Is there some way to encrypt internet traffic on Ubuntu VM so that tools installed on host machine could not see it/read it?
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2Connecting to a VPN should do it.– clonemanAug 12, 2016 at 5:46
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If the host is running malware then nothing on that computer can be trusted– Xen2050Aug 12, 2016 at 5:58
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@Xen2050, what do u mean? I just dont want tools installed on my host pc to be able sniff/read the traffic from VM– ArkadyBAug 12, 2016 at 6:37
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The question is: who controls the host? If an adversary then you cannot– techrafAug 12, 2016 at 6:59
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1@techraf, host is my corp laptop, that may/or may not have some traffic monitoring tools.– ArkadyBAug 12, 2016 at 7:15
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1 Answer
Your question is a little bit to general, so hard to give you the answer you are looking for. If your VM tunnels all traffic through a VPN then the host will not be able to just run wireshark or so to see your network traffic. But your network usage can still reveal a lot, e.g. watching a youtube video has a different network usage fingerprint than online banking.
You also have to keep in mind that a VM is designed to protect the user in the VM to access the host, not the other way around. So there are numerous (non-trivial) ways how the host could spy on the user inside the VM. For most users a VPN should do the job, but if you fear a hacker, a virus, the IT professionals in your company, etc. could have a special interest to see what you are doing inside your VM, you better get yourself a different laptop.
Since you mentioned that you are running Ubuntu, see what software is installed. This would require pretty advanced Linux knowledge. If all software packages are installed from main repositories and no custom programs/virus are installed, I guess it is safe to assume that big brother is still watching you, just not inside your laptop.
