Document is to help a qubes newcomer to familiarize themselves with using qubes 4.2.2.
My next concern, Right after the first finished install, was to use Qubes with a Quality VPN or Tor, From the first update.
To prevent my ISP (Internet Service Provider) from being able to identify that I am using qubes. or which websites I went to on the internet.
With some threat levels, some of you might prefer to nearly always work behind a quality VPN, or Tor. If you are not sure if you have a high threat level, then if I were you, would presume I do.
In practical terms, a high threat level would mean that you want from the very beginning, for the first update, to be used behind a Quality VPN or Tor.
In the dialogue, while installing Qubes, you were offered the opportunity to do updates with Tor. Likely there is a method to turn on doing Updates over Tor. I can not test it, so I will not try to explain how.
Downside of using Tor for updates, it is slow, if the user needs a high speed connection they can use for updates. Nice to have at home high speed connection, then at night, I sleep while qubes accomplishes updates.
A quality VPN costs money. For security minded folks, how can you expect to have a service, never pay for it, where are they getting the money to provide a free service, if not spying on their users. Some VPN’s are not respected because of how their software is written, or the previous actions of those who own VPN. Some are well respected because they use software which has been examined by knowledgeable technical people, and there services have been audited. I feel it I should name either the well regarded VPN’s.
Another problem with using a VPN, is having to install it. In qubes one installs the VPN into the qube named sys-net. There are guides on the forum for installing VPN’s.
Actual security in updating qubes, is not likely to be effected by not using either Tor or a VPN. Or I guess that is just my attitude based on my situation.
Written for Qubes 4.2.2: This is intended for newcomers to Qubes, with the thought learning a little helps a lot.
All right, you have just started Qubes for the first time.
If you are like me, you want to get online first.
Look at upper right hand side of screen.
Icon to start internet connection is either two red terminals, or red bars showing connection.
Difference being, When Qubes starts it will grab onto a wireless connection that is not password protected, or a password protected connection that it already has the password to.
Red Icon, click there. What happens next there is easy to work through. After the connection is working.
Look to upper left hand side of screen.
Blue Q, click there.
In second column, under Apps
default-dvm browse to hover there
Third column Firefox click there.
Depending on the speed of you computer this can take a minute or two.
Then Firefox Browser opens up.
If you are trying to use a public WiFi where you must agree to something for the connection to become active, that agreement should show up here, perhaps as a pop-up. So click through the agreement, if you choose. Close this version of Firefox, and start the disp-dvm/Firefox again.
Now, I would test a trustworthy website or two. One not likely to give me a drive by install of malware.
Next order of business, update the computer. This is really important for security. Qubes is not like Windows that updates automatically, user must initiate Updates on their own.
Look to upper left.
Blue Q
click there.
In first column, at the bottom is a gear icon
Click on gear icon
Second column browse to Qubes tools
third column Qubes Updates
Brings up box in middle of screen titled at top of screen (Dom0) Qubes OS Updates
Click on all the check boxes
Lower right Blue Box Updates click that Blue Box
If you chose the option during install to always Update using Tor. This could take longer.
In previous versions of Qubes, I felt that it helped, in that instance to start Tor itself.
Upper left Blue Q/anon-whonix/Tor Browser Downloader (Anon-Dist)
Takes a minute or two to start, then another minute or two to start Tor opening page.
In Tor Browser, upper right, just under X to close Window Three horizontal bars. Likely it will download an update for Tor. When that Tor Browser download finishes, it will advise you to restart Tor Yeah, do that.
If it is me, I would not use the computer until Updates finish, good time to watch a long movie.
After the update itself finishes, Likely by then the screen will have gone dark. Press the space bar. In another minute or two it will ask you to login again to account. Then it will show a screen advising you whether the updates worked, and advise you to click on box at bottom of screen for updater to shutdown some qubes and restart them.
All right, you have allowed Update to finish.
Likely you have looked at the official qubes documentation.
Which I felt was difficult to read through front to back. Talked with a bunch of terms I did not grasp. When I did understand, I did not know how to find on a screen to select where to click. So I will take the initial user on a project or two, with the hope, learning a little, can help make all this more usable, more understandable.
Lets create a Qube to do Office like things, Libre Office.
Look Upper left, Blue Q click first column bottom of list, the gear icon click second column Qubes Tools either click or browse through to third column
browse to Q Create Qubes VM click
box opens titled (Dom0) Create new qube first tab is box is Name and label: I enter Write, it could be any qube name not already in use, but this puts it at the very bottom of Apps list, easy for me to find.
