Platform-specific Desktop Tips

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Kicksecure Platform-specific Desktop Tips and Tricks, RAM Adjusted Desktop Starter, Virtual Console, Full-Screen

All Platforms[edit]

Disable Terminal Emulator Banner[edit]

The following greeting banner appears when a terminal shell bash prompt is opened.

Welcome to Kicksecure!

https://www.kicksecure.comarchive.org

Kicksecure Copyright (C) 2012 - 2024 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LP Kicksecure is Freedom Software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; type "kicksecure-license" <enter> for details. Kicksecure is a compilation of software packages, each under its own copyright and license. The exact license terms for each program are described in the individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Kicksecure GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by applicable law; for details type "kicksecure-disclaimer" <enter>.

Kicksecure is a derivative of Debian GNU/Linux and based on Tor.

Kicksecure is produced independently from the Tor (r) anonymity software and carries no guarantee from The Tor Project about quality, suitability or anything else.

Kicksecure is experimental software by means of concept and design. Do not rely on it for strong anonymity.

Type: "kicksecure" <enter> for help. uwt INFO: Stream isolation for some applications enabled. uwt / torsocks will be automatically prepended to some commands. What is that? See:

uwt INFO: https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Stream_Isolation/Easyarchive.org

To disable the banner, follow these steps.

1. Open a terminal.

If you are using Kicksecure inside Qubes, complete the following steps.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → Kicksecure App Qube (commonly named kicksecure) → Xfce Terminal

If you are using a graphical Kicksecure with Xfce, run.

Start Menu → Xfce Terminal

2. Run the following command.

cp /etc/skel/.bashrc.kicksecure-orig ~/.bashrc

3. Done.

The process is now complete.

See also: Disable Virtual Console Banner.

Shut Down Kicksecure[edit]

To shut down Kicksecure, open a terminal and run.

sudo poweroff

Alternatively, use the menu option:

Kicksecure means all Kicksecure platforms except Kicksecure inside Qubes. This includes Kicksecure on hardware, Kicksecure in VMs such as VirtualBox, Kicksecure KVM.

Virtual Consoles[edit]

Using Kicksecure as a Host Operating System[edit]

Virtual consolesarchive.org is a feature inherited from Debian GNU/Linux which is unfamiliar to many users. The following keyboard shortcuts activate the Debian (not Kicksecure) feature:

  • Text console: Press Alt + Crtl + F1
    • Additional text consoles: Press Alt + Crtl + F2 or F3 and so on.
  • Graphical console: Press Alt + Crtl + F7

Figure: virtual console login

Virtual Machines[edit]

Table: Virtual Console Activation

Platform Steps
KVM The desired virtual console key shortcut can be selected under the Send Key option in a VM's graphical window.
Qubes dom0 Qubes dom0 inherited the same feature (Alt + Crtl + F1...).
Qubes VMs In order to access VMs in dom0, run: [1] sudo xl console vm-name. Replace "vm-name" with the name of the actual VM, for example.

sudo xl console kicksecure

See also add Qubes host key to allow switching virtual console (ctrl + alt + F1) or SysRq for HVMarchive.org.

VirtualBox The VirtualBox default is Right Ctrl + F2. [2]
  • Text console: Press Right Ctrl + F2 (F1, F2, F3, F4...) for one or more text consoles.
  • Graphical console: Press Host Key + F7 for a graphical console inside VirtualBox.

Due to technical limitations, an easier to understand presentation like Kicksecure username login: or something similar cannot be shown. [3]

  1. Enter your username (this is most likely user) and press <enter>.
  2. Enter your password and press <enter>.

Kicksecure default admin password is: No password required. (Passwordless login.)

  • Default username: user
  • Default password: No password required. (Passwordless login.) [4]

Disable Virtual Console Banner[edit]

This process is similar to Disable Terminal Emulator Banner.

1. Open a virtual console.

2. Run the following command to restore the original bashrc (untested). [5]

cp /etc/skel/.bashrc.whonix-orig ~/.bashrc

[6]

3. Done

The procedure is complete.

Kicksecure[edit]

Disable Autologin[edit]

graphical login screen (by login manager LightDM)

Autologin is enabled by default in the login manager by Kicksecure.

