Whonix 16 has been Released! (Debian 11 bullseye based) - for VirtualBox - Major Release

Whonix: A High Security Method of Surfing the Internet

Whonix is a desktop operating system designed for advanced security and privacy. Whonix mitigates the threat of common attack vectors while maintaining usability. Online anonymity is realized via fail-safe, automatic, and desktop-wide use of the Tor network. A heavily reconfigured Debian base is run inside multiple virtual machines, providing a substantial layer of protection from malware and IP address leaks. Commonly used applications are pre-installed and safely pre-configured for immediate use. The user is not jeopardized by installing additional applications or personalizing the desktop. Whonix is under active development and is the only operating system designed to be run inside a VM and paired with Tor.

After approximately two years of development, the Whonix Project is proud to announce the release of Whonix 16.

Whonix 16 is based on the Debian bullseye (Debian 11) distribution. This means users have access to many new software packages in concert with existing packages. In addition, this release will serve as development foundation for many exciting upcoming security enhancement such as Hardened Malloc Kicksecure (HMK), Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG) and other items on the Kicksecure Security Roadmap.


Alternatively, in-place release upgrade is possible upgrade using Release Upgrade Whonix 15 to Whonix 16 instructions.


This release would not have been possible without the numerous supporters of Whonix!


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Major Changes

  • ported Debian base from Debian 10 buster to Debian 11 bullseye (discussion)
  • Monero GUI wallet (XMR) version 0.17.2.3
  • electrum Bitcoin (BTC) wallet version 4.0.9 (Debian stable version)
  • package binaries-freedom is deprecated (reason) (electrum installed from packages.debian.org stable repository)
  • switched back from deb.torproject.org tor package to packages.debian.org stable tor package (Tor integration in Whonix Development Notes)
  • enable Debian fasttrack repository by default
  • updated paths from /usr/lib to /usr/libexec where appropriate as per lintian Debian FSH
  • VirtualBox version: this release is using VirtualBox guest additions version 6.1.26-dfsg-3 from fasttrack.debian.net version (details)

Known Issues

  • Desktop background image currently is the same for Whonix-Gateway and Whonix-Workstation. This will most likely be fixed in the next release.

Notable Changes



Full difference of all changes

https://github.com/Whonix/Whonix/compare/15.0.1.9.3-developers-only…16.0.2.7-developers-only

1 Like

Congrats & many thanks for all that work. Pleased to be part of the community.