Second in horizontal boxes is Type on the click down menu options choose the third option down StandaloneVM (fully persistent) fourth horizontal option Networking: click, on the bottom option of drop down menu (none)
Third vertical box down Template
from the click down menu
Debian-12-xfce
click
Some documents try to open links to the internet. Obviously a security hazard.
In use, I plan to download documents into one Qube, Not open document there, and copy document ( in some clever way already planned for by Qubes developers) into my qube Write
Security by compartmentalization translates to Qubes do not have a direct connection, but there are ways to move information, like letters, files around.
Bottom right box, OK Click
takes a minute or two to finish.
Upper Right Blue Q click
second column topped with Apps at the bottom is a Qube named Write Browse to Write
Browse to third column which appears, on drop down menu at top
Gear Icon Settings
click and a box appears
at top titled (Dom0) Settings: Write
group of tabs immediately under that, the first tab is Basic look to make sure the Net qube is set to (none)
fifth horizontal tab Applications
all the programs in the left hand horizontal box are easy to install
Browse down
File Manager click between the two boxes there is a greater than pointer icon click
Notice File Manager just appeared in right hand box
Browse down to -click on- greater than Icon
move to right hand box
All the programs for Libre Office
There is also a program Dictionary
Browse to lower right hand side check icon Apply
Browse up just under the title Applications
there is a clickable box Refresh applications
click
takes a few minutes, wait until the box finishes
lower right hand corner button OK click
Blue Q Second column Apps
At the very bottom of the Qubes is one named Write
Browse to Write click
Third column is LibreOffice Writer Browse there click
takes a moment or two.
The next thing I wanted to have, was a safer browser, for general use.
After I describe this, a bunch will post on this explanation/procedure thread, that my method is not the correct way. My method is like an experiment in a lab. Learn to follow instructions. You can implement the other methods later.
To create a qube.
Look to upper left of screen.
Blue Q, browse.
Click
Browse down to gear Icon. Click
second column Qubes Tools Browse over to third column Q Create Qubes VM click
box appears titled (Dom0) Create new qube
left tab
underneath
Name and label I type in st-mullvad
second horizontal drop down menu choose StandaloneVM (fully persistent)
Third Horizontal Template I leave alone leaving Fedora-40-xfce (default)
fourth horizontal Networking
use drop down menu
(none)
lower right hand side button OK click
box appears
Creating new qube
wait, takes a minute or two. When that box goes away
Upper left blue Q click
If you saw message go by saying it needs Updates If you ran Update, the program finishes correctly saying the update took place, but no Update was necessary. I don’t know why the message occurs.
I want to modify Firefox Template for disp-dvm to use a Search Engine besides Google Upper left hand side Blue Qube click
third column Templates second column Browse down to disp-dvm Third column Firefox Click
browse to default-dvm third column Firefox click
in the Firefox browser Look upper right hand side Three horizontal lines just below the X (which would close browser) click
Drop down menu appears Near the bottom is Settings click
Browse down the first vertical column. To a magnifying glass, and Search click
Second column Search
browse underneath that
Default Search Engine
button underneath
click
dropdown menu appears
Browse down to DuckDuckGo
click
Upper left hand side, in the red, is a down arrow with a line underneath click
dropdown menu appears at the bottom Close click
look upper left hand side blue Q click
Second column Apps click
Second column in the drop down menu for Apps disp-dvm third column Firefox click well drat. In mine, it says it wants to use for Search - Google If I close Firefox, it reverts search engine to Google. I don’t know why.
I changed that to DuckDuckGo there as well. Close tab in firefox that relates to Settings.
We need to get the install commands from the Mullvad website. Mullvad Browser is free.
