14 DAY TRIAL // Tails is a live system that aims to preserve your privacy and that helps you use the Internet anonymously. A new version has been released and the developers have made a number of improvements.
Tails is a Linux distro based on Debian and TOR technologies that has a single purpose: to protect its users and to keep them anonymous. It's been around for a long time and the devs have made a lot of improvements to it, but it became much more popular after Edward Snowden said that he used it to provide various sources with his documents. The distro does live up to its name and it's one of the best out there.
The name of the operating system is in fact an acronym that stands for "The Amnesic Incognito Live System." This basically means that it won't leave any traces online, offline, and that it can run safely from a Live environment. It might not sound like much, but it does all of these jobs very nicely and it's very well regarded by the community.
Tails 1.2.1 is an important update
Each new Tails version comes with some interesting changes and improvements. Not all of them are revolutionary, like the ability to leave a Windows online footprint for example, but they always cover important aspects.
"Tails is a live system that aims to preserve your privacy and anonymity. It helps you to use the Internet anonymously and circumvent censorship almost anywhere you go and on any computer but leaving no trace unless you ask it to explicitly. It is a complete operating system designed to be used from a DVD, USB stick, or SD card independently of the computer's original operating system. It is Free Software and based on Debian GNU/Linux."
"Using Tails on a computer doesn't alter or depend on the operating system installed on it. So you can use it in the same way on your computer, a friend's or one at your local library. After shutting down Tails, the computer can start again on its usual operating system," reads the official website.
The devs have explained that the Tor browser has been updated (based on Firefox 31.2.0 ESR), the Linux kernel has been updated to version 3.16.7, TrueCrypt support has been removed completely, and a number of smaller packages have been updated.
A complete changelog can be found in the official announcement. You can download Tails 1.2.1 right now from Softpedia.
