Amazing Privacy Ideas with KVM Virtual Machines

KVM virtual machines are standard fare in shared Linux servers. But here we will talk about using KVM in a desktop environment and strategize how to use it for privacy. KVM is an incredibly practical tool for coming up with private and secure approaches to a desktop experience.

This video introduces some practical application of KVM and variants in use. This is not just an installation video.

In this video we will demonstrate how to install KVM, which is very easy on Linux. Later in the video we will strategize the use of VM's in a way that is actually practical for daily driver use on a desktop.

This includes demonstrating how to set up KVM on an external drive and thinking about linking it with cloud options.

This video was done using Ubuntu 20.04 on a Starlabs Systems laptop.

If you're interested in setting up a NextCloud server or your own KVM servers in the cloud, look into:
Linode ($100 60 day credit offer)

COMMAND LINE

Check for Virtualization Support

egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

sudo apt-get install cpu-checker

kvm-ok

KVM Install
sudo apt install -y qemu qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon libvirt-clients bridge-utils virt-manager

Install a VM by Command Line

sudo virt-install --name=ubuntu20.04-vm
--os-variant=Ubuntu20.04
--vcpu=2 --ram=4096
--graphics spice
--network bridge:vibr0

Find VM Locations

virsh list --all
virsh vol-list default
cd /var/lib/libvirt/images

Edit VM Locations on KVM

virsh pool-destroy
virsh pool-edit default
virsh pool-start

Edit Location in VM Config

virsh edit ubuntu20.04
or
virsh edit [domain]

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I'm the Internet Privacy Guy. I'm a public interest technologist. I'm here to educate. You are losing your Internet privacy and Internet security every day if you don't fight for it. Your data is collected with endless permanent data mining. Learn about a TOR router, a VPN , antivirus, spyware, firewalls, IP address, wifi triangulation, data privacy regulation, backups and tech tools, and evading mass surveillance from NSA, CIA, FBI. Learn how to be anonymous on the Internet so you are not profiled. Learn to speak freely with pseudo anonymity. Learn more about the dangers of the inernet and the dangers of social media, dangers of email.

I like alternative communication technology like Amateur Radio and data communications using Analog. I'm a licensed HAM operator.

Please follow me on Odysee! (Previously LBRY.tv)

[thebzz]

The moment you started speaking i subscribed.

[MadCowMusic]

OMG I feel so free now, amazing how just 1 strip of velcro changes everything in this external HD + Laptop set-up!

[techhoppy]

This was a great video, Rob. Thanks for all that you do for the privacy-minded community.

[AndYourISM]

Bravo! Very well done. I've been running VirtualBox for years, but never felt motivated to tinker with anything else, until now. Thanks for sharing!

[brianfabrizio]

Freaking fantastic video. I never stopped to think I could run multiple VMs for various 'online tasks' to isolate myself in terms of privacy.

[trueriver]

Further tip:

Instead of installing the VPN code in the host, install it in the VM. That way you can select different IP addresses for different VMs to use, making it one step harder for the bad guys to link your VMs together.

Most VPN providers give you a choice of different IP addresses, located in different cities and even different countries.

Make sure your banking IP is plausible -- definitely your own country and close to home. I kept on getting extra security checks from my bank, and I found out that these were triggered by doing internet banking from a VPN IP some 200miles from home which is apparently one of the risk factors they use for spotting when a fraudster has got your login credentials.

[lizjohnson]

Great vid!
Another thing you can do with KVM is run your Nextcloud from it. To ensure that you have the maximum space available for your Nextcloud take a large external drive and encrypt it with cryptsetup. Then point the VM to use the device-mapped unencrypted device to use it as a storage device (e.g. /dev/mapper/nameofcrypt). This can't be a pool and must be done by editing the domain xml file.
What this means is you can restore the Nextcloud VM easily by taking a dump of the domain file and just import the dump on another box with the drive plugged into it and unlocked. Since the VM is pointing at a device mapper device its really hard for a potential attacker to attack via device renaming.
It also means it can be much faster than qcow on a 5400/7200 rpm drive (assuming USB3 and UAS for the external). qcow on SSD is fast, but having large sizes can get costly.
Sure you could present extra storage via NFS, or Nextcloud's external storage function, but this keeps everything on a single encrypted storage device (minus backups).

[richardwillis]

Enjoy your videos sir. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I just tried Virtual Machine Manager, which i think is the same as KVM (?), as opposed to my normal virtualbox and I'm impressed. It works great right out of the box with my new Garauda install. Came with the distro. Much faster than Vbox and no guest modules to install either. Linux ROCKS! Thanks again Rob

[gozzilla]

I find it worrying that this channel has “only” 45k subs... we’d all be in a better world if these were 100x more!

[lorettasunshine]

Thank you so much, Form Sunshine here.Fianily getting some where, paid my dewes. Thank you so much for sharing with me. I will be seeing you. And see that we alll stay safe. (:

[arnold]

I HAVE TO GIVE YOU CREDITS. I have been working for years on my privacy on the net, but man you are good. I still can learn somethings from you!

[wagoshbrownlongtree]

Thank you Rob.
Very generous of you to share the steps.

[drummerboyj]

Great video Rob, very informative! I use virtualization to look at new distros or versions, but this is a great practical application for using it.

[alainbosse]

You are really helping us making our life simple ans ... private ! Thanks for making these videos

[Tru-dpyt]

Very very informative. I'll have to revisit this topic again in the future.Thank you immensely.

[josmith]

Legendary stuff Mr Braxman. Thank you!

[benutza]

Thank you for this absolutely awseome video. Keep it up!

[darkghost]

Man two videos and I already subscribed ! Very informative, thanks, keep up the good work and stay safe :)

[diceblue]

Awesome video! Also useful for more than just privacy - a stateless VM can protect you from a lot (tho there are exploits that can jump out to host, you're protected from a lot)
Rob is by far the best privacy guru!

[fpfsxlt]

Great Content ... i refer to this video every time i need to install KVM ... Thanks Man