Firefox search bar. Mullvad Browser
Which will yield https://mullvad.net/en/browser
down the page a bit
Download Mullvad Browser
click
Downloads page
Mullvad Browser
Underneath that is the third tab Linux
at the bottom is a green button Download
click
if you choose to bookmark the tab doing the downloading. I get
mullvad.net/en/download/browser/linux-x86_64/latest
insert file manager into disp-dvm
Open another tab in Firefox
I search for qubes documentation, copy program from one qube to another
I get https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-copy-and-move-files/
install file manager in st mullvad
In disp-dvm Firefox File manager downloads
right click on Mullvad tar dropdown menu
Copy to other qube
click
enter st mullvad
Now go over to st mullvad qube
file manager Downloads on Mullvad
right click drop down Open with xarchiver
takes a minute or two for xarchiver to populate with Mullvad Browser tar
xarchiver second tab drop down menu Action Extract click
I start File Manager Look First column Places Browse to Computer click
Third column shows an icon of a hard drive Underneath is File System Browse to icon of hard drive click twice
Look to folders for tmp near bottom Browse to tmp folder click twice
look for folder named Mullvad Browser
Start a second copy of file manager
On File Manager box, look upper left first column File Browse to File click
second in horizontal options on drop down menu Browse down to New Window click
Now you have two copies of the file manager, one is exactly covering the other. Separate the two Browse to the red edge of the top of the file manager Hold down the left mouse button. Pull one of the file managers away from the other.
Look in one of the File Manager’s First Column Browse down to Desktop click
From the other Window of File Manager in the open field Browse to folder Mullvad Browser
Move that folder to desktop Position Mouse/Touch Pad Pointer over folder Mullvad Browser
Hold down left click button Move that folder into the open space in the Window opened to Desktop.
Close the File Manager opened to /tmp/
Look in File Manager Desktop Open field has folder Mullvad Browser
Browse to folder Mullvad Browser
click twice
Look Icon that says underneath start-mullvad-browser-desktop Browse to start-mullvad-browser-desktop click twice
Look at the bottom of the box are three tabs
Look Middle of the three tabs
Browse to middle button make executable
click
Mullvad Browser should come up.
I want to create clones of this st-mullvad qube keep st-mullvad prestine. Not have any malware stuck in it.
Look upper left blue Q browse there click
drop down menu
second column Apps
browse down to st-mullvad
browse over into third column
Settings
click
in first box Basic
look down to bottom of box, just above border button that says Clone qube Browse to Clone qube click
Brings up a small rectangle box (Dom0) Clone qube Look to first tab Basic look to second vertical tab Clone Name Click in box
Remove text in box Type in mvd
Look lower right hand side
on border margin
Button says OK
click
Takes a minute or two to finish, When it finishes creating
Close st-mullvad Settings box
upper left blue Q
click
second column Apps There is now a new qube mvd Browse down, into third column Settings Click
First column Basic underneath that is Settings Browse down third vertical button is Net qube item in drop down menu is default (sys-firewall) click
Now go back to to Clone qube.
Clone several of these qubes . Instead of letting it create its own names
create a name of: mvd1, mvd2, mvd3 and so on.
Each of these qubes will be used, then information you want to keep -- transferred to another qube, such as the qube writer. Then used Mullvad qube will be deleted to prevent any malware from one use, to remain around for subsequent uses of Mullvad qube.
Yeah, I know, it is an enormous use of time.
But this is meant as a safe means for newcomer to familiarize themselves with qubes.
How to delete a qube.
First be very sure you have gotten out of the qube about to be deleted, all the information you want. That is to transfer that to another qube, which is not open to the internet, where the information can be read, however you choose to use it.
Turn off programs running in mvd. Be sure you know which one that you need to delete. Browse to that qube at the bottom of the drop down in the third column for that qube browse to Shutdown qube click
then browse again to the Apps column mvd whatever the number was to fourth column Settings Just above where the Clone qube button browse to Delete qube click
I only clone or delete one at a time, I am not sure Dom(0) can keep multiple qubes being created/cloned and deleted at the same time.
If I did a lot of work with my computer this would be way too much time consuming.
This is to help a newcomer to familiarize themselves with using qubes.
How about your doing a project, more on your own, that I regard as essential to running a secure system.
One of the qubes in the app column is Vault, which is meant to be permanently offline.
Add to Vault some programs. Vault/Settings/Applications
In the list of programs to add:
Geany can be used as a text editor
Galculator
KeePassXC a password manager
While we did move text before select text CTRL c for creating a copy in the current qube clipboard hold down shift key CTRL c to copy into universal clipboard then put the focus on the qube you want to copy into (click somewhere on a program in that qube) hold down the shift key CTRL v to paste from the universal clipboard click on the specific target place you want the text to go CTRL v
The exception being, If you are putting the text from the clipboard into the terminal In the terminal click on the second horizontal tab Edit from the drop down menu Paste click
Also there are difficulties copying into Dom0 and protected file structures. Which is a good idea to keep me from messing up OS Security.
stopped here
Document is to help a qubes newcomer to familiarize themselves with using qubes 4.2.2.
