eBlockerOS for Virtual Machine

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Originally we developed eBlockerOS for Raspberry Pi mini computers, because they require very little power in continuous operation. Basically, eBlockerOS can run on any Linux-enabled device after minimal adjustments. With the new eBlockerOS VM-Edition, we have made these adjustments for the virtual machine (VM) of the free VirtualBox from Oracle. Many other VMs are supported by the community.

So now you can install eBlockerOS on virtually any computer (Windows, MacOS, Linux) – protecting all devices in your home network.

We have implemented the VM-Edition especially because of the currently poor Raspberry Pi availability. Even without a Raspberry Pi you can convince yourself of the capabilities and get familiar with eBlockerOS.

Technically the VM-Edition has identical features. It turns every computer into a full-fledged eBlocker with the very same features as the Raspberry Pi version and thus protects all devices in the network (and not only the VirtualBox computer).

Important Note

We explicitly do not recommend the VM-Edition for continuous operation on larger computers or servers, since they consume a unreasonable amount of energy. eBlockerOS on a server only makes sense if you operate a permanently running server in your home network anyway. For sustainability reasons, eBlockerOS should regularly rather be run on a Raspberry Pi for long-term continuous use.

Installation

To install the eBlockerOS VM-Edition follow these steps:

  1. Download and install VirtualBox for your OS
  2. Download the eBlockerOS VM-Edition Virtual Box image (see below for other images)
    SHA256: dc999f0b281b2f53188054c248d9842ae1c4be6f6d8881184ad2cdd0007c9b87
  3. Start VirtualBox on the computer
  4. Select File > Import Appliance in VirtualBox
  5. Select the downloaded eBlockerOS VM-Edition file in the file dialog and click Import
VirtualBox (on Windows) with eBlocker VM

VirtualBox now displays “eBlocker VM” in the list of virtual machines as shown in the screenshot on the right.

Start eBlocker virtual machine

Before you launch the virtual machine for the first time, you must assign the network adapter correctly:

Select network adapter
  1. Select “eBlocker VM” and then click on Settings (gearwheel symbol)
  2. In the menu select Network and the tab Adapter 1
  3. Make sure that “Enable Network Adapter” is active
  4. Make sure that Attached to: “Bridged Adapter” is selected
  5. Select the wired LAN interface (Ethernet) of your computer in Name drop-down menu. Wireless WLAN interfaces are neither recommended nor officially supported.
  6. Confirm with OK

Now you can launch the virtual machine by clicking on Start and eBlockerOS boots. After some messages, which can be ignored, eBlockerOS shows the following screen and is fully functional.

eBlockerOS running in virtual machine

Important

For security reasons, eBlockerOS has no Linux login and is configured exclusively via a browser.

The VirtualBox window may only be minimized, but not closed, otherwise eBlockerOS will be terminated.

Very Important Notes

Please do not start the eBlockerOS VM-Edition at your office work place, unless you know what you are doing!

Background: By default eBlockerOS uses ARP spoofing (which can be disabled manually) to re-route all traffic in the local network. This might cause problems in an office network. eBlockerOS is designed to be run exclusively in private home networks.

In addition eBlockerOS VM-Edition may not be run on a server that is exposed on the Internet, for example at a cloud provider.

eBlockerOS VM-Edition is configured to use 4 CPU cores and 4 GB RAM. If you run it on a PC with less resources you might need to adapt the VM’s settings. We recommend to configure at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB RAM.

Setup & Configuration

For the final eBlocker configuration, follow the

Answers to many questions can be found in the extensive documentation.

If you need help, please use our forum. All questions will be answered there. For specific help regarding the VM-Edition we have created a separate forum post “eBlockerOS VM-Edition“.

We do not offer individual support via e-mail or phone. Please use the forum instead.

Other virtual machines

We, the eBlocker core team, test and release the eBlockerOS VM edition exclusively for Oracle VirtualBox. In general, the VM image can also be converted into other formats for other virtual machines – and may even run without issues. However, we do not offer official OS images, support or individual support for other virtual machines.

The good news follows – VM images for various virtual machines provided and tested by the community.

Unofficial VM-Images from user feedback

Attention: eBlockerOS 3.0.2 Bug

The following images are still based on eBlockerOS 3.0.2 (or older). They probably contain a bug that only occurs during a new installation. You can still complete the installation with the following work-around:

1. If the License Agreement does not load, simply skip it
2. Disable the DNS firewall
3. The license agreement can now be loaded
4. Update eBlockerOS to 3.0.3 (or higher) via the user interface
5. Re-enable the DNS firewall

As soon as the community has provided new images, we will make them available here. Thank you for your patience.

Here you can find the unofficial images developed by the community for more virtual machines. They have been compiled from the forum thread “eBlockerOS VM-Edition“. In case your preferred VM is not mentioned here, please also check the forum thread.

eBlockerOS for Synology (DSM 7)

  1. Log in to the Synology (DSM 7+) as administrator.
  2. Install the Virtual Machine Manager via the Package Manager.
  3. In the Virtual Machine Manager select “Import” from OVA file. Use the eBlockerOS VM Image (.ova).
  4. Select at General Specifications: 2 or (better) 4 CPUs, 2-4GB RAM and any video card.
  5. The priority of the eBlockerOS VM depends on your hardware and your requirements. “Normal” priority is recommended.
  6. The mass storage is preset to 10 GB and “Default VM Network” should be selected as network.
  7. At “Other settings” the autostart of the VM should be activated with “Yes”. This is to ensures eBlocker operation is continued after a reboot of the Synology.
  8. You can set any rights for the power management.
  9. As soon as you have started the virtual machine, eBlockerOS will boot. This can take a few minutes.
  10. Then click “Connect” in the Virtual Machine Manager. If you see the eBlocker logo, everything worked.
  11. Below the logo eBlocker’s IP address is displayed for further configuration.
  12. Check out the Setup Instructions if you are new to eBlockerOS. (Important for success!)

eBlockerOS for VMware & ESXi

Download: https://eblocker.org/unofficial-downloads/eBlockerVM.7z

eBlockerOS for Microsoft HyperV

Download: https://eblocker.org/unofficial-downloads/eBlockerVM-HyperV.7z

eBlockerOS for QNAP Virtualization Station 

Download: https://eblocker.org/unofficial-downloads/eBlockerVM-qnap.7z

eBlockerOS for Proxmox

Download: eBlocker-VM-disk001.vmdk

Instructions in English: Anleitung.pdf

eBlockerOS for Unraid

A user was able to get the VM-Edition to work on UNRAID as follows:

  1. Download the official eBlockerOS VM-Edition Image
  2. Open the build in Terminal in Unraid
    1. cd to location of downloaded file (cd /mnt/user/folder containing .ova)
    2. tar -xvf
    3. qemu-img convert xxxxx.vmdk xxxxxx.qcow2 -O qcow2 (use ” to surround names with whitespace)
  3. Use linux as preset
  4. Make sure to use SeaBIOS
  5. Set the primary vDisk location to manual and point it to the qcow2 file created in 3.
  6. Set network bridge to br0 (if not present, stop array, activate in Network settings and restart array)
  7. DONE


eBlockerOS 2.9 New Developments Foto des von Bill Gates gesponserten eBlocker Forschungslabors.eBlockerOS 4.1: Using AI Against New Threats Progress of IPv6 Implementation

NEW: eBlockerOS 3 released
More about eBlockerOS 3 with IPv6

eBlockerOS VM-Edition Available
Runs on Win, macOS, Linux, Qnap, Synology and more

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