Software Alternatives & Reviews

Qubes OS VS XNU

Compare Qubes OS VS XNU and see what are their differences

Qubes OS logo Qubes OS

Qubes is a security-oriented, free and open-source operating system for personal computers that allows you to securely compartmentalize your digital life.‎Download Mirrors · ‎Qubes R4.

XNU logo XNU

XNU is a hybrid kernel combining the Mach kernel with components from FreeBSD and C++
  • Qubes OS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-13
  • XNU Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-12

Qubes OS videos

Qubes OS Review | Windows Integration

More videos:

  • Review - Qubes OS Part 1: Overview and Features
  • Tutorial - Qubes OS Tutorial | Install, Config, and Introduction

XNU videos

Great News For JAILBREAK: Apple Open-Sourced The iOS (XNU) Kernel

More videos:

  • Review - [CB18] Smart Fuzzing XPC & XNU by Juwei Lin, Lilang Wu, Moony Li

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Qubes OS and XNU)
Operating Systems
83 83%
17% 17
Linux
64 64%
36% 36
Linux Distribution
82 82%
18% 18
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Qubes OS and XNU. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Qubes OS and XNU

Qubes OS Reviews

The 10 Best Immutable Linux Distributions in 2024
Given the nature of immutable distributions, a strong emphasis on security is essential. Distributions that implement robust security measures, whether through sandboxing applications, using secure package management systems, or providing advanced isolation techniques (like in Qubes OS), were given priority.
Best Linux distro for privacy and security of 2024
Thanks to its radically different approach, Qubes does have a learning curve. However it isn’t abrupt enough to prevent you from using the distro like a normal Linux installation. Qubes is based on Fedora and uses the Xfce desktop environment. But instead of a list of apps, its application menu lists several qubes such as work, personal, untrusted, each of which rolls the...
Top 5 Secure Operating Systems for Privacy and Anonymity
In short, Qubes is an operating system that separates tasks and applications into distinct VMs and further isolates them using containers. By leveraging these technologies, Qubes OS can deliver enhanced performance and security.
The 5 Best Privacy-Focused Operating Systems
Qubes OS is a unique privacy-focused Linux distribution that prioritizes security through virtualization. It allows you to create isolated virtual machines (VMs) for different tasks, enhancing privacy and security. Each VM runs separately, reducing the risk of data leaks and malware infections.
Avoid The Hack: 11 Best Privacy Friendly Operating Systems (Desktops)
Qubes is unique in that it uses Xen-based virtualization, which enables strong isolation of different pieces of software - which can include operating systems. Multiple operating systems can run at the same time through Qubes - and they won't even "know" other operating systems exist.

XNU Reviews

We have no reviews of XNU yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Qubes OS might be a bit more popular than XNU. We know about 55 links to it since March 2021 and only 46 links to XNU. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Qubes OS mentions (55)

  • Unprivileged Process Injection Techniques in Linux
    If you care about security, consider Qubes OS, which relies on hardware virtualization to provide a much higher security than ordinary Linux: https://qubes-os.org. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • The Windows installer of ImageMagick will no longer be signed
    You may be interested in trying Qubes OS, which provides security through compartmentalization: https://qubes-os.org. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Richard Stallman on why GNU su didn't support the “wheel” group
    The solution is to use https://qubes-os.org. My daily driver, can't recommend it enough. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: What projects are trying to reinvent core software infrastructure?
    > operating systems https://qubes-os.org, a reasonably secure operating system. Smartphones: Librem 5 running desktop GNU/Linux and desktop apps. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Google tries internet air-gap for some staff PCs
    Or they could simply use Qubes OS: https://qubes-os.org. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
View more

XNU mentions (46)

  • ScummVM officially released in the App Store
    > ...even though they are technically in violation of the GPL by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file) They're not. They've covered this in two main ways: 1) By listing all their source code on https://opensource.apple.com/ (which links to their GitHub with all the source code) 2) By offering a complete machine-readable copy of the source code upon... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • macOS 13.5 source code released
    The XNU kernel has been open source for a very long time. https://opensource.apple.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XNU Note that this is not the full operating system/windowing system, it's just the kernel. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Apple’s new Proton-like tool can run Windows games on a Mac
    Apple does plenty of open source stuff. Safari's browser engine, Swift, libdispatch, the XNU kernel used by iOS and macOS, etc. And macOS is generally packed with open source things, like the default shell, zsh. Also, Metal actually predates Vulkan, so Vulkan was definitely not established when they started focusing on Metal. Yeah, they probably should consider supporting Vulkan now, but it's nothing to do with... Source: 11 months ago
  • DirectX 12 Support on macOS
    It's still not a great thing to do. Apple used to contribute a lot more, even if some of their stuff was exclusive to their platform. https://opensource.apple.com. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • [D] ClosedAI license, open-source license which restricts only OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Meta from commercial use
    Everything that includes copyleft code is open source. You can see https://opensource.apple.com for a full list. Source: 12 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Qubes OS and XNU, you can also consider the following products

Tails - Tails is a Debian based live CD/USB with the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the...

Linux kernel - The Linux kernel is the operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating...

Whonix - Whonix aims at preserving your privacy and anonymity by helping you use your applications...

GNU Hurd - GNU Hurd (usually referred to as the Hurd) is a computer operating system kernel designed as a...

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.

Linux-libre - Linux-libre is a GNU package that is maintained from modified versions of the Linux kernel.