Software Recommendations

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This wiki page outlines software recommendations by Kicksecure for various tasks, such as encryption, email, IRC, media player, image viewer, screenshot creator, calculator, office suite, and more. It includes a list of pre-installed applications on Kicksecure, recommended software for different user activities, installation instructions, and security advice.

Warning[edit]

It is estimated that within 10 to 15 years, Quantum Computers will break today's common asymmetric public-key cryptography algorithms used for web encryption (https), e-mail encryption (GnuPG...), SSH and other purposes. See Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQCrypto).

Accessibility[edit]

On-Screen Keyboard[edit]

onboard homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org) is an extensible, scalable, virtual (on-screen) keyboard.

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) onboard following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the onboard package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends onboard

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) onboard is complete.

Figure: Onboard Software in Kicksecure

Audio, Image and Video[edit]

Audio Recorder and Editor[edit]

Audacity homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org).

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) audacity following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the audacity package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends audacity

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) audacity is complete.

Figure: Audacity Software in Kicksecure

Image and PDF Viewer[edit]

Ristretto[edit]

Ristrettoarchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org) and xpdfarchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org) come pre-installed in Kicksecure.

Start menuGraphicsImage Viewer

Figure: Ristretto Software in Kicksecure

Figure: xpdf Software in Kicksecure

eog - Eye of GNOME graphics viewer[edit]

Install package(s) eog following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the eog package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends eog

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) eog is complete.

Screenshot Creator and Image Editor[edit]

Qubes info box Kicksecure only! [1]
In Qubes, screenshots only work in dom0 (System ToolsScreenshot) and this applies to the entire platform, including Kicksecure for Qubes.

Flameshot homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org).

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) flameshot following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the flameshot package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends flameshot

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) flameshot is complete.

Figure: Flameshot Software in Kicksecure

Video Editor[edit]

Flowblade homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org).

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) flowblade following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the flowblade package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends flowblade

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) flowblade is complete.

Figure: Flowblade Software in Kicksecure

Video Recorder[edit]

vokoscreenNG homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org).

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) vokoscreen-ng following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the vokoscreen-ng package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends vokoscreen-ng

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) vokoscreen-ng is complete.

Figure: vokoscreenNG Software in Kicksecure

Communications[edit]

E-Mail[edit]

See E-Mail.

Instant Messengers[edit]

Undocumented.

IRC Client[edit]

Undocumented

XMPP/Jabber Client[edit]

TODO

Encryption[edit]

OpenPGP (GnuPG Frontend)[edit]

OpenPGP can be used to encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify text.

GPAarchive.org and GnuPGarchive.org come pre-installed in Kicksecure (Debian packagesarchive.org).

Starting.

  • gpg command line interface (CLI): gpg
  • gpa graphical user interface (GUI): gpa

Alternative: KGpg

To install KGpg:

Install package(s) kgpg following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the kgpg package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends kgpg

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) kgpg is complete.

To start KGpg:

KGpg

Documentation:

Figure: GnuPG Software in Kicksecure

Entertainment[edit]

Media Player[edit]

VLC Media Player Icon

The VLC Media Player Icon VLC Media Playerarchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org) is pre-installed in Kicksecure. There are no increased fingerprinting risks because VLC does not run Javascriptarchive.org. [2]

Start menuMultimediaVLC Media Player

Figure: VLC Software in Kicksecure

Miscellaneous[edit]

Calculator[edit]

galculator homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org).

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) galculator following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the galculator package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends galculator

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) galculator is complete.

Figure: galculator Software in Kicksecure

Disk Space Analyzer[edit]

df[edit]

df -h

baobab[edit]

Install package(s) baobab following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the baobab package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends baobab

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) baobab is complete.

  • As user:
    • baobab
  • With administrative ("root") rights:
    • lxsudo baobab

File Comparison Tools[edit]

A file comparison tool is also often called a diff viewer.

meld[edit]

Install package(s) meld following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the meld package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends meld

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) meld is complete.

