Hi. Me and 3 of my friends have the same problem for more than a month. The connection in whonix very-very-very SLOW! We wrote reports at this forum but the developers just sending random link like “why is tor slow” etc…
The problem:
The connection on gateway and worksation is SLOW. More slow that TOR is. Just like -200% of normal Tor speed.
One link can open for 1 MINUTE!!! Tor reloads just dont help. But the TOR BROWSER on host is working fast. Just like normal tor should work. And no speed drops. But on Whonix…
No VPN and NO proxies are used. ONLY DEBIAN HOST AND WHONIX ON VIRTUALBOX.
This is my last attempt to find help. What can we do? (we cuz not only me have this problem)
Ps. dont lnow is it help or no. But i have very slow tor boostrup load. it load from 85% to 100% about like 25 seconds and sometimes 1 minute.
1. Whonix running in VirtualBox is no doubt using a different guard from that running on the host, as you don’t indicate that you kept the same Tor state between host and Whonix tor tests.
2. Possibly:
a) You had your guard set rotated in Whonix, ending up with a slow one (could be many reasons, overloaded, under attack, misconfigured etc.) b) Running the one on the host, you luckily (?) got a fast one.
So, why don’t you create a new Whonix-GW-test VM in Virtualbox, and make sure the Tor state is different (as per the wiki instructions if needed). Then see if there is any difference (testing only).
This is a finer test than the one you did.
The default position of many posters the minute their system slows down seems to be - “Whonix did it”. In fact, there are many possible explanations:
User configs (or misconfigurations) other than VPN and proxies.
Network anomalies as recently noted by various posters in Tor mailing lists and bugs.
Poor or malicious guards.
Certain guards under attack.
etc.
I’m not aware of any significant commits that were backported and which affect VirtualBox drastically in the last month, although the devs would have to comment specifically about that.
As an aside, I note with amusement that VirtualBox just had 10 major security bugs identified (see the forums), so if you wanted to put your tin foil hat on, you could go down that line of thinking.
Are you using the latest VirtualBox which patched all that?
Regenerate Tor State File. This will manually rotate your entry guards. Very Important you read and understand what you are doing! Only in Whonix-GW-test VM!
Since I can hear the crickets chirping, I take it this matter is resolved. Another thing probably worth adding to the FAQ:
Whonix has Slowed Tor Connections Dramatically!
This is an incorrect assumption. Since Whonix does not modify the Tor package directly, nor attempt to improve the Tor routing algorithm, any sudden drop in network speed is almost certainly related to:
User misconfiguration.
A change in the Tor guard selection which has resulted in poor throughput.
Before posting about the issue, first create a test Whonix-Gateway with a different set of guards:
Clone a clean Whonix-Gateway and name it Whonix-Gateway-test VM.
Follow the instructions to use [[Multiple_Whonix-Workstation#Multiple_Whonix-Gateways|Multiple Whonix Gateways]].
Regenerate the [[Tor#Fresh_Tor_Entry_Guards_by_regenerating_Tor_State_File|Tor State File]].
Retest the speed of Tor connections.
If there is a significant difference in speed between the test and normal Whonix-Gateway, then this can be attributed to the Tor guards in use.
Came across this Tor trac ticket and thought it would be something to reference when Whonix is blamed for poor performance. arma and Patrick’s discussion on permission to install Tor Browser by default. arma wanting to make sure Tor Browser in not altered in any way (except for some variables mentioned) before he gives the green light.
Very good to have this FAQ entry! Minimally modified and extended that FAQ entry just now.
Clone a clean - I guess this is easily misunderstood by users what clean is referring to in this context. Could please perhaps reword?
To aid the development of Whonix / bug triage, it would help if the user could clone the slow gateway, and just over the faster Tor state file and see if that speeds it up. If speed up yes: