Kicksecure Live ISO (via USB) and Installation

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This is a guide for easily creating a Kicksecure Live USB stick, then booting Kicksecure from this stick and then optionally installing Kicksecure to your harddrive from this stick. To prepare, you need a USB stick. In the process, you will download our .iso file.

Table of contents

1 Download, Create Live USB : In this chapter you will learn how to create a Kicksecure Live USB stick. (Steps 1-5)

  • Download ISO
    Download ISO
  • Flash ISO to USB
    Flash ISO to USB
  • Boot from USB
    Boot from USB
  • Live Kicksecure running
    Live Kicksecure running

2 Install Kicksecure (Optional) : In this chapter you learn how to install Kicksecure to your harddrive from the Live USB stick you created. (Steps 4-7)

  • Click install in Live Kicksecure
    Click install in Live Kicksecure
  • Remove USB, boot from HD
    Remove USB, boot from HD
  • Local Kicksecure running
    Local Kicksecure running

3 Finalize and further documentation : This chapter gives you further information and helps with troubleshooting. (Steps 8,9,10)

Download, Create Live USB

Please follow these steps to install Kicksecure Xfce.

NoScript Logo This page is fully functional without JavaScript, but enabling JavaScript significantly enhances the user experience.

1 Download Kicksecure Xfce ISO

Note: Save your download to your usual Downloads folder, not to the USB stick.

Download Kicksecure Xfce ISO (FREE!) USB

2 Digital signature verification (Optional)

Only experienced users: This step is only useful and recommended for very experienced users. All other user please skip this step.

Optional: Digital signature verification.

3 Write the ISO to USB

  • In this process you will use a software tool to create a Kicksecure Live USB by writing our ISO onto this USB stick.
  • This procedure is similar for ALL Linux distribution which provide a Live USB stick for installation. The procedure is therefore unspecific to Kicksecure.

! Warning: Please be aware of this information before creating a Live USB the first time.

  • Choose your host operating system: Now below, please select the operating system you are currently using and that you intend to use to create the Kicksecure Live USB stick.
  • After your selection, only the individual instructions for the selected operating system will be shown.

Windows/Mac

1 Download balenaEtcherarchive.org iconarchive.today icon

Optional: A checksum can be found in each release for verification.

Note: Save your download to your usual Downloads folder, not to the USB stick.

2 Open the balenaEtcher download

At the security warning, confirm that you want to open balenaEtcher.

3 Choose either method "Flash from file" or "Flash from URL"

Flash from file

1 Select "Flash from file" then navigate to the downloaded image path.

2 Then press "Select Target" to choose the flash drive you want to use.

3 Tick your flash drive, then press "Select".

4 Press "Flash".

5 Done.

The process of flashing Kicksecure ISO to USB has been completed.

Flash from URL

Optional: Digital signature verification.

1 Select "Flash from URL".

2 Get the Kicksecure image URL.

Scroll up to the download link. Right click on it.

3 Paste the URL to "Use Image URL" then press "OK".

4 Press "Flash".

5 Done.

The process of flashing Kicksecure ISO to USB has been completed.

Linux

1 Install GNOME Disks.

The utility is pre-installed in GNOME desktop environment. Otherwise it can be installed on most if not all Linux distributions.

Select your Linux distribution to get matching installatio instructions.

Ubuntu

  • Choose below in which way you want to install the utiliy
  • In Ubuntu, package is named gnome-disk-utility.

Command Line

Install package(s) gnome-disk-utility following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the systemOnion network Logo.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the gnome-disk-utility package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends optionOnion network Logo is in most cases optional.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnome-disk-utility

4 Platform specific notice.

  • Kicksecure: No special notice.
  • Kicksecure-Qubes: Shut down Template and restart App Qubes based on it as per Qubes Template ModificationOnion network Logo.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) gnome-disk-utility is complete.

Software Center

Similar to the following.

NOTE: Replace VirtualBox with GNOME Disks in the following instructions.

Ubuntu Software Center can be used to install VirtualBox. The process is similar to installation of most other applications.

