Qubes OS is a security-focused operating system that, as tech editor Kyle Rankin puts it, "is fundamentally different from any other Linux desktop I've used". Join us this weekend in reading Kyle's multi-part series on all things Qubes.

Secure Desktops with Qubes: Introduction

In this first article, I provide an overview of what Qubes is, some of the approaches it takes that are completely different from what you might be used to on a Linux desktop and some of its particularly interesting security features. In future articles, I'll give more how-to guides on installing and configuring it and how to use some of its more-advanced features.

Secure Desktops with Qubes: Installation

This is the second in a multipart series on the Qubes operating system. In my first article, I gave an overall introduction to Qubes and how it differs from most other desktop Linux distributions, namely in the way it focuses on compartmentalizing applications within different VMs to limit what attackers have access to in the event they compromise a VM. This allows you to use one VM for regular Web browsing, another for banking and a different one for storing your GPG keys and password manager. In this article, I follow up with a basic guide on how to download and install Qubes, along with a general overview of the desktop and the various default VM types.

Secure Desktops with Qubes: Compartmentalization

This is the third article in my series about Qubes. In the first two articles, I gave an overview about what Qubes is and described how to install it. One of the defining security features of Qubes is how it lets you compartmentalize your different desktop activities into separate VMs. The idea behind security by compartmentalization is that if one of your VMs is compromised, the damage is limited to just that VM.

Secure Desktops with Qubes: Extra Protection

This article is the fourth in my series about the Qubes operating system, a security-focused Linux distribution that compartmentalizes your common desktop tasks into individual VMs. In the previous articles, I gave a general introduction to Qubes, walked through the installation process and discussed how I personally organize my own work into different appVMs. If you haven't read those earlier articles, I suggest you do so before diving in here. In this article, I focus on some of the more advanced security features in Qubes, including split-GPG, the usbVM and how I control where URLs open.

Qubes Desktop Tips

Learn a few tips for getting the most out of your Qubes desktop.

What's New in Qubes 4

Considering making the move to Qubes 4? This article describes a few of the big changes.