Whonix 18 has a few bugs I'd like to report

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1

I’m on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. The kernel I’m using for Ubuntu 24.04 is the General Availability (GA) kernel, which is kernel 6.8

I’m using VirtualBox 7.0.16 which is what the whonix installer for Ubuntu 24.04 will install. Vbox 7.0.16 is what you’ll get when you install vbox from the Ubuntu repository, it’s the GA version. So it’s frozen at launch and will be long term stable for the duration of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. That’s what GA means. GA means it’s frozen at launch and will be long term stable.

The opposite of GA is Hardware Enablement (HWE). I was originally using the HWE kernel for Ubuntu 24.04 but it caused a bug with vbox (this was last year). I have an older computer and if you have an older PC you want to be using the GA kernel if you’re using Ubuntu. So yeah I prefer to use the GA version of anything on Ubuntu.

And to emphasize this, when you run the whonix installer for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS it will install VirtualBox 7.0.16 which is the GA version of vbox for Ubuntu 24.04

Ok, let me start with this bug first.

So in Whonix 18 go to this website

And you’ll notice that when you put the mouse cursor over any blue link or any picture, the mouse cursor will disappear. Now that is happening to you too right, or is that only happening to me?

Also, scaling in LXQT Whonix 18 is basically broken.

So I’ve got my PC hooked up to my 65 inch TCL TV. And everything will appear small on my 65 inch screen.

And here’s how I fixed this back when Whonix was based on XFCE, in whonix workstation I go to applications and select settings and select appearance, now in appearance I select settings and there you can change window scaling from 1 to 2. This mostly did the trick except the mouse cursor would be too small and in some windows some icons would be too small, like the X would be too small, here check this out so you can see what I’m talking about

X too small
X too small3708×1926 389 KB

So to make the mouse cursor bigger, Settings Manager > Mouse and Touchpad > Theme tab > Size setting. And so I’d do this to make the cursor bigger to my liking. So that’s how I fixed that.

And for the too small X, well simply changing the window decoration fixed that, I changed it to “default-xhdpi” window style and that fixed the small X problem.

So that’s how I fixed the scaling problem when Whonix was based on XFCE.

But this doesn’t work in LXQT. Let me tell you what works and what doesn’t in LXQT.

Ok so in Whonix 18, go to preferences and go to session settings and in basic settings change the scale factor from 1 to 2. Now completely close whonix and shut off virtualbox. Relaunch virtualbox and whonix for this change to take hold. I mean, I closed workstation and then relaunched workstation and this change didn’t take, so I had to completely close whonix and shutdown virtualbox for this change to finally take hold. It’s buggy like that.

Ok, so it does make everything fit to the screen much better on my 65 inch screen, except the mouse cursor is way too small, and it doesn’t affect the TOR browser at all, the TOR browser is still scaling to 1, the TOR browser is way too small.

So in Whonix 18 based on LXQT, trying to increase the size of the mouse cursor is totally broken, it’s bugged and you can not increase it’s size.

In Whonix 18, go to preferences and then appearance and then go to cursor. It’ll say “LXQT could not find any cursor theme. The default X11 cursor theme will be used instead.” and here you can set the size of the cursor, it’s at 24, I changed it to 48 and then exited whonix workstation and restarted it, but it didn’t take. It’s bugged.

I also consulted Grok and Grok said to “set an environment variable called XCURSOR_SIZE to a higher value” these are the directions Grok gave me:

Yes, you can make the mouse cursor larger in LXQt on Whonix 18. While there’s no straightforward slider in the basic settings like in some other desktops, the most reliable method is to set an environment variable called XCURSOR_SIZE to a higher value (e.g., 48 or 64, depending on how big you want it—default is often around 24). This works as a global adjustment and persists after reboots in most cases. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open the LXQt Configuration Center (search for it in the menu or run lxqt-config in a terminal).

  2. Go to “Session Settings” (or run lxqt-config-session directly).

  3. Switch to the “Environment (Advanced)” tab.

  4. Click “Add” to create a new variable.

    • Name: XCURSOR_SIZE
    • Value: Enter a number like 48 (try higher or lower to suit your 65-inch TV; larger values make it bigger).

  5. Apply the changes, then log out and log back in (or reboot) for it to take effect.

If the cursor still seems inconsistent in some apps, you can also change the cursor theme to one with inherently larger icons:

  • In the Configuration Center, go to “Appearance” > “Cursor” tab.
  • Select a theme like “Adwaita” or install a larger one (e.g., via apt install in terminal, but stick to Whonix repositories for security).
  • Adjust the size slider there if available, though it may not always persist—combine it with the environment variable for best results.