This only works for users with computers that do not have "SecureBoot" enabled. If the user's computer is using "SecureBoot" the user need to either disable "SecureBoot" in the BIOS or use the command line based instructions. [1]

1 Open the start menu.

2 Click on the Ubuntu Software Center icon.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center icon

Ubuntu Software icon

3 Click on the magnifying glass to search. → Type virtualbox. → Press enter. → In the search results, click on VirtualBox.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - Search For VirtualBox

search for virtualbox

4 Click on Install and wait.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center Search Result

Install Virtualbox

5 Installation of VirtualBox has been completed.

When the installation has completed, the install icon changes to the uninstall icon. Do not click the uninstall button.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - VirtualBox has been installed

Uninstall Virtualbox

6 Click on Show Applications. → Click on Virtual Box start the VirtualBox graphical user interface (GUI).

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center #4

Show Applications

7 Done.

The procedure of installing and starting VirtualBox is complete.

Debian

In Debian, package is named gnome-disk-utility.

Install package(s) gnome-disk-utility following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the systemOnion network Logo.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the gnome-disk-utility package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends optionOnion network Logo is in most cases optional.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnome-disk-utility

4 Platform specific notice.

  • Kicksecure: No special notice.
  • Kicksecure-Qubes: Shut down Template and restart App Qubes based on it as per Qubes Template ModificationOnion network Logo.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) gnome-disk-utility is complete.

Other Linux

Hosts using a non-Debian operating system:

Install GNOME Disks as per the normal mechanism for your Linux distribution. No special instructions for Kicksecure are required. The installation of a GNOME Disks is unspecific to Kicksecure. Consult the documentation of your Linux distribution.

2 Launch GNOME Disks.

A Using the start menu.

Figure: GNOME Disks Xfce Launch

GNOME Disks Xfce Launch

B Alternatively, you could also start GNOME disks from the command line.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! gnome-disks

3 Select your device present on the right tab.

Figure: GNOME Disk Select

GNOME Disk Select

4 On the three dots menu on the top right side, click on Restore Disk Image.

Figure: GNOME Disk Restore Select

GNOME Disk Restore Select

5 Click on the field of Image to restore

Click on the field of Image to restore and navigate with your file manager to select Kicksecure ISO. After you are finished, click on Start Restoring.

Figure: GNOME Disk Restore ISO

GNOME Disk Restore ISO

6 Make sure you have selected the right device and click on Restore.

Figure: GNOME Disk Restore ISO Confirm

GNOME Disk Restore ISO Confirm

7 Wait for the flashing of the ISO to finish.

Figure: GNOME Disk Restoring

GNOME Disk Restoring

8 After flashing is completed, the Contents field will indicate ISO 9660.

Figure: GNOME Disk Finish

GNOME Disk Finish

9 Done.

The process of flashing Kicksecure ISO to USB has been completed.

Terminal

Note: The following steps works on Unix terminals with GNU utilities.

1 Find the name of your drive, substitute

Find the name of your drive, substitute every reference of My_own_drive to your own drive ID.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/usb-*

2 Check with lsblk

Check with lsblk to make sure that My_own_drive is not mounted (blank field under MOUNTPOINTS).

Note: Replace My_own_drive with the actual name of your device.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! lsblk /dev/disk/by-id/usb-My_own_drive

3 Copy the Kicksecure ISO to My_own_drive.

Note: The path to Kicksecure-Xfce-17.2.8.5.Intel_AMD64.iso needs to be adjusted in case the user did not download the ISO image to the home folder.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo cp Kicksecure-Xfce-17.2.8.5.Intel_AMD64.iso /dev/disk/by-id/usb-My_own_drive

Click on 'Learn More' on the right side for other command-line methods.

4 Ensure buffers are fully written to the device before removing it.

Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo sync

5 Done.

The process of flashing Kicksecure ISO to USB has been completed.

BSD

If you are using BSD all the steps from the tab 'Terminal' (left of this tab) apply to you. Click #Terminal and study the instructions. Then consult your BSD operating system documentation on how to use these listed tools in BSD. Especially check how to flash an ISO, as the utilities commands may differ (dd for example).

