Although a VPN is essential to be able to browse the web in a more secure and private way, it is not infallible and has several limitations to hide your trace on the Internet.
For several weeks now I have tried Whonix, a very peculiar operating system that surpasses VPNs in anonymity functions: If a VPN is a person with a mask, with Whonix that person becomes invisible.
Although it is an operating system and works as such, very similar to the set of Linux distros, it is capable of working as an application, since it is based on virtualization, so you can use it in Windows, macOS o Linux.
Compared to the VPNwhich mask the users’ IP address and can be compromised with different types of attacks that cybercriminals are familiar with, Whonix has Tor Browser to completely anonymize browsing.
This is because regular browsers, even with the VPN activated, leave a digital fingerprint that allows the user’s identities to be directly correlated and identified practically as if it were their IP address.
To all this we must add that VPNs are vulnerable to some attacks.
A VPN is not an infallible shield
The Many users believe that with a VPN or virtual private network, their Internet connection is fully protected, although hackers with bad intentions have managed to violate them in a quite original way.
A VPN is divided into 2 important sectionswhich are the client and the server. While the client is your device, the server corresponds to the VPN, to which the encrypted messages arrive. This clears the encryption and lets you navigate to the place you have searched for.
In this area, there is an attack known as the shadow port, which allows a cybercriminal to redirect messages sent from the client to the VPN server.
With this type of attack, your device could be exposed to serious security issues, such as port scanning or decryption of the VPN tunnel, the process that masks your IP address.
Although these types of vulnerabilities exist, the latest research ensures that the Most common VPNs such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN and others have not been compromised. Be that as it may, Whonix does manage to make the user anonymous.
If you want it on your computer, I’ll tell you how to do it easily.
How to use Whonix to be anonymous
Whonix effectively consists of an operating system that runs 2 different virtual machines (VMs), which are Whonix-Gateway and Whonix-Workstation, designed to be launched on a host system, such as Windows.
To do this, the first thing you need is a VirtualBox type VM to install it. Just install the program and access the File tab in the upper left corner and Import virtualized service in the drop-down menu.
In the file that it will ask you for, add the Whonix OVA file, which you can download from this link. You have to keep in mind that this example is with Windows, so if you need it for another system you have to select it from the available options.
Once Once you have created the environment correctly, you will have to open the 2 VMs simultaneously: Whonix-Gateway It is your main one, but Whonis-Workstation will help you access the Tor browser if you need it.
Whonis is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to access this type of browser, since a virtualized service is usually safer than running a program like this directly on the host, in this case, Windows.