Guides

How to run Superbacked OS on desktop or laptop

Overview

This guide walks through flashing Superbacked OS to a USB drive and booting from dedicated hardware. Superbacked OS prevents data exfiltration and data persistence by running offline and persisting nothing to disk.

Requirements

• Computer compatible with Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
• USB flash drive (used to run Superbacked OS, 16GB min, faster is better)
• Brother HL-L2460DW or equivalent USB printer (used to print blocks)
• Plug-and-play or built-in webcam (1080p min)

Recommendations (optional)

Physically removing internal disk(s) and wireless interface(s) if not soldered to motherboard or disabling interface(s) using BIOS if soldered is recommended to disable data persistence and network connectivity at the hardware level.

Running Superbacked OS on flash drive with signed firmware and write protection enabled such as Kanguru FlashTrust™ Secure Firmware USB 3.0 Flash Drive (WP-KFT3-16G) is recommended.

Setup guide

Step 1: install Raspberry Pi Imager

macOS or Windows

Go to https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/, download and install Raspberry Pi Imager.

Ubuntu

Heads-up: depends on Qt.

$ sudo add-apt-repository --yes universe

$ sudo apt install --yes rpi-imager
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Step 2 (optional): opt out of Raspberry Pi Imager telemetry

Select “App Options”, disable “Enable anonymous statistics (telemetry) collection” and click “Save”.

Step 3: download Superbacked OS

Heads-up: for additional security, verify integrity of release.

macOS or Ubuntu

$ cd ~/Downloads

$ for number in $(seq 1 2); do curl --fail --location "https://github.com/superbacked/superbacked/releases/download/v1.10.0/superbacked-os-amd64-1.10.0.img.xz.part$number" || break; done | cat > superbacked-os-amd64-1.10.0.img.xz
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Windows

Heads-up: requires WSL to be installed first using wsl --install (if applicable).

Heads-up: replace Sun Knudsen with your username.

$ wsl

$ cd /mnt/c/Users/Sun\ Knudsen/Downloads

$ for number in $(seq 1 2); do curl --fail --location "https://github.com/superbacked/superbacked/releases/download/v1.10.0/superbacked-os-amd64-1.10.0.img.xz.part$number" || break; done | cat > superbacked-os-amd64-1.10.0.img.xz
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Step 4: copy Superbacked OS to USB flash drive

Open “Raspberry Pi Imager”, click “OS”, then “Use custom”, select superbacked-os-amd64-1.10.0.img.xz, click “Storage”, select USB flash drive, click “NEXT”, then “WRITE” and, finally, click “I UNDERSTAND, ERASE AND WRITE”.

Raspberry Pi Imager, release semver may differ

Step 5 (optional): enable write protection

If using Kanguru FlashTrust™ Secure Firmware USB 3.0 Flash Drive or equivalent, enable write protection.

Computer provisioning guide

Step 1 (optional): physically remove internal disk(s) and wireless interface(s) if not soldered to motherboard or disable interface(s) using BIOS if soldered

I/O Port Access, BIOS menu may differ

Step 2 (if applicable): enable “Secure Boot” and disable “Boot Order Lock”

Secure Boot, BIOS menu may differ

Boot Order Lock, BIOS menu may differ

Step 3: boot Superbacked OS

Step 4: reboot

Step 5 (if applicable): enable “Boot Order Lock”

Boot Order Lock, BIOS menu may differ

Usage guide

Step 1 (if applicable): unplug Ethernet cable

Step 2: boot Superbacked OS

Heads-up: password is “superbacked”.

Boot Superbacked OS using “Advanced options for Ubuntu” and “Ubuntu, with Linux 6.14.0-37-generic” (required when using write-protected hardware).

If scanning blocks does not work, please try using a higher quality 1080p webcam such as the Razer Kiyo X.