Qubes

Flashing the Kicksecure ISO while using Qubes

! Prerequisite knowledge

1 Make sure you have the required prerequisite knowledge mentioned above. Do not proceed without it!

2 Choose one option below for either graphical image writer or command-line image writer to get the matching instructions.

Graphical Image Writer in Qubes

3 dom0 → Qubes Device Manger in systray → Use USB Device: → assign the hard drive to the VM.

Note: Data (Block) Devices cannot be used.

4 It is possible to use KDE ISO Image Writerarchive.org iconarchive.today icon, which is available as AppImagearchive.org iconarchive.today icon and from Flathubarchive.org iconarchive.today icon.

5 Done.

The process of flashing Kicksecure ISO to USB has been completed.

Command-Line Image Writer in Qubes

3 Device method choice.

Choose either using block device or using USB device. Two options. Choose one.

Using Block device

4 dom0 → Qubes Device Manger in systray → under "Data (Block) Devices" → select the USB device (for example sda → assign the hard drive to the VM.

5 Inside the VM, flash the image to USB: Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo cp Kicksecure-Xfce-17.2.8.5.Intel_AMD64.iso /dev/xvdi

Using USB Device

4 dom0 → Qubes Device Manger in systray → Use USB Device: → assign the hard drive to the VM.

5 Inside the VM, flash the image to USB: Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo cp Kicksecure-Xfce-17.2.8.5.Intel_AMD64.iso /dev/sda

6 Inside the VM, write buffers to the disk: Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! sudo sync

7 In dom0, use the Qubes Device Manger to remove the USB from the VM.

8 Done.

The process of flashing Kicksecure ISO to USB has been completed.

4 Boot the ISO

This short video that explains the whole booting process in simple terms. Below that are the detailed instructions for the booting process.

Play Video
Local File

1 Power off your host computer.

2 Connect the USB drive you just flashed to your computer.

3 Research Boot Menu Key : Find out your computer's motherboard's specific KEY (on the keyboard) that opens the Boot Menu.

Search the table below (click "Expand" to enlarge") or search on the internet to find out the boot menu key for your specific motherboard model. Write down the key "candidates" (because you cannot be sure before trying) for your specific model. Usually only ONE key opens the Boot Menu, but due to different vendors and models, there is no uniform key which opens the boot menu for all computers. Usually one of the following keys will be the one.

F2 F7 F9 F10 F11 F12 ESC OPTION NOVO

RESEARCH BOOT MENU KEY table (Click Expand)

4 CONDITIONAL STEP : Activate your Boot Menu in the BIOS.

This step depends on your operating system. For most users this step is not necessary and can be skipped. But if in the next step (step 5) NO key is working for you to start the Boot Menu you need to do this step.

1 Web-search and find a good tutorial with this term Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [my computer / motherboard name] how to enable Boot Menu

2 Follow the instructions in the tutorial until you're certain that you've enabled the Boot Menu on your system

3 Now you're ready to proceed with the next step

5 Power on your computer. As soon as it starts booting press you Boot Menu Key several times (twice per second should be enough)

This should open the Boot Menu after pressing the key for a couple of seconds. The figure below shows an example of a Boot Menu. The look of different boot menus can vary strongly between vendors. But in principle (1) it says "Boot Menu" and (2) gives you different options to choose from.

Figure: Boot menu example

6 Try out all the Boot Menu key "candidates"

1 If the computer starts on another operating system (meaning NOT Kicksecure) or returns an error message, shut down the computer again and repeat step 5 for all the possible Boot Menu key "candidates" identified in step 3.

2 If you have no luck with any of the Boot Menu key "candidates" or if you enter a menu called "BIOS" then you need to go back to step 4.

3 If a Boot Menu with a list of devices appears, that's correct. Now select your USB stick (in the example image "Removable Devices", but the name can vary) and press Enter.

7 GRUB Boot Loader Step

If the computer starts on Kicksecure ISO, the GRUB Boot Loader will appear giving boot options. You can read the instructions or just sit back. After some seconds, it will automatically boot the ISO.