Note that LXQt has had some bugs with cursor sizing in the past, so if it doesn’t stick after a reboot, double-check the variable is saved or add it manually to ~/.profile with export XCURSOR_SIZE=48 and reload your session. This should make the cursor more visible on your large screen without affecting performance.

End.

Setting the XCURSOR_SIZE to a higher value didn’t do anything at all to the mouse cursor, it had no effect on it.

Ok and then Grok told me how to install different mouse cursor themes:

I get the frustration—switching desktop environments can introduce bugs like this, especially with something as basic as cursor sizing. Whonix’s move to LXQt in version 18 was likely for future-proofing (e.g., better Wayland compatibility down the line), but it does seem to have some rough edges compared to XFCE. The error message about no cursor themes found is a big clue—LXQt isn’t detecting any installed themes, which is why the size change isn’t sticking (it falls back to the basic X11 default, ignoring custom sizes). This is a known issue in LXQt across various distros, including Debian-based ones like Whonix. Let’s fix it step by step with some reliable workarounds.

Step 1: Install Cursor Themes

Whonix keeps things minimal for security, so themes might not be pre-installed. Install some standard ones via apt (these are safe and from Debian repos—no extra risks).

Open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install xcursor-themes adwaita-icon-theme

This gives you options like DMZ-White (from xcursor-themes) and Adwaita (a solid default). Restart your session (logout/login) after installing.

Step 2: Configure in LXQt Settings

  • Go to Preferences > LXQt Settings > Appearance > Cursor tab.
  • Now you should see themes listed (e.g., DMZ-White or Adwaita). Select one.
  • Set the size to 48 (or whatever you want).
  • Click Apply/OK.
  • If it still says no themes found, double-check the install and try running lxqt-config-appearance in terminal to force-refresh the settings.

Logout and log back in (or reboot the VM). This often resolves the “not taking” issue, as LXQt sometimes needs a full session restart to apply cursor changes properly.

Step 3: If It Still Doesn’t Stick (Manual Workarounds)

If the GUI size change fails (common LXQt bug), try these in order:

A. Force a Cursor Symlink (Bypasses Detection Issues)

Recent LXQt versions sometimes need this for the theme to apply fully.

  • Choose a theme, e.g., Adwaita.
  • Run in terminal:
    mkdir -p ~/.local/share/icons/default
ln -s /usr/share/icons/Adwaita/cursors ~/.local/share/icons/default/cursors
  • Or for DMZ-White:
    ln -s /usr/share/icons/DMZ-White/cursors ~/.local/share/icons/default/cursors
  • Then, add to ~/.icons/default/index.theme (create if missing):
    [Icon Theme]
Inherits=Adwaita  # or DMZ-White
  • Logout/login. This manually links the cursors so LXQt can’t ignore them.

B. Use .Xresources for Size Override

LXQt sometimes ignores its own GUI for size, but this low-level config often works.

  • Run:
    echo "Xcursor.theme: Adwaita" >> ~/.Xresources  # Replace Adwaita with your theme
echo "Xcursor.size: 48" >> ~/.Xresources
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
  • Logout/login. Note: Some reports say size in .Xresources is ignored in newer LXQt, but it’s worth trying as a fallback.

C. Persistent Environment Variable in .profile

If XCURSOR_SIZE still isn’t applying from Session Settings:

  • Edit ~/.profile (or create it):
    nano ~/.profile
  • Add:
    export XCURSOR_SIZE=48
  • Save, then run source ~/.profile or reboot.
  • Combine with running lxqt-config-appearance & in terminal after login to force-apply.

Additional Tips

  • Wayland vs. X11: Whonix 18 uses X11 by default, but if you’re on Wayland (unlikely in a VM), cursor issues are worse—check with echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE. Stick to X11 for now.
  • VM-Specific: If running in VirtualBox/QEMU, ensure Guest Additions are installed and try full-screen mode. Sometimes VM scaling interferes.
  • If Nothing Works: This might be a Whonix-specific bug (e.g., from minimal packaging). Post on the Whonix forums with your setup details—they’re active and might have a patch. In the meantime, you could revert to Whonix 17 if you have a backup, but that’s not ideal for security updates.

One of these should get your cursor scaled up reliably. If you share what happens after trying (e.g., exact error or behavior), I can refine further.