Usage example:

meld file1 file2

kdiff3[edit]

Install package(s) kdiff3 following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the kdiff3 package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends kdiff3

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) kdiff3 is complete.

Usage example:

kdiff3 file1 file2

diff[edit]

diff is a pre-installed command line interface (CLI) diff viewer.

Usage example:

diff file1 file2

File Manager[edit]

Thunar Icon

Thunar is pre-installed. To launch it:

Thunar as User[edit]

  • A) From start menu: Start menuSystemThunar
  • B) From command line: thunar

Figure: Thunar Software in Kicksecure

Thunar with Administrator Rights[edit]

From command line:

lxsudo thunar

Task Manager[edit]

There many choices. Task managers are unspecific to Kicksecure. These should be researched as per Self Support First Policy.

xfce4-taskmanager[edit]

Here is a taskmanager graphical user interface (GUI) example.

Install package(s) xfce4-taskmanager following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the xfce4-taskmanager package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends xfce4-taskmanager

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) xfce4-taskmanager is complete.

Run.

xfce4-taskmanager

taskmanager command line utilities[edit]

Popular taskmanager command line utilities include:

  • top
  • htop
  • ps
  • pstree
  • pgrep

task killing command line utilities[edit]

Task killing can also be done on the command line.

  • kill
  • killall

plasma-systemmonitor[edit]

Install package(s) plasma-systemmonitor following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the plasma-systemmonitor package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends plasma-systemmonitor

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) plasma-systemmonitor is complete.

Run.

plasma-systemmonitor

iotop - simple top-like I/O monitor[edit]

iotop does for I/O usage what top(1) does for CPU usage. It watches I/O usage information output by the Linux kernel and displays a table of current I/O usage by processes on the system. It is handy for answering the question "Why is the disk churning so much?".Debian iotop packagearchive.org

Install package(s) iotop following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the iotop package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends iotop

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) iotop is complete.

Run.

sudo iotop -a

Terminal[edit]

xfce4-terminal-emulator icon

Xfce-Terminal homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org). Xfce-Terminal is pre-installed in Kicksecure.

To start it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Figure: Xfce Terminal in Kicksecure

Unsafe Paste Warning Popup[edit]

This is a demonstration of the Warning: Unsafe Paste feature of the Xfce Terminal Emulator. Other graphical terminal emulators might have similar features.

Figure: Warning: Unsafe Paste feature

First a text editor is opened, then several arbitrary lines of text written, copied to clipboard and pasted into the terminal emulator.

1. Open a text editor.

Open file some-file-name in a text editor of your choice as a regular, non-root user.

If you are using a graphical environment, run. mousepad some-file-name

If you are using a terminal, run. nano some-file-name

2. Write several lines of text.

Should be long lines. Should be multiple lines. The text is not important. Can be anything.

For example:

111111111111111111111111 222222222222222222222222

3. Copy to clipboard.

Select all of the lines of text and right click, copy to clipboard.

4. Open a terminal.

Open a terminal.

If you are using Kicksecure inside Qubes, complete the following steps.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q")Kicksecure App Qube (commonly named kicksecure)Xfce Terminal

If you are using a graphical Kicksecure with Xfce, run.

Start MenuXfce Terminal

5. Paste the text into the terminal.

6. The warning popup will appear.

Warning: Unsafe Paste

7. Done.

The demonstration of the Warning: Unsafe Paste feature has been completed.

If the user does not understand the contents of the pasted text, the user should abort. Otherwise, the user might be compromised by running commands not understood by the user.

Related security risk: Invisible Malicious Unicode

Text Editor[edit]

Open File as Regular User[edit]

mousepad is installed by default.

Replace /path/to/file with the actual file name.

mousepad /path/to/file

Open File with Root Rights[edit]

Prefer sudoedit for better security. [3]

When using sudoedit:

  • If the file does not exist, it will be created.
  • If the file does exist, it will be edited.

