I know it’s best to use separate devices for different purposes. However, I’m not sure what I’m doing would count as “separate devices” so I wanted to get you folk’s opinion on it.
I bought a computer awhile back and the motherboard doesn’t allow Linux to be installed on it, so instead, I opted for an external SSD enclosure with an NVME inside to install Kubuntu on. I’m stuck with Windows on the computer itself but I don’t use it at all.
So, with Kubuntu being on an external SSD, & lets say Ubuntu being installed on a separate external ssd, does this mean they are installed on separate devices or is it still the same device since both are used with the same computer but only one of them is ever plugged into the computer at one time?
That’s a very interesting setup and a good question! As always, it depends on your threat model.
If you simply want to separate work from personal stuff, this setup should be more than enough.
If you’re worried about one system infecting the other one with e.g. a virus, then this setup is quite good. Since both operating systems never run simultaneously, it would be more difficult for one system to infect the other.
However, should you connect both SSDs to the computer at the same time, there is the possibility that sophisticated malware attempts to infect the other system. You can prevent such an attack by encrypting both SSDs with LUKS and never decrypting both at the same time.
Still, since you’re using the same computer with the same hardware and firmware, there is the possibility of the computer itself getting infected, in which case it’s game over.
If you’re focus is anonymity, I highly recommend to use Tails.
I think this setup is close to the level of Tails, Whonix, and Qubes OS, but without the explicit focus on security and anonymity. If that’s what you need, you should consider such a setup.
This probably isn’t a good way to think about it. What specifically are you worried about that you think this will help? If you describe that, myself or other people can tell you if you have an effective solution.
If effective, it doesn’t matter whether or not it counts while, if ineffective, you wouldn’t get anything out of it counting.
Thank you for your detailed answer. I’m sorry, I should’ve been a little more clear as to what my goals are.
I just don’t want ANYONE to be able to figure out that the two devices are being used by the same person/computer…if that makes sense. I was hoping that to an outsider it would still look as though it’s two different machines vs. one machine with two SSD’s/HDD’s that each hold their own OS on.
I just don’t want ANYONE to be able to figure out that the two devices are being used by the same person/computer…if that makes sense.
I’m basically wondering if a website/app/whatever would still be able to tell that it’s the same computer being used for both OS’s
Fingerprinting does rely on hardware information to an extent, so it could be a clue it’s the same person. However, it will likely be possible to track you via fingerprinting even without hardware information.
Something like mullvad browser with a vpn helps protect against it with websites:
So, in order to be able to hide in the crowd, we give similar fingerprints to all the Mullvad Browser users. But how? Well, let us us give you some examples. We have standardized configurations and don’t recommend users to change settings. Firefox’s resist fingerprinting mode is on, and it will spoof many additional parameters and settings that could be used for fingerprinting. Only a specific set of fonts are made available for the browser and several hardware APIs are removed – like hardware concurrency and other APIs that could be used to extract information from your device. Another API used to fingerprint you is the WebGL, where the fingerprint attack tells your browser to render a triangle in 3D. The Mullvad Browser prevents websites from accessing the rendered content by blocking the readPixel function. One more sneaky way to collect your data for fingerprinting, is by measuring exactly how big your browser window is. Just think about it – are you the kind of user that maximizes your browser window? Or are you more a half the size of the screen kind of user? Letterboxing masks your real dimensions by adding a space around the window. So, no matter how you resize your browser, your window dimensions are unlikely to uniquely identify you. These are just a few of the fingerprint protection actions we implemented with the Mullvad Browser.
If you install a desktop application, it will have more access to your computer than a physical browser page. It’s wise to be careful about what applications you install. Open source applications, while not inherently better, tend to be better in practice.