End.

So I did do this, I went into system maintenance panel in a sysmaint session for workstation, and in Terminal I did

sudo apt update
sudo apt install xcursor-themes adwaita-icon-theme

And this did install some new mouse themes that show up in the graphical user interface GUI, here I took a screenshot, see for yourself,

Mouse themes
Mouse themes3708×1926 121 KB

I changed it to the red one cause red does show up better. Also, notice how I have the size set to 125? Yeah it doesn’t work at all. It’s totally bugged.

So as you can see I’ve tried quite a few ways to make the mouse cursor size bigger and I can’t. It’s totally bugged. Well, it seems I have made it just a tad bit bigger than it was before but it’s still too small, it’s totally bugged it really is.

Ok moving on.

Ok, so I asked Grok about window decorations on Whonix 18 based on LXQT and Grok said:

Yes, LXQt supports changing window decorations (also known as window themes or borders, including title bars and buttons), similar to XFCE, though the implementation differs since LXQt uses Openbox as its default window manager (in setups like Whonix 18). While there aren’t built-in themes explicitly named “default-hdpi” or “default-xhdpi” like in XFCE’s Xfwm4, you can select from available Openbox themes that may better suit HiDPI scaling—some have inherently larger buttons, thicker borders, or higher-contrast elements that look better when scaled up (e.g., to 2x). The global scaling you set earlier (via QT_SCALE_FACTOR=2) will automatically make the title bars and buttons larger across all themes, but switching to a more “chunky” theme can enhance visibility on your 65-inch TV without additional tweaks.

How to Change Window Decorations in LXQt

  1. Go to the menu: Preferences > LXQt settings > Openbox Settings (or search for “Openbox Configuration Manager” in the application menu; if not found, install it with sudo apt install obconf in a terminal—it’s lightweight and safe in Whonix).

  2. In the Openbox Configuration Manager, switch to the “Theme” tab.

  3. You’ll see a list of installed themes (defaults might include Bear2, Clearlooks, Mikachu, Natura, Onyx, Syscrash, etc.). Select one that looks promising—e.g., Clearlooks or Natura often have bolder designs that scale well. Themes with larger button icons or thicker title bars will feel more “HiDPI-friendly” when combined with your 2x scaling.

  4. Click “Apply” or “OK”. Changes take effect immediately—no need to log out.

Installing More Themes for Better Options

Whonix keeps things minimal, so you might have limited defaults. To add more Openbox themes (including some designed with larger elements in mind):

  • Open a terminal and run:
    sudo apt update
sudo apt install openbox-themes

This package includes additional themes like “default” variants or others that might mimic XFCE’s HiDPI styles. After installing, they’ll appear in the Openbox Configuration Manager’s Theme list. If you want even more customization, you can download Openbox themes from sites like box-look.org (via Tor Browser for security), extract them to ~/.themes/, and select them in the manager.

Additional Tips for HiDPI

  • If the title bar fonts still look off after scaling and theme change, adjust them separately in Preferences > LXQt settings > Appearance > Fonts tab (increase the general font size or DPI).
  • For Qt apps specifically, your existing QT_SCALE_FACTOR=2 should handle button and bar scaling, but if some windows feel inconsistent, try adding GDK_DPI_SCALE=0.5 (or 1) in Session Settings > Environment (Advanced) to fine-tune non-Qt elements.
  • Unlike XFCE, LXQt doesn’t auto-detect HiDPI well, so manual tweaks like this are common—but once set, it sticks.

This should address the “choices vs. bugs” point—try a few themes to see if one feels better scaled. If the title bars/buttons still aren’t large enough, it might tie back to the scaling factor needing adjustment (e.g., try 1.5 or 2.5 instead of 2). Let me know how it goes!

End.

Ok, so in a sysmaint session, in system maintenance panel for workstation, in Terminal I installed openbox by doing

sudo apt install obconf

So I installed openbox so I could change window decorations for Whonix 18. Openbox was installed successfully but when I click to open it, it doesn’t open, it’s totally bugged. It will not open.

I told Grok openbox wouldn’t open and Grok said:

Yes, graphical glitches or crashes with tools like obconf (the Openbox Configuration Manager) can happen in LXQt on Whonix 18, especially in a virtual machine environment like VirtualBox—it’s not uncommon and often ties to VM graphics settings rather than a Whonix-specific bug. Let’s troubleshoot and work around it, starting with likely fixes.

