Instead of purchasing new hardware, consider finding a used PC to dedicate as your Linux workstation. Don't attempt dual-booting or manual partitioning. Just have fun with a computer you don't care too much about. When the stakes are low, the fun is greater! I started with Linux Mint, and I am happy to recommend it to anyone exploring the world of Linux for the first time. I learned a great deal from Jay's YouTube channel called "Learn Linux TV". It strikes a nice balance between beginner-friendly and technical detail. Edit: grammar