I have been using Qubes OS for more than an year now. I use Tor Browser in Whonix DVM (earler anon-whonix, but now in Whonix DVM). I mostly use it for reading Google News, because in these times of targeted servicing (i.e., personalization), I do not want to be reading new that is specially assembled for me by an algorithm relying on my personal data. The news is not about me, it should have nothing to do with me, not even how the news items are put together. (By the way, the same applies to any recommendation system). I want to decide, without someone biasing my selection, what news to read and what not to read.
(I know using Google News already introduces some bias, but I don't solely use Google News for getting my news. I also happen to be involved with some research related to published news.) What I have observed on my computer (any computer, including those on which Intel ME is neutered) is that Google News almost always (>99% of the time) open with the US news. I don't think that is how it should be working. If there is true anonymity, the page should open randomly to any country and any language. That does not happen, at least not for me. I tried creating a new Whonix DVM template and checking whether it still happens. It does (that is, both of the problems mentioned above). I do know for sure that there is plenty of research on de-anonymization of tor traffic. It can be easily searched for on Google Scholar. I am not sure whether this it is Qubes specific or a problem related to Tor in general. I personally think the latter is more likely, due to de-anonymization. Another related question is about a problem I am facing, even in newly installed (but updated) Qubes OS Tor Browser on Whonix (even DVM), is that when it starts, everything seems to be working. After some time, either the browser crashes, or it freezes or it works intermittently. Now, for the last few weeks, the context menu (on right click) becomes corrupted (there are two items visible, the rest are invisible, although I can still use them by using keyboard arrows and pressing enter). I use two of these invisible options to bookmark all the pages. I tried creating a new Whonix DVM template and checking whether it still happens. It does (that is, both of the problems mentioned above). The second one I have not yet seen on the computer with neutered Intel ME, but that may be because I have not really started using it so far (I only got it recently). I don't take all the precautions that some Qubes users suggest, but I do take a lot of precautions (increasingly more, including changing habits). Can anyone suggest what could be the problem (particularly for the second question, as the first one may be due to other reasons)? Is it a bug or is it specific to my network? Regards, अनिल एकलव्य (Anil Eklavya) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "qubes-users" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/qubes-users/CAAPfsu_rrZDi34xebc7PGaAMFR8Uq8%2Bbvfz00xB9gTgu61avTA%40mail.gmail.com.
