Installation of Kicksecure on a USB

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Kicksecure can be used as a plug-and-play operating system on a USB data stick. It comes in two flavors: a non-persistent Live USB system, and a persistent operating system booted from USB.

Introduction

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Kicksecure can be easily and comfortably booted and used from a USB data stick. No need to install it on your hard drive. Once Kicksecure has been flashed to a USB data stick, simply plug in the stick, boot Kicksecure, and you are ready to work with Kicksecure for tasks that require robust security. There are two options available.

  • A non-persistent (live) USB operating system that forgets all user-created data after shutdown.
  • A persistent USB operating system which saves your data on the USB drive itself.

Installation / Use

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The following options are available for Kicksecure on USB.

Note:

  • ISO LIVE mode: A non-persistent mode where changes are never saved. Every time you boot, the system starts fresh, and any data or changes made during the session are lost when you shut down.
  • PERSISTENT mode: Saves and retains user data created during a session of Kicksecure, ensuring that all changes, files, updates, and software installations remain available in future sessions. Persistent Mode functions like a standard operating system installation, where any modifications made will persist across reboots.
  • OPT-IN LIVE mode: Even though the system is installed in persistent mode (meaning changes would normally be saved), this option allows you to temporarily boot into a non-persistent mode (Live Mode) where changes are not saved for that session. After restarting, you can choose to boot back into the normal persistent mode, where changes are saved again.

1 Choice.

Choose an option below to view the matching instructions:

ISO LIVE Mode

To set up ISO Live Mode on a USB data stick, follow these instructions.

2 On the ISO page, read the Download, Create Live USB section.

3 Follow the instructions to flash the ISO to a USB stick.

4 Boot from the USB stick.

Figure: Kicksecure ISO Live Mode showing the GRUB bootloader

Kicksecure ISO GRUB

5 Done.

PERSISTENT Mode

To set up Kicksecure installed on a USB data stick (PERSISTENT Mode), follow these instructions.

2 Notes.

  • The user will need two different USB devices. The following names are arbitrary and just for your understanding.
    • A LIVE-USB: A USB drive to install the LIVE Mode on.
    • B PERSISTENT-USB: A USB drive where persistent Kicksecure should be installed.

Both USB devices will be overwritten. All data on the USB devices will be lost.

3 On the ISO page, read the Download, Create Live USB section.

4 Follow the instructions to flash it to a USB stick ("LIVE-USB").

5 Boot from the USB stick.

Figure: Kicksecure ISO Live Mode showing the GRUB bootloader

Kicksecure ISO GRUB

6 On the desktop, click "Install to Hard Drive" and select the second USB device ("PERSISTENT-USB") as the installation target.

7 Power off. (Shut down the live session.)

8 Remove the USB stick that contains the Kicksecure installer ISO ("LIVE-USB").

9 Keep the USB with the installed Kicksecure ("PERSISTENT-USB") connected.

10 Boot from the installed Kicksecure USB stick ("PERSISTENT-USB").

Figure: Persistent Mode Boot - User Session

Persistent Mode - User Session

11 Done.

  • Why this matters: The persistent USB setup depends on how you started (booted) the Live USB. Computers can start in two common ways: BIOS (older) or UEFI (newer).
  • If you booted the Live USB with BIOS: You will usually see two partitions on the new USB (boot and rootfs), and the installer will show a "Bootloader Location" step. Select the target USB device and continue.
  • If you booted the Live USB with UEFI: You will usually see three partitions (efi, boot, and rootfs), and the installer will not show a "Bootloader Location" step.
  • Compatibility between different computers: The same Live USB can often boot on different computers, but a persistent USB created while booted in BIOS mode may only boot on computers using BIOS, and a persistent USB created while booted in UEFI mode may only boot on computers using UEFI. This is a known issue and might get fixed in a future version.
  • Practical tip: Many computers support both BIOS and UEFI. Check the BIOS or UEFI settings and enable the boot mode you plan to use.

Why not just flash a persistent Kicksecure image to USB? Such an image has not been developed yet due to complex technical challenges. Because of these challenges, almost no other Linux distributions offer this functionality either. To work around this, a "detour" via first flashing a Kicksecure ISO is required before running the Kicksecure installer.

Advanced users: There is also a different option for advanced users. Click "Learn More" to open.

Advanced users can also create a Kicksecure USB stick by following these instructions:

  1. Take a USB data stick with at least 16 GB of space.
  2. Install Debian on the USB stick. Instructions are available on the Debian Wikiarchive.org iconarchive.today icon. Additional online guides explain how to install Debian on a USB.
  3. Morph the Debian installation into Kicksecure. Instructions for this can be found in our Kicksecure for Debian installation guide.
  4. Done.

OPT-IN LIVE Mode

Live Mode boot option selected.

This mode boots a Kicksecure USB installation in Live Mode. This option can be useful in certain situations.

2 Follow all the steps listed under #PERSISTENT_Mode.

3 During the boot process, in the GRUB boot menu, choose "Live Mode".

4 Done.

Info:

Live Mode is facilitated by the pre-installed grub-live software package. grub-live allows the host operating system, in this case Kicksecure on a USB data stick, to boot into Live Mode. See Live Mode for further information.

Advantages of Kicksecure on USB

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Simple to Try Out: An easy way to try out Kicksecure without needing to install Kicksecure on your computer.

Way easier than Dual Boot: It is much easier to install an operating system on a separate USB drive than attempting to set up a dual boot on the same hard drive.

Better Security: A higher level of security can be achieved by installing the host operating system(s) on dedicated (encrypted) external disk(s), such as a USB flash drive or similar media. [1] Compared to dual booting, physical external media reduces the risk of malware running on other operating system(s) infecting the Kicksecure host operating system.

Can be unplugged and securely stored: When Kicksecure disk(s) are not in use, they can either be removed or hidden.

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ↑ For example, eSATA or FireWire. FireWire should generally be avoided for security reasons:

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