1. Open /path/to/file with root rights.

Note: Replace /path/to/file with the actual file name.

sudoedit /path/to/file

To use a different editor, replace mousepad with the name of the editor you wish to use.

SUDO_EDITOR=mousepad sudoedit /path/to/file

2. Edit the file.

3. Save.

Notes:

  • Simply close the editor and press save.
  • Do not use "save as" -- this is unnecessary and will not work.

4. Done.

Work on Sensitive Documents[edit]

Office Suite[edit]

LibreOffice homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org) [4] is recommended. It is a fully-featured office productivity suite that provides a near drop-in replacement for Microsoft (R) Office. A word processor is included, along with spreadsheet and presentation applications.

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) libreoffice following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the libreoffice package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends libreoffice

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) libreoffice is complete.

To launch these applications: Start menuOffice

Figure: LibreOffice Software in Kicksecure

Printing and Scanning[edit]

See Printing and Scanning.

Publishing[edit]

Scribus homepagearchive.org (Debian packagearchive.org) is an open source desktop page layout accessible from the desktop menu (ApplicationsGraphics). It can be used for many tasks; from booklets design to newspapers, magazines, newsletters and posters to technical documentation.

Scribus has sophisticated page layout features like precision placing and rotating of text and/or images on a page, manual kerning of type, bezier curves polygons, precision placement of objects, layering with RGB and CMYK custom colors. The Scribus document file format is XML-based. Unlike proprietary binary file formats, even damaged documents can be recovered with a simple text editor.

To install it: Start menuSystemXfce Terminal

Install package(s) scribus following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the scribus package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends scribus

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) scribus is complete.

Figure: Scribus Software in Kicksecure

scurl: SSL Command Line Downloader[edit]

To securely download files or webpages from the Internet on the command line, scurl is pre-installed in Kicksecure. scurl should be preferred over wget, since the former enforces strong encryption and is less buggy. See also Secure Downloads.

To invoke scurl to download a file, use the following syntax and replace the example URL with the file's location.

scurl https://dist.torproject.org/torbrowser/9.5/tor-browser-linux64-9.5_en-US.tar.xz

This will download tor-browser-linux64-9.5_en-US.tar.xz to the current working directory.

Refer to the scurl entry for further examples and a complete description of this tool.

Figure: scurl Command in Kicksecure

Java[edit]

Install package(s) default-jre following these instructions

1 Platform specific notice.

2 Update the package lists and upgrade the system The Web Archive Onion Version .

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3 Install the default-jre package(s).

Using apt command line --no-install-recommends option The Web Archive Onion Version is in most cases optional.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends default-jre

4 Platform specific notice.

5 Done.

The procedure of installing package(s) default-jre is complete.

Additional Software[edit]

If the recommendations in this section are unsatisfactory, additional applications can be easily installed in a few steps; see Install Software.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. Kicksecure means all Kicksecure platforms except Kicksecure inside Qubes. This includes Kicksecure on hardware, Kicksecure in VMs such as VirtualBox, Kicksecure KVM.
  2. However, unrestricted access to the large number of codecs, along with the gstreamer and ffmpeg frameworks can expose the system to remote attacks. The risk is greater than with Tor Browser because the latter attempts to restrict codecs to a particular subset. No cookies are stored by VLC and no information is collected and sent to third partiesarchive.org; see the Original Whonix forum threadarchive.org.
  3. https://forums.whonix.org/t/use-sudoedit-in-whonix-documentation-and-whonix-software/7599archive.org
  4. See also: LibreOffice in Wikipediaarchive.org.

License[edit]

Kicksecure Software wiki page Copyright (C) Amnesia <amnesia at boum dot org>
Kicksecure Software wiki page Copyright (C) 2012 - 2024 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LP <

This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see the wiki source code.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; see the wiki source code for details.

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