Figure: Kicksecure ISO GRUB

Kicksecure ISO GRUB

8 After boot, you will encounter the Kicksecure desktop.

Figure: Kicksecure Desktop

Kicksecure Desktop

9 DONE.

You can experiment with the Live ISO without saving data persistently, before committing to install Kicksecure to hard drive (optional).

WELL DONE! 😃

Up to this point you have downloaded the Kicksecure ISO, flashed the ISO to a USB stick and booted your computer from this USB stick! You can work with the live system or go on and permanently install Kicksecure.

Install Kicksecure (Optional)

Learn how to install Kicksecure from the newly created Live USB stick, if you so choose.

5 Start installation

1 Click on the desktop icon Install to Hard drive.

Figure: ISO Install to hard drive icon

ISO Install to hard drive icon

2 Be welcomed by the Calamares Installer and select your language.

Figure: ISO Calamares Welcome

ISO Calamares Welcome

3 Choose how to partition your system.

Choose Erase Disk to replace the operating system on your internal hard drive. Usually no other changes required by most users.

! Warning: Please be aware of this information before installing the first time.

If you do not agree with summary, press Back and choose the partition scheme again.

Figure: ISO Calamares Partition

ISO Calamares Partition

4 Confirm the partition by looking at a summary of actions that will be done to your drive. If you agree, press Install to proceed with the installation.

Figure: ISO Calamares Summary

ISO Calamares Summary

5 Installation has begun. Soon you will be able to enjoy your new Kicksecure operating system.

Figure: ISO Calamares Install

ISO Calamares Install

6 Installation has been completed. Please uncheck the restart option to avoid booting to the same device again. Click Done when finished.

Figure: ISO Calamares Uncheck Restart

Calamares Uncheck Restart

7 On the Xfce Panel, click on the Applications icon and launch the Logout application.

Figure: Xfce Launch Logout

Launch Logout

8 On the Logout application, click on Shut Down.

Figure: Xfce Shutdown

Logout

6 Remove installation media

Please remove the USB flash drive that was used to install Kicksecure.

7 Boot installed Kicksecure

1 Power on the computer. If you boot from the correct device (where Kicksecure Xfce is installed), you will face the following bootloader screen. Please wait some seconds for the operating system to start. If you didn't boot with the correct device, repeat the step 4 to select the correct drive.

Figure: Installed Kicksecure GRUB

Kicksecure GRUB

2 Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Pre-Boot Authentication Screen.

initramfs (initramfs-tools or dracut) Based Encryption Password Prompt

3 The Kicksecure desktop will appear.

Figure: Kicksecure Desktop

Kicksecure Desktop

CONGRATULATIONS! 😃

You have successfully installed Kicksecure to your hard drive and booted it. You can now permanently work with your Kicksecure installation!

Finalize and further documentation

The process is done. Please read further and support the Future of Kicksecure with a Donation.

8 Done

The process of installing Kicksecure Xfce has been completed, enjoy!

Continue your journey by reading First Kicksecure Steps documentation.

9 Support the Future of Kicksecure

Kicksecure is made possible thanks to the donation of people like you.

Please support the Kicksecure development with a donation.

Donate to Kicksecure

10 Troubleshooting

If you're having trouble anywhere in this process, visit Troubleshooting#ISO for troubleshooting help

Footnotes

  1. ↑ This is unspecific to Kicksecure. This is because during package installation of a package that requires kernel modules when "SecureBoot" is enabled, Ubuntu's dkms is prompting the user for a password to encrypt the key which will be used to enroll the kernel module signing key. This is Ubuntu usability issue. It is unknown if any bug report / feature request for this exists. Please contribute, research, report this issue on Ubuntu's issue tracker.

License

Kicksecure ISO wiki page Copyright (C) Amnesia <amnesia at boum dot org>
Kicksecure ISO wiki page Copyright (C) 2012 - 2025 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC <

This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see the wiki source code.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; see the wiki source code for details.

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