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Whonix – A desktop operating system designed for advanced security and privacy

www.whonix.org Software & code Software projects Security & privacy Candidate
Screenshot of www.whonix.org captured 2026-07-20
Page preview · captured 2026-07-20

Resurfaced independently across 7 calendar years, with breakout response in 2 of them.

submissions
9
submitters
9
observed span
2014–2023
peak thread · 59 comments
226 pts
latest 20+ return · 2023-09-14
215 pts

Submission timeline

2007–2026

One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.

First comments on top threads

HN comment order

As someone unfamiliar with Whonix, I wanted to understand the project in a little more detail than what's on the front page. This link was really helpful and thorough: https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Comparison_with_Others#General

sounds·226-point thread·

Whonix is great. I use it all the time in my dayjob. I write a lot of scripts that have to interact with criminal (malware c&c, phishing website, etc) infrastructure, including APT analysis. You don't want to make an opsec fail and/or leak your IP in a situation like this. Instead of doing something fragile and error-prone, like being careful to use a proxy all the time in my code, having a VPN, etc, I just run everything in Whonix…

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…

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…

The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.

Breakout years
2

100+ points or 50+ comments

Total points
458

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Total comments
119

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Every submission