  • Host operating system:
    • Simple login screen: Disabling autologin can be useful if the user wants to enable a login screen.
    • No full disk encryption: Note, the login screen is not providing Full Disk Encryption (FDE). The purpose of the login screen is elaborated in chapter Login Screen.
  • VMs: It is not very useful to disable autologin to enable a login screen inside VMs. It's much more secure to have a login screen on the host operating system.

This requires configuration of LightDM in Kicksecure.

1. Disable LightDM autologin.

This is done by deleting the configuration files which enable autologin.

sudo rm /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/30_autologin.conf

sudo rm /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/40_autologin.conf

2. Linux user account password.

The user will need to set a Linux user account password if one has not already been set.

3. Reboot.

4. Done.

Autologin should be disabled after reboot and the user should see a login prompt after reboot.

Troubleshooting: See footnote for troubleshooting. [7]

See also: Login

Minimal RAM Required[edit]

Kicksecure is based on Debian stable releases thus it will use similar Memory and Disk Space Requirementsarchive.org for Debian.

RAM Adjusted Desktop Starter[edit]

When booting up, a prompt will appear offering to prevent Xfce from starting. Users can also manually press Ctrl + C for the same effect.

By default, Kicksecure VMs are configured with 1280 MB virtual RAM. This can be reduced on systems with low available resources.

  • If total RAM is more than 512 MB, the default desktop environment (Xfce) is started.
  • If total RAM is less than 512 MB (for example, the minimum 256 MB RAM requirement), Xfce is not started.

Users with low RAM resources should find this convenient because Kicksecure RAM can be reduced to 256 MB and still function.

Further, if something needs configuring or checking, 512 MB RAM can be assigned to automatically boot into the graphical Xfce desktop. Additional settings are available in folder /etc/rads.d to configure this feature: additional RAM can be added (but still not choosing to boot into a desktop environment), different display managers can be used and so on. See file /etc/rads.d/30_default.conf for configuration examples.

For more information, see RAM Adjusted Desktop Starter.

Disable the Graphical Desktop Environment[edit]

This is for advanced users only.

To stop the graphical desktop environment.

sudo systemctl stop gdm3

To disable automatic start at boot of the graphical desktop environment.

sudo systemctl disable gdm3

To restart the graphical desktop environment.

sudo systemctl start gdm3

To re-enable automatic start at boot of the graphical desktop environment.

sudo systemctl enable gdm3

To uninstall the graphical desktop environment software packages, not that understanding Kicksecure meta packages is prerequisite knowledge. Then package non-qubes-whonix-gateway-xfce / non-qubes-whonix-workstation-xfce can be removed. Or alternatively, download the Kicksecure CLI version or build it from source code.

related: Using Kicksecure with Other Desktop Environments such as GNOME, KDE, LXDE, MATE, ...)

Use Full-screen Mode[edit]

It is recommended to work in full-screen; this feature is also inherited from VirtualBox. To activate and deactivate full-screen mode, press the VirtualBox Host Key + F. The current Host Key is visible in the bottom right corner of VirtualBox. The VirtualBox default is Right Ctrl + F.

Host key can be changed using VirtualBox → Global Settings → Input → Host Key.

Full-screen mode leads to the Kicksecure (and Debian) default resolution and color depth of 1920x1080x24.

Xfce Scaling[edit]

A number of displays found in high-end laptops and desktops have High Dots Per Inch (HiDPI), providing a high resolution in a relatively small format. High-resolution mode can cause problems with certain software and the following adjustments may be necessary to improve HiDPI presentation in Xfce. [8]

Table: Xfce Scaling Options

Configuration Description
Fonts Change the DPI (dots per inch) parameter as follows: [8]
  • Settings Manager → Appearance → Fonts → DPI → Increase

For example, it is reported that a value of 180 or 192 seems to work well on Retina screens, but trial and error may be necessary to get a more precise number for the relevant display.

gtk2 Menus and Buttons Follow these steps to change the default icon sizes of gtk2 menus, buttons and so on: [8]
  • Settings Manager → Settings Editor → xsettings → Gtk → IconSizes → in row Value → add the following line.

gtk-large-toolbar=96,96:gtk-small-toolbar=64,64:gtk-menu=64,64:gtk-dialog=96,96:gtk-button=64,64:gtk-dnd=64,64 Note that the "gtk-dnd" parameter is for the icons during drag'n'drop, while the others are self-evident based on their name. Any value supported by the icon theme can be used.

