Linux distribution
Qubes 4.1.2
Nate Drake explores the apex of Linux security: an OS that divides all your apps into colour-coded, isolated virtual machines.
IN BRIEF
Qubes does something we thought impossible. It provides nextlevel security with easy management from a centralised colour-coded interface. A hefty ISO and lack of multiboot are a small price to pay.
SPECS
CPU: 2GHz (Intel VT-d/ AMD IOMMU)
Mem: 6GB
HDD: 32GB
Builds: x86_64
While there are numerous security-focused Linux distros, Qubes can be compared to Fort Knox. This Fedora-based OS was first produced in 2012. The latest testing release (4.2.0-rc3) was made available in September, and will go through at least one more round of tests before a stable version is made available. We’ve focused this review on the latest stable version of Qubes (4.1.2), which was released in March.