My next concern, Right after the first finished install, was to use Qubes with a Quality VPN or Tor, From the first update.
To prevent my ISP (Internet Service Provider) from being able to identify that I am using qubes. or which websites I went to on the internet.
With some threat levels, some of you might prefer to nearly always work behind a quality VPN, or Tor. If you are not sure if you have a high threat level, then if I were you, would presume I do.
In practical terms, a high threat level would mean that you want from the very beginning, for the first update, to be used behind a Quality VPN or Tor.
In the dialogue, while installing Qubes, you were offered the opportunity to do updates with Tor. Likely there is a method to turn on doing Updates over Tor. I can not test it, so I will not try to explain how.
Downside of using Tor for updates, it is slow, if the user needs a high speed connection they can use for updates. Nice to have at home high speed connection, then at night, I sleep while qubes accomplishes updates.
A quality VPN costs money. For security minded folks, how can you expect to have a service, never pay for it, where are they getting the money to provide a free service, if not spying on their users. Some VPN’s are not respected because of how their software is written, or the previous actions of those who own VPN. Some are well respected because they use software which has been examined by knowledgeable technical people, and there services have been audited. I feel it I should name either the well regarded VPN’s.
Another problem with using a VPN, is having to install it. In qubes one installs the VPN into the qube named sys-net. There are guides on the forum for installing VPN’s.
Actual security in updating qubes, is not likely to be effected by not using either Tor or a VPN. Or I guess that is just my attitude based on my situation.
Written for Qubes 4.2.2: This is intended for newcomers to Qubes, with the thought learning a little helps a lot.
All right, you have just started Qubes for the first time.
If you are like me, you want to get online first.
Look at upper right hand side of screen.
Icon to start internet connection is either two red terminals, or red bars showing connection.
Difference being, When Qubes starts it will grab onto a wireless connection that is not password protected, or a password protected connection that it already has the password to.
Red Icon, click there. What happens next there is easy to work through. After the connection is working.
Look to upper left hand side of screen.
Blue Q, click there.
In second column, under Apps
default-dvm browse to hover there
Third column Firefox click there.
Depending on the speed of you computer this can take a minute or two.
Then Firefox Browser opens up.
If you are trying to use a public WiFi where you must agree to something for the connection to become active, that agreement should show up here, perhaps as a pop-up. So click through the agreement, if you choose. Close this version of Firefox, and start the disp-dvm/Firefox again.
Now, I would test a trustworthy website or two. One not likely to give me a drive by install of malware.
Next order of business, update the computer. This is really important for security. Qubes is not like Windows that updates automatically, user must initiate Updates on their own.
Look to upper left.
Blue Q
click there.
In first column, at the bottom is a gear icon
Click on gear icon
Second column browse to Qubes tools
third column Qubes Updates
Brings up box in middle of screen titled at top of screen (Dom0) Qubes OS Updates
Click on all the check boxes
Lower right Blue Box Updates click that Blue Box
If you chose the option during install to always Update using Tor. This could take longer.
In previous versions of Qubes, I felt that it helped, in that instance to start Tor itself.
Upper left Blue Q/anon-whonix/Tor Browser Downloader (Anon-Dist)
Takes a minute or two to start, then another minute or two to start Tor opening page.
In Tor Browser, upper right, just under X to close Window Three horizontal bars. Likely it will download an update for Tor. When that Tor Browser download finishes, it will advise you to restart Tor Yeah, do that.
If it is me, I would not use the computer until Updates finish, good time to watch a long movie.
After the update itself finishes, Likely by then the screen will have gone dark. Press the space bar. In another minute or two it will ask you to login again to account. Then it will show a screen advising you whether the updates worked, and advise you to click on box at bottom of screen for updater to shutdown some qubes and restart them.
All right, you have allowed Update to finish.
Likely you have looked at the official qubes documentation.
Which I felt was difficult to read through front to back. Talked with a bunch of terms I did not grasp. When I did understand, I did not know how to find on a screen to select where to click. So I will take the initial user on a project or two, with the hope, learning a little, can help make all this more usable, more understandable.
Lets create a Qube to do Office like things, Libre Office.
Look Upper left, Blue Q click first column bottom of list, the gear icon click second column Qubes Tools either click or browse through to third column
browse to Q Create Qubes VM click
box opens titled (Dom0) Create new qube first tab is box is Name and label: I enter Write, it could be any qube name not already in use, but this puts it at the very bottom of Apps list, easy for me to find.