System Tray Icon Size Follow these steps to enlarge icons in the system tray: [8]
  1. Right-click on system tray: aim for empty space / top pixels / bottom pixels, so the the icons are not activated themselves.
  2. Properties → Set "Maximum icon size" to 32, 48 or 64.
Task Bar Size To change the size of the task bar:
  • Right-click on empty space in task bar → Panel → Panel Preferences → Row Size (Pixels) → move slider
Window Manager Style Xfwm has two hidpi themes: Default-hdpi and Default-xhdpi. Change the theme as follows: [8]
  • Settings Manager → Window Manager → Style → Theme → Default-hdpi or Default-xhdpi

Default Home Folder Configuration Files Reset[edit]

Before following these instructions to wipe the whole Xfce settings folder and restore defaults, it is recommended to backup existing Xfce settings.

1. Open a virtual console.

2. Logout from and stop Xfce by halting Kicksecure default login manager gdm3.

sudo systemct stop gdm3

3. Trash folder ~/.config/xfce4.

4. Delete the first-boot-skel.done file.

sudo rm /var/cache/anon-base-files/first-boot-skel.done

5. Re-add Kicksecure Xfce configuration files.

sudo /usr/libexec/helper-scripts/first-boot-skel

6. Restart the display manager to restart Xfce.

sudo systemctl restart gdm3

7. Done.

The process has been completed.

Kicksecure-Qubes[edit]

Avoid VM Full Screen Mode[edit]

It is unrecommended to allow Kicksecure-Qubes or other VMs to completely "own" the full screenarchive.org. Overriding Qubes' GUI virtualization daemon restrictions means the colored decorations drawn by each VM window will not be visible. In this case, a malicious application might not actually release the full screen (while it appears normal), or the full desktop may be emulated so users are tricked into entering sensitive information inside false "trusted" domains. [9]

See Also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ↑ This is not a real virtual console, but using login.
  2. ↑ Inside VirtualBox, the Alt + Ctrl keys are already registered by the host operating system. Host key can be changed using VirtualBox → Global Settings → Input → Host Key.
  3. ↑ The login program unfortunately does not provide this option.
  4. ↑ Rationale for Change from Default Password changeme to Empty Default Password The Web Archive Onion Version
  5. ↑ Please leave feedback if this step works correctly.
  6. ↑ A) Run the following command. sudo unlink /etc/motd
  7. ↑ GDM configuration. GDM is a login manager different from LightDM. Only very old versions of Kicksecure come with GDM installed by default. 1. Open the GDM configuration file. Note, if the file is empty that means it doesn't exist. In that case, skip this. Open file /etc/gdm3/daemon.conf.dist in an editor with root rights.

    Kicksecure

    See Open File with Root Rights The Web Archive Onion Version for detailed instructions on why to use sudoedit for better security and how to use it.

    sudoedit /etc/gdm3/daemon.conf.dist

    Kicksecure for Qubes

    NOTES:

    sudoedit /etc/gdm3/daemon.conf.dist

    • After applying this change, shutdown the Template.
    • All App Qubes based on the Template need to be restarted if they were already running.
    • This is a general procedure required for Qubes and unspecific to Kicksecure for Qubes.

    Others and Alternatives

    • This is just an example. Other tools could achieve the same goal.
    • If this example does not work for you or if you are not using Kicksecure, please refer to this link.

    sudoedit /etc/gdm3/daemon.conf.dist

    2. Search for the following. 

    AutomaticLoginEnable=true
AutomaticLogin=user

    3. Modify.

    Out-comment, add a hash symbol ("#") in front of the two lines. Or replace the content, copy/paste the following which does the same.

    #AutomaticLoginEnable=true #AutomaticLogin=user

    4. Save.

  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/HiDPI#Xfcearchive.org
  9. ↑ https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-enter-fullscreen-mode/archive.org
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