Softpedia >News >Linux >Linux Distributions
Softpedia Homepage   

Tails OS Will Keep You Anonymous Online and Offline

A new important Tails release is in the making

Oct 10, 2014 09:46 GMT  ·  By
Tails desktop
   Tails desktop

There are many Linux distributions available right now that claim to protect the privacy of their users, but very few actually do it properly. Tails is definitively among the top ones, if not the best. Now, a new version has been made available, but it's just an RC for an upcoming release.

Tails is not some alien technology that just showed up one day. It's based on Debian and it's been around for many years. The aim of the developers, who themselves are completely anonymous, is to provide a safe and anonymous working environment, whether it's locally or online.

The distribution goes to great lengths to provide this security and it has all kinds of tools implemented, like a Windows 8 emulator for example. Basically, if the system does leaves a trace online, it will most likely be recognized as a Windows system and not something based on Linux. This is just one feature among dozens.

Besides the Debian base, Tails also uses TOR components, which are known for anonymizing users, as much as humanly possible. In fact, Tails is just an acronym for The Amnesic Incognito Live System, which says pretty much all you need to know about it.

What’s new in the latest Tails 1.2 RC1

"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," say the devs on the official website.

They have also explained that now the Tor Browser has replaced the old Iceweasel-based browser, a number of important applications have been added to the AppArmor profile, users are now informed more aggressively that TrueCrypt has been removed, and VirtualBox guest additions are now enabled by default. This latest part is actually very good news because it means that Tails will look and function much better in VirtualBox.

It's also quite easy to update from a previous release. All you need to do is to enter this command in a terminal after you've set the root password:

code
echo TAILS_CHANNEL=\"alpha\" >> /etc/os-release && \ tails-upgrade-frontend-wrapper
A complete changelog can be found in the official announcement. You can download Tails 1.2 RC1 right now from Softpedia. It is still under development, so it's not recommended to use a production machine.