What is the current status of Qubes 4.1 and Whonix 16?
AFAIK Whonix support is only 1 month for previous versions after a new release. Is it still supported? Will it get security fixes for 6 months until 4.1 EOL? I am just asking since 4.2 is not stable and Whonix 17 is only for 4.2.
Thank you.
Qubes 4.2. isn’t released as stable yet until then Whonix 16 is on life support, meaning if critical issues or security issues were reported, these would likely get fixed.
However, in my opinion better to move to Qubes 4.2.
Deprecation notices will be posted. → Follow Whonix ™ Developments
@Patrick, is this note on Whonix support still accurate? Do we need to update the text? (Potential differences in bold.)
Alternative idea: The Whonix Project could post the support policy on the Whonix website, and the Qubes website can simply link to it.
To answer the bold part… Difficult to make statements on the internet without a lot of footnotes.
Qubes 4.2. isn’t released as stable yet until then Whonix 16 is on life support, meaning if critical issues or security issues were reported, these would get fixed.
But then I wouldn’t want someone in the future to quote me, show an unfixed, perhaps theoretic vulnerability in some package that isn’t even fixed in Debian stable and then say “but you said you would fix it”. So the “likely fixed” needs a footnote:
The usual restrictions related to reasonable feasibility apply.
Whonix 16 is based on Debian oldstable. That’s also “on life support”. Grave security issues are “likely” fixed by Debian. Security issues in Whonix 16 are unlikely given the track record and if so should be very doable to fix.
A lot of unlikely hypotheticals.
I guess it’s up to date because it says:
We aim to announce both types of events one month in advance in order to remind users to upgrade.
And no usual deprecation notice has been posted.
Easy because here already:
Whonix ™ - Overview chapter Qubes Hosts in Whonix wiki
Ah, I see that it quotes the section I linked, so I’ll just leave it be to avoid circularity. 
I guess the second bullet point is technically not accurate right now:
- One month after new stable versions of Whonix templates are released, older releases of Whonix templates will no longer be supported. This means that users who wish to continue using Whonix templates on Qubes must always upgrade to the latest stable Whonix template releases within one month of their release.
Whonix 17 was released over a month ago, yet Whonix 16 is still supported, which makes sense, because Whonix 17 isn’t available on 4.1. Even if they had wanted to, stable 4.1 users couldn’t have upgraded from Whonix 16 to 17 within a month after 17’s release.
Here’s an idea for how we could reword the second bullet point to make it more accurate:
- One month after a new stable version of Whonix is released for a given Qubes OS release, older Whonix releases will no longer be supported on that Qubes OS release. This means that users who wish to continue using Whonix on Qubes OS must always upgrade to the latest stable Whonix version that is available for their Qubes OS release within one month of that Whonix version’s release.
(I would also make appropriate changes to the language of the first bullet point to make them consistent.) What do you think?
Alternatively, if Whonix users will sometimes be expected to use testing releases (e.g., Qubes 4.2 right now), then we should make that explicit in the policy.
Perfect.
I would also suggest to edit the Whonix wiki instead. The quotation can be removed from Qubes website. And then just link to it. Seems easier to me than editing Qubes website and then updating the quote.
Whonix wiki updated.
Ah, I think the note you added about 4.1 takes care of it. In case you still want the new language, though, here it is (no longer necessary, but feel free to use it in the Whonix wiki, if you want):
One month after a new stable version of Qubes OS is released, Whonix will no longer be supported on any older Qubes OS release. This means that users who wish to continue using Whonix on Qubes OS must always upgrade to the latest stable Qubes OS release within one month of its release.
One month after a new stable version of Whonix is released for a given Qubes OS release, older Whonix releases will no longer be supported on that Qubes OS release. This means that users who wish to continue using Whonix on Qubes OS must always upgrade to the latest stable Whonix version that is available for their Qubes OS release within one month of that Whonix version’s release.
Done. Thanks!
Took the improved wording. Btw such kind of wording / grammar / clarity enhancements are always welcome even without prior discussion.
(Improve the Documentation / Edit the Whonix ™ Wiki)
Yeah. I thought why the policy is more verbose and correct now it’s still difficult to interpret the current specific status. So added the common question explicity.
Can you please tell me when the stable version of Qubes OS will support Whonix 17? Or will it be only after version 4.2 becomes stable? Thanks
Just upgade to Qubes 4.2 and don’t worry about Qubes being stuck in RC land.
But version 4.2 is not stable yet. How safe is it?
Safer because newer packages.
related:
I am hoping Qubes R4.2 rc4 will soon be blessed stable.
If R4.2 rc4 works for you right now, I don’t see any benefit whatsoever to stay on R4.1.
Will I be able to upgrade from version 4.1 to version 4.2 when will it become stable? Or will I need to reinstall the OS?
Release upgrade should be possible.
Do you think it’s safe in terms of anonymity for me to stay on version 4.1 using whonix 16 and wait for version 4.2 to become stable?