Sorry - possibly the most naive question it is possible to ask.
I've searched this forum and got a flood of hits from Google (and have tried the simplest solution described below) but still not got quite what I would prefer.
In the rawest possible Knoppix console (i.e. init 1) what I assume to be the default cursor (since I haven't changed or asked for anything else) is a blinking underline.
This persists into nano, my preferred text editor.
In both cases I prefer a non-blinking full-height block with the added property that when superimposed over a character as when editing a command line in bash or editing text in an editor, that character "shows through". i.e. the solid cursor is also transparent.
I tried the command
echo 0 > /sys/module/vt/parameters/cur_default
at the command-line which seemed to have some effect (blinking block which is halfway there) and other instructions echo 1, echo 2, .. had different effects e.g. half-height block but (a) none of them were what I was actually wanting and (b) the effect did not seem to be immediate but occurred at some short interval later. (Yes? My perceptions are surely faulty.)
Is this even the beginnings of the right approach?
If so can you tell me the correct echo n?
Do I need to issue the command not at the command line but in /etc/profile? .. or in ~/.bashrc or .. ?
I guess the nano requirement should be managed separately. (But it might carry over.)
Thank you!
PS In the bash console emulator "mintty" in Cygwin, the solid transparent unblinking full-height cursor is the default and persists into nano. Wish I knew how to mimic it in Knoppix.
DELL PowerEdge R630 8SFF Server 2x E5-2650v4 2.2GHz =24 Cores 32GB H730 4xRJ45
$240.00
Dell PowerEdge R620 Server 2x E5-2660 v2 2.2GHz 20 Cores 256GB RAM 1x 480GB SSD
$139.99
Dell PowerEdge R730XD 28 Core Server 2X Xeon E5-2680 V4 H730 128GB RAM No HDD
$389.99
DELL R630 SERVER 8 x 2.5'' 2X E5-2680V4 32GB RAM IDRAC ENT & NDC 2X 495W PSU
$169.95
Dell PowerEdge R720xd 26HDD 300gb 2.5-inch E5-2697 X 2CPU 384RAM 7.2 Tb HDD 
$180.00
Dell PowerEdge R620 Server - 256GB RAM, 2x8cCPU, 120Gb SSD/3x900Gb SAS, Proxmox
$320.00
Dell Poweredge R630 Server 2x E5-2620 V4 =16 Cores | S130 | 32GB RAM | 2x trays
$153.99
Dell PowerEdge R640 Server 2x Gold 5220 = 36 Cores, 384GB RAM, 800GB SSDs, H730p
$1200.00
Dell PowerEdge R430 3.5 1U 2x E5-2690 v3 2.6ghz 24-Cores 256gb 4x Trays 2x 550w
$359.99
Dell Poweredge R220 Server Xeon E3-1270 v3 3.5ghz Quad Core / 16gb / 1x Tray
$139.99