Second in horizontal boxes is Type on the click down menu options choose the third option down StandaloneVM (fully persistent) fourth horizontal option Networking: click, on the bottom option of drop down menu (none)
Third vertical box down Template
from the click down menu
Debian-12-xfce
click
Some documents try to open links to the internet. Obviously a security hazard.
In use, I plan to download documents into one Qube, Not open document there, and copy document ( in some clever way already planned for by Qubes developers) into my qube Write
Security by compartmentalization translates to Qubes do not have a direct connection, but there are ways to move information, like letters, files around.
Bottom right box, OK Click
takes a minute or two to finish.
Upper Right Blue Q click
second column topped with Apps at the bottom is a Qube named Write Browse to Write
Browse to third column which appears, on drop down menu at top
Gear Icon Settings
click and a box appears
at top titled (Dom0) Settings: Write
group of tabs immediately under that, the first tab is Basic look to make sure the Net qube is set to (none)
fifth horizontal tab Applications
all the programs in the left hand horizontal box are easy to install
Browse down
File Manager click between the two boxes there is a greater than pointer icon click
Notice File Manager just appeared in right hand box
Browse down to -click on- greater than Icon
move to right hand box
All the programs for Libre Office
There is also a program Dictionary
Browse to lower right hand side check icon Apply
Browse up just under the title Applications
there is a clickable box Refresh applications
click
takes a few minutes, wait until the box finishes
lower right hand corner button OK click
Blue Q Second column Apps
At the very bottom of the Qubes is one named Write
Browse to Write click
Third column is LibreOffice Writer Browse there click
takes a moment or two.
The next thing I wanted to have, was a safer browser, for general use.
After I describe this, a bunch will post on this explanation/procedure thread, that my method is not the correct way. My method is like an experiment in a lab. Learn to follow instructions. You can implement the other methods later.
To create a qube.
Look to upper left of screen.
Blue Q, browse.
Click
Browse down to gear Icon. Click
second column Qubes Tools Browse over to third column Q Create Qubes VM click
box appears titled (Dom0) Create new qube
left tab
underneath
Name and label I type in st-mullvad
second horizontal drop down menu choose StandaloneVM (fully persistent)
Third Horizontal Template I leave alone leaving Fedora-40-xfce (default)
fourth horizontal Networking
use drop down menu
(none)
lower right hand side button OK click
box appears
Creating new qube
wait, takes a minute or two. When that box goes away
Upper left blue Q click
If you saw message go by saying it needs Updates If you ran Update, the program finishes correctly saying the update took place, but no Update was necessary. I don’t know why the message occurs.
I want to modify Firefox Template for disp-dvm to use a Search Engine besides Google Upper left hand side Blue Qube click
third column Templates second column Browse down to disp-dvm Third column Firefox Click
browse to default-dvm third column Firefox click
in the Firefox browser Look upper right hand side Three horizontal lines just below the X (which would close browser) click
Drop down menu appears Near the bottom is Settings click
Browse down the first vertical column. To a magnifying glass, and Search click
Second column Search
browse underneath that
Default Search Engine
button underneath
click
dropdown menu appears
Browse down to DuckDuckGo
click
Upper left hand side, in the red, is a down arrow with a line underneath click
dropdown menu appears at the bottom Close click
look upper left hand side blue Q click
Second column Apps click
Second column in the drop down menu for Apps disp-dvm third column Firefox click well drat. In mine, it says it wants to use for Search - Google If I close Firefox, it reverts search engine to Google. I don’t know why.
I changed that to DuckDuckGo there as well. Close tab in firefox that relates to Settings.
We need to get the install commands from the Mullvad website. Mullvad Browser is free.