Fix VM Graphics Settings (Common Cause of Glitches)

Since Whonix runs in a VM, rendering issues (e.g., flickering, artifacts, or crashes) are frequently due to hardware acceleration or driver mismatches.

  1. Shut down the Whonix Workstation VM completely.
  2. In VirtualBox (assuming that’s your host), right-click the Whonix-Workstation VM > Settings > Display tab.
    • Uncheck “Enable 3D Acceleration” (this often resolves Qt/Openbox glitches).
    • Set Video Memory to at least 128MB (or max if available).
    • Try changing the Graphics Controller to VMSVGA or VBoxSVGA if it’s on VBoxVGA.
  3. Start the VM and test obconf again (search for “Openbox Configuration Manager” in the menu or run obconf in terminal).

If using KVM/QEMU instead, disable 3D accel with -vga virtio -display gtk,gl=off or similar in your launch command. Also, ensure VirtualBox Guest Additions are installed (run sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-x11 if missing, then reboot).

If Obconf Still Glitches: Manual Theme Change

No need for the GUI— you can change window decorations (themes) by editing the Openbox config file directly. This is reliable and avoids any obconf bugs.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. If you don’t have a user config, copy the default:
    mkdir -p ~/.config/openbox
cp /etc/xdg/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml
  3. Edit the file:
    nano ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml
    • Find the <theme> section (around line 20-30).
    • Change the <name> line to a different theme, e.g., <name>Clearlooks</name> or <name>Natura</name>. Defaults include: Bear2, Clearlooks, Mikachu, Natura, Onyx, Syscrash. Pick one with bolder elements for better 2x scaling (Clearlooks is a good start).
    • Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X in nano).
  4. Apply changes:
    openbox --reconfigure

The new theme applies instantly—title bars, buttons, and borders should update. Test a few to find one that scales well on your TV.

If You Want More Themes

If defaults aren’t enough, install extras:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openbox-themes

This adds more options (e.g., Nightmode, Orion). They’ll appear in the config file as valid names—edit and reconfigure as above.

Other Checks

  • Increase RAM: Whonix VMs can glitch if low on resources. In VM settings, bump Workstation RAM to 4GB+ if possible.
  • Kernel/Driver Issues: If on a recent kernel, glitches can stem from graphics drivers (e.g., nouveau). Try booting an older kernel if available, or report details to Whonix forums.
  • Wayland?: Confirm you’re on X11 (run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE—should say “x11”). Wayland can cause Qt tool issues.

If this doesn’t resolve it, describe the exact glitch (e.g., flickers, crashes with error, freezes) and your VM host/setup for more targeted help. You could also post on the Whonix forums—they handle VM-specific quirks often.

End.

So Grok wanted me to manually edit the Openbox config file directly in Terminal. I said no thanks to that, I don’t like to fuck around with nano or anything like that as it makes me very uncomfortable, as I’m not a coder or a computer scientist, I’m just your average Joe with an average IQ. I certainly know more about computers than the average person but I’m not a coder or computer scientist. I very much prefer to use a graphical user interface GUI. I grew up on Windows and I very much prefer to use a GUI. I will always prefer a GUI over command line.

Grok said to use X11 and then see if openbox would open. So I logged out, and started an X11 session for Ubuntu, and openbox still wouldn’t open.

So yeah, as you can see there are some bugs with LXQT Whonix 18.

Now I could try the latest version of VirtualBox and I was using the latest version of vbox last year but I ran into a bug with whonix so that’s why I just went back to vbox 7.0.16

Again, the whonix installer will install vbox 7.0.16 if you’re on Ubuntu 24.04

So listen, I did find a way to fix all this, and that’s to go into settings in VirtualBox, go to display, and change the scale factor from 100% to 200% and now everything (and I mean everything) fits to the screen perfectly. Doing that makes everything fit perfectly to my 65 inch screen.

And listen, I already knew about this trick, you see, back on Whonix 17 I did this (changing the scale factor from 1 to 2 in the vbox settings) but it seems it made the performance a little worse for my PC, like it would cause whonix to be kinda sluggish (more sluggish than usual at least) and it seems whonix would freeze up on me (workstation would just freeze one me).

And it seems performance got better when I changed the scale factor inside the whonix VM itself.

But listen, so yeah in vbox settings I changed scale from 1 to 2 (which makes everything fit just fine to my screen) and in LXQT Whonix 18 it seems the performance is rock solid on my 10 year old PC. It seems it doesn’t make performance worse. But does it cause workstation to randomly freeze up on me? I won’t know til I can just sit down and use it for several hours in a row (which I haven’t done yet).

