Tails 1.4 polishes up the privacy-obsessed Linux OS trusted by...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2923013/tails-14-polishes-up-t...

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Tails 1.4 polishes up the privacyobsessed Linux OS trusted by

Edward Snowden

COMMENT

Chris
Hoffman

Chris Hoffman (/author/Chris-Hoffman/) | @chrisbhoffman (https://twitter.com

/chrisbhoffman)
PCWorld May 15, 2015 6:00 AM

Tails, a privacy and anonymity-focused Linux distribution most famously used by Edward
Snowden (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2361120/snowden-leaks-after-one-yearwrangling-over-the-meaning-of-bulk.html), just released version 1.4.
This Debian-based system is designed to preserve your privacy and anonymity online
(http://www.pcworld.com/article/2143846/leave-no-trace-tips-to-cover-your-digitalfootprint-and-reclaim-your-privacy.html), providing better protection than just using the Tor
browser (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2686467/how-to-use-the-tor-browser-to-surf-

1 the-web-anonymously.html)
of 5
alone on a typical operating system. How eective is this
concealment-centric operating systems tools? Well, in 2012, vulnerabilities for Tails topped

12/25/15, 5:31 PM

the 1.4
NSAs
most-wanted
list (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2863972/tor-truecrypt-tailsTails
polishes
up the privacy-obsessed
Linux OS trusted by...
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2923013/tails-14-polishes-up-t...
topped-the-nsas-most-wanted-list-in-2012.html) alongside Tor and TrueCrypt.
Lets dig into Tails basic capabilities, as well as the new changes.

Why Edward Snowden (and others) choose Tails

Tails (https://tails.boum.org/index.en.html) stands for The Amnesiac Incognito Live
System, and its designed to be booted and run entirely from a disc, USB drive, or SD
card. This ensures no traces of your activity are written to your PCs hard drive. It also
means any malware or other surveillance software running on a computers normal
operating systemWindows, for examplewont be involved with the Tails session.

(https://cms-images.idgesg.net/images/article/2015/05/tails-tor-browser-100585358orig.png)
Tails 1.4 running the Tor browser.

Even if youre using an untrusted computer, you can reboot it with Tails inserted. Boot up
into Tails and you can now trust the computer much more, as you dont have to worry
about software running in the background snooping on you. It isnt absolutely foolproof,
howeverin theory, malicious firmware on the PCs hardware (http://www.pcworld.com
/article/2109267/proprietary-firmware-poses-a-security-threat-ubuntu-founder-says.html)
could be sitting in the background and snooping on you.
Tails includes the Tor Browser as well as the I2P anonymizing software (https://geti2p.net
/en/). Unlike simply installing the Tor Browser on a typical computer, Tails is designed to
route all communications possible over Tor and prevent applications from leaking trac.
The Tor enforcement document (https://tails.boum.org/contribute/design
/Tor_enforcement/) explains exactly how the underlying system is configured to force trac
through Tor. Not only does it force browser trac through the Tor browser, it also routes
other applications trac over Tor, doing its best to prevent any anonymity-compromising
trac from leaking.
(https://cms-images.idgesg.net/images/article/2015/05/tails-notifications-1005853572 orig.png)
of 5
Watch out for that virtual machine.

12/25/15, 5:31 PM

Along
Tor and
Tails ships other privacy
software.
example, Pidginhttp://www.pcworld.com/article/2923013/tails-14-polishes-up-t...
is
Tails
1.4with
polishes
up I2P,
the privacy-obsessed
Linux OS
trustedFor
by...
preinstalled with the O-the-Record plug-in (http://www.pcworld.com/article/240469
/e_inspects_encryption_tool_for_adium_pidgin_im_clients.html) for encrypted chatting.
Youll also find software like the KeePassX password manager, Electrum BitCoin wallet,
and disk-wiping and encryption tools.
Not only does this make Tor much more foolproof and isolate anonymous Internet use from
a computers normal operating system, all of the software youll need is preinstalled along
with links to various help pages. Its a single package you can keep on a USB drive in your
pocket, so you dont have to hunt down all the software and install it individually.

Whats new in Tails 1.4

The latest version of Tails upgrades the Tor Browser to version 4.5. This latest release
oers a security slider for restricting browser features even further, potentially oering more
security. When you connect to a website, the latest Tor Browser loads all that websites
resources through the same Tor circuit. While browsing a website, it keeps using that same
Tor circuit. When you go to a dierent website, it uses a new Tor circuit. This prevents
websites from connecting your website visits to you and ensures a websites behavior
wont change as youre viewing it.

(https://cms-images.idgesg.net/images/article/2015/05/tails-tor-network-map-100585360orig.png)
Tor's network map running in Tails 1.4.

The new default search engine is Disconnect (https://search.disconnect.me/). This search

engine provides anonymized results from Google, and you wont see the normal
CAPTCHAs attempting to confirm youre a human that you would if you were using Google
through Tor. A command named Paperkey is also included, allowing you to print a backup
of your OpenPGP secret keys to a piece of paper.
Aside from these changes, there are the usual ones youd expect in a new version of a
Linux distributionversion bumps to the Tor and I2P software, support for more printers,

3 and
of 5 better support for Vietnamese fonts in LibreOce. Read the Tails 1.4 release notes
(https://tails.boum.org/news/version_1.4/index.en.html) for more details. If youre actually

12/25/15, 5:31 PM

planning
on using
be sure to read the
about
(https://tails.boum.org/about
Tails
1.4 polishes
upTails,
the privacy-obsessed
Linux
OSpage
trusted
by...
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2923013/tails-14-polishes-up-t...
/index.en.html) and warnings (https://tails.boum.org/doc/about/warning/index.en.html)
before getting started.

Related:

Privacy (/Category/privacy)

Operating Systems (/Category/operating-systems)

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Chris Homan

Linux (/Category/linux)

What is this?

Chris Hoffman

(https://twitter.com/chrisbhoman)
(https://plus.google.com/107865379603964146316/posts)
Chris Homan is a tech geek who's been writing about everything technology-related for years. When he's
not writing about gadgets and software, he's probably using them in his spare time.
More by Chris Homan (/author/Chris-Homan/)

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