Firefox search bar. Mullvad Browser
Which will yield https://mullvad.net/en/browser
down the page a bit
Download Mullvad Browser
click
Downloads page
Mullvad Browser
Underneath that is the third tab Linux
at the bottom is a green button Download
click
if you choose to bookmark the tab doing the downloading. I get
mullvad.net/en/download/browser/linux-x86_64/latest
insert file manager into disp-dvm
Open another tab in Firefox
I search for qubes documentation, copy program from one qube to another
I get https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-copy-and-move-files/
install file manager in st mullvad
In disp-dvm Firefox File manager downloads
right click on Mullvad tar dropdown menu
Copy to other qube
click
enter st mullvad
Now go over to st mullvad qube
file manager Downloads on Mullvad
right click drop down Open with xarchiver
takes a minute or two for xarchiver to populate with Mullvad Browser tar
xarchiver second tab drop down menu Action Extract click
I start File Manager Look First column Places Browse to Computer click
Third column shows an icon of a hard drive Underneath is File System Browse to icon of hard drive click twice
Look to folders for tmp near bottom Browse to tmp folder click twice
look for folder named Mullvad Browser
Start a second copy of file manager
On File Manager box, look upper left first column File Browse to File click
second in horizontal options on drop down menu Browse down to New Window click
Now you have two copies of the file manager, one is exactly covering the other. Separate the two Browse to the red edge of the top of the file manager Hold down the left mouse button. Pull one of the file managers away from the other.
Look in one of the File Manager’s First Column Browse down to Desktop click
From the other Window of File Manager in the open field Browse to folder Mullvad Browser
Move that folder to desktop Position Mouse/Touch Pad Pointer over folder Mullvad Browser
Hold down left click button Move that folder into the open space in the Window opened to Desktop.
Close the File Manager opened to /tmp/
Look in File Manager Desktop Open field has folder Mullvad Browser
Browse to folder Mullvad Browser
click twice
Look Icon that says underneath start-mullvad-browser-desktop Browse to start-mullvad-browser-desktop click twice
Look at the bottom of the box are three tabs
Look Middle of the three tabs
Browse to middle button make executable
click
Mullvad Browser should come up.
I want to create clones of this st-mullvad qube keep st-mullvad prestine. Not have any malware stuck in it.
Look upper left blue Q browse there click
drop down menu
second column Apps
browse down to st-mullvad
browse over into third column
Settings
click
in first box Basic
look down to bottom of box, just above border button that says Clone qube Browse to Clone qube click
Brings up a small rectangle box (Dom0) Clone qube Look to first tab Basic look to second vertical tab Clone Name Click in box
Remove text in box Type in mvd
Look lower right hand side
on border margin
Button says OK
click
Takes a minute or two to finish, When it finishes creating
Close st-mullvad Settings box
upper left blue Q
click
second column Apps There is now a new qube mvd Browse down, into third column Settings Click
First column Basic underneath that is Settings Browse down third vertical button is Net qube item in drop down menu is default (sys-firewall) click
Now go back to to Clone qube.
Clone several of these qubes . Instead of letting it create its own names
create a name of: mvd1, mvd2, mvd3 and so on.
Each of these qubes will be used, then information you want to keep -- transferred to another qube, such as the qube writer. Then used Mullvad qube will be deleted to prevent any malware from one use, to remain around for subsequent uses of Mullvad qube.
Yeah, I know, it is an enormous use of time.
But this is meant as a safe means for newcomer to familiarize themselves with qubes.
How to delete a qube.
First be very sure you have gotten out of the qube about to be deleted, all the information you want. That is to transfer that to another qube, which is not open to the internet, where the information can be read, however you choose to use it.
Turn off programs running in mvd. Be sure you know which one that you need to delete. Browse to that qube at the bottom of the drop down in the third column for that qube browse to Shutdown qube click
then browse again to the Apps column mvd whatever the number was to fourth column Settings Just above where the Clone qube button browse to Delete qube click
I only clone or delete one at a time, I am not sure Dom(0) can keep multiple qubes being created/cloned and deleted at the same time.
If I did a lot of work with my computer this would be way too much time consuming.
This was to help a newcomer to familiarize themselves with using qubes.
How about your doing a project, more on your own, that I regard as essential to running a secure system.
One of the qubes in the app column is Vault, which is meant to be permanently offline.
Add to Vault some programs. Vault/Settings/Applications
In the list of programs to add:
Geany can be used as a text editor
Galculator
KeePassXC a password manager
While we did move text before select text CTRL c for creating a copy in the current qube clipboard hold down shift key CTRL c to copy into universal clipboard then put the focus on the qube you want to copy into (click somewhere on a program in that qube) hold down the shift key CTRL v to paste from the universal clipboard click on the specific target place you want the text to go CTRL v
The exception being, If you are putting the text from the clipboard into the terminal In the terminal click on the second horizontal tab Edit from the drop down menu Paste click
Also there are difficulties copying into Dom0 and protected file structures. Which is a good idea to keep me from messing up OS Security.
stopped here