XB Machine
Encyclopedia
xB Machine has been a virtual operating system
that was small enough to fit on a USB drive. The last version seems to have been 0.9.1.5 in mid of 2008. It brought a secure computing environment that anonymized all internet activity, and had portable encrypted file storage. It had been developed and offered by XeroBank and based on a modified Gentoo Linux
distribution
. It could be executed as a virtual machine
through a QEMU
hypervisor
, VMWare
, VirtualBox
, and any other major virtualization system. It could also be booted from on USB or burned to CD for booting. Virtualization
, along with the native implementation of a Tor
onion routing
for internet connectivity and other encryption and privacy tools, had been utilized to increase the security and anonymity of the user.
The developers claimed that it is the most secure operating system in the world
and that the technology involved is highly resistant to hacking and spying, even in the most hostile environments. The details and transactions inside each xB Machine account were protected with 256-bit AES
encryption. The software also had a self-destruct sequence for eliminating any traces that a user may have left behind on the drivespace after using xB Machine. Meanwhile Xerobank offers a modular package with xB Browser, xB Mail, and xB VPN, parts of it running only for customers of the bank.
Features of XB Machine have been:
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
that was small enough to fit on a USB drive. The last version seems to have been 0.9.1.5 in mid of 2008. It brought a secure computing environment that anonymized all internet activity, and had portable encrypted file storage. It had been developed and offered by XeroBank and based on a modified Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
. It could be executed as a virtual machine
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
through a QEMU
QEMU
QEMU is a processor emulator that relies on dynamic binary translation to achieve a reasonable speed while being easy to port on new host CPU architectures....
hypervisor
Hypervisor
In computing, a hypervisor, also called virtual machine manager , is one of many hardware virtualization techniques that allow multiple operating systems, termed guests, to run concurrently on a host computer. It is so named because it is conceptually one level higher than a supervisory program...
, VMWare
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
, VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Oracle VM VirtualBox is an x86 virtualization software package, originally created by software company Innotek GmbH, purchased by Sun Microsystems, and now developed by Oracle Corporation as part of its family of virtualization products...
, and any other major virtualization system. It could also be booted from on USB or burned to CD for booting. Virtualization
Full virtualization
In computer science, full virtualization is a virtualization technique used to provide a certain kind of virtual machine environment, namely, one that is a complete simulation of the underlying hardware...
, along with the native implementation of a Tor
Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
onion routing
Onion routing
Onion routing is a technique for anonymous communication over a computer network. Messages are repeatedly encrypted and then sent through several network nodes called onion routers. Like someone unpeeling an onion, each onion router removes a layer of encryption to uncover routing instructions, and...
for internet connectivity and other encryption and privacy tools, had been utilized to increase the security and anonymity of the user.
The developers claimed that it is the most secure operating system in the world
and that the technology involved is highly resistant to hacking and spying, even in the most hostile environments. The details and transactions inside each xB Machine account were protected with 256-bit AES
Advanced Encryption Standard
Advanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...
encryption. The software also had a self-destruct sequence for eliminating any traces that a user may have left behind on the drivespace after using xB Machine. Meanwhile Xerobank offers a modular package with xB Browser, xB Mail, and xB VPN, parts of it running only for customers of the bank.
Features of XB Machine have been:
- LiveCD or bootable ISO on WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems... - CD-Rom/USB/HDD Bootable
- Internalized QEMUQEMUQEMU is a processor emulator that relies on dynamic binary translation to achieve a reasonable speed while being easy to port on new host CPU architectures....
- VMwareVMwareVMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
detection and support - KQEMU accelerator kernel module
- Includes XeroBank Browser (Firefox browser with inbuilt TorTor (anonymity network)Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
network) - Includes xB Mail (generic ThunderbirdMozilla ThunderbirdMozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
ATMAsynchronous Transfer ModeAsynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
) - Torrent support via cTorrent
- XeroBank Browser 1.0 automatic credentials downloader
- Self-Destruct
External links
- xB Machine Website. retrieved 2011-05-03, dead links
- XeroBank Internet Privacy Software download page. retrieved 2011-05-03