Now one should be able to fix the scale inside the whonix VM, so that all needs to be fixed! I was able to do that back on XFCE Whonix 17 so I should be able to do this on LXQT Whonix 18.

So it seems for me at least, the fix is to just set the scale from 1 to 2 in VirtualBox’s settings. And that makes everything fit to my screen perfectly.

But remember this part:

Ok, let me start with this bug first.

So in Whonix 18 go to this website

And you’ll notice that when you put the mouse cursor over any blue link or any picture, the mouse cursor will disappear. Now that is happening to you too right, or is that only happening to me?

This needs to be fixed ASAP cause that’s ruining the whole experience for me. So yeah it seems I can just fix the scale issue by changing scale in the vbox settings but then I’m still faced with this bug right here.

And remember I prefer to use a GUI. Back on XFCE Whonix 17, I was able to change the scale inside the VM entirely via graphical user interface GUI. I really really really much prefer to use a GUI over a CLI. I avoid the Terminal as often as I can. I’m just your average Joe, I’m not a computer scientist.

Thanks for your time I do appreciate it.

Edit: Am I going to need to report these bugs to the LXQT community on github? When it comes to the scaling issues I imagine the LXQT devs will have to fix that right?

Edit: I should probably include this.

So I told Grok: Well it’s in TOR browser in Whonix 18, the font and titles and buttons are too small, but when I changed the global scale from 1 to 2, it made everything fit to my screen just fine, except for the TOR browser, if I could just get the TOR browser to scale well.

And Grok said:

Yes, Tor Browser (based on Firefox) can be tricky to scale independently in Whonix 18, especially since your global LXQt scaling (likely QT_SCALE_FACTOR=2) works for most apps but not fully for GTK-based ones like Tor Browser. The good news is there’s a straightforward GUI-friendly way to adjust its UI scaling (fonts, titles, buttons) without resizing the window or zooming content, which is important to avoid anonymity risks—Whonix and Tor strongly advise against manual window resizing or per-session changes that could fingerprint you. This method uses Tor Browser’s built-in settings and should make everything larger to match your 2x system scale on the 65-inch TV.

Adjust Scaling via Tor Browser’s Configuration (GUI Steps)

  1. Launch Tor Browser in Whonix Workstation.

  2. In the address bar, type about:config and press Enter. Accept the warning if prompted (this is safe; it’s just advanced settings).

  3. In the search bar at the top, type layout.css.devPixelsPerPx.

  4. Double-click the value (default is -1.0, which means auto-detect based on system DPI).

  5. Change it to 2.0 (for 200% scaling like your system) and press Enter. You can fine-tune this (e.g., 1.5 or 2.5) if 2.0 feels off.

  6. Restart Tor Browser (close and reopen it). The UI elements—toolbars, buttons, tabs, menus, and fonts—should now be scaled up without affecting webpage content or window size.

This persists across sessions in Whonix (as long as you don’t update Tor Browser in a way that resets prefs), and it’s a common HiDPI fix for Firefox/Tor Browser users. If fonts still look small in some areas, combine it with system DPI tweaks:

Optional: Enhance with System DPI (GUI if Possible)

Since Tor Browser might partially inherit system settings:

  • In LXQt Configuration Center > Appearance > Fonts tab, increase the DPI value to 192 (double the default 96 for 200% scale). Apply and restart your session.
  • If no DPI slider shows, add it via Session Settings > Environment (Advanced): Add GDK_SCALE = 2 and GDK_DPI_SCALE = 0.5 (this fine-tunes fonts to avoid blurriness). Log out/in to apply.

Avoid content zoom (Ctrl +) as it can vary per site and impact privacy. If this doesn’t fully resolve it (e.g., due to VM quirks), check your VirtualBox display settings—ensure “Scale Factor” in the VM’s Display tab is 100% (let LXQt handle scaling) and Guest Additions are up-to-date. If issues persist, the Whonix forums have similar HiDPI threads for more tailored advice.

End.

So Grok says the reason the TOR browser isn’t scaling right in Whonix 18 (when I change the scale from 1 to 2) is cause TOR is GTK-based. I just wanted to point that out. I’m just trying to give you guys as much info as possible.

Yeah and I really don’t wanna mess with TOR’s settings as that can weaken your security. They say it’s safest to not mess with TOR browser’s settings. Apparently it can help give you a unique fingerprint. Well this is actually what Grok said to me.