Tails 3.16 is now available for download

Sep 5, 2019 19:02 GMT  ·  By

Tails, the amnesic incognito live system built around the Tor technologies, also known as the Anonymous OS, has been updated to version 3.16 to address a critical security vulnerability and update core components.

Tails 3.16 is now available and it ships with an updated Linux kernel to version 4.19.37-5+deb10u2, imported from the Debian GNU/Linux 10 "Buster" operating system. Besides several other security fixes, the updated kernel is patched against the SWAPGS variant of the infamous Spectre vulnerability.

Moreover, the Tails 3.16 release updates most of the firmware packages to improve support for newer hardware, including graphics, Wi-Fi, and others. It also updates the TOR Browser anonymous web browser to the latest 8.5.5 release, and removes predefined bookmarks from Tor Browser's bookmarks toolbar.

Other changes include the removal of the LibreOffice Math component, which can be reinstalled from the Additional Software feature, removal of predefined IRC and I2P accounts in Pidgin IM, removal of the security level indicator in the Unsafe Browser, and support for opening the persistent storage of another Tails USB stick from the Files browser.

Tails 4.0 expected to arrive on October 22nd

While Tails 3.16 is a small maintenance update that only fixes some issues and updates core components, the Tails development team works hard on the next major release, Tails 4.0, which is currently in beta testing. Based on Debian GNU/Linux 10 "Buster," Tails 4.0 is expected to arrive later this fall on October 22nd with numerous new features and major component updates.

Among these, we can mention the Linux 5.2 kernel, Tor 0.4.1.5, support for Thunderbolt devices, Enigmail 2.0.12, support for Mac computers, and support for recent Nvidia and ATI/AMD graphics cards. You can download Tails 