Background

As we would like to test the suspicious URL, we could set up a virtual machine and create a snapshot and test that way. Once it has been done, then roll back the snapshot. The problem with this approach is that sometimes you forget to roll back the snapshot and are not sure about the status of that machine.

Solution

Kasm Workspaces provides a safe way to browse websites, check webmail and open files without putting the computer at risk. Kasm environments isolate users by creating a chasm between users’ computers and web threats.

Here’s the step-by-step.

Our Environment

• We utilised Microsoft Azure to create a dedicated virtual machine with Standard B2s size, 2 vCPUs, and 4 Gb RAM. We used a 64 GB OS disk. We allowed 443 and SSH ports only.
• For simplicity, we use a single-server installation approach

Requirement

Ensure to follow the requirement based on this Kasm documentation.

Supported OS: Ubuntu 18.04 / 20.04 / 22.04 (amd64/arm64)
Minimum Requirement: 2 cores CPU, 4GB Memory, 50GB storage 

Open the command line or terminal.

Log in to the virtual machine.

Creating A Swap Partition

We use the recommendation which is a 1GB swap partition.

sudo dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=1024 of=/mnt/1GiB.swap

Change the permission:

sudo chmod 600 /mnt/1GiB.swap

Create a swap:

sudo mkswap /mnt/1GiB.swap

Swap:

sudo swapon /mnt/1GiB.swap

Verify swap file exists:

cat /proc/swaps

To make the swap file available on boot:

echo '/mnt/1GiB.swap swap swap defaults 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Installation

Access to /tmp folder:

cd /tmp

Download the latest version of Kasm Workspaces to /tmp folder:

curl -O https://kasm-static-content.s3.amazonaws.com/kasm_release_1.11.0.18142e.tar.gz

Extract the package:

tar -xf kasm_release*.tar.gz

Run the installation script:

sudo bash kasm_release/install.sh

Accept the user agreement.

Wait for the installation to complete and this took a while.

Once it is complete, keep the information login detail safe.

Run the Application

Open the browser and type in https://{Public_IP_Address}

Log in as admin.

To launch the app container, click the Workspaces tab.

Select Chrome for instance.

Click the Launch Session button.

This will launch a Chrome browser inside the browser.

Note: On the left-hand side, there is menu option.

Click the left-hand side menu icon:

That is it. This container running on the web is really cool. You can even run a full-blown Ubuntu desktop or Kali Linux or play Doom on the go!

The End

Congratulation on reaching the end of this article. We hope we have shed some light on outlining how to install and configure Kasm Workspaces on Ubuntu Server.

We write this so that this is not a fixed article. Like in this journey, we learn as we go and re-write some parts, so please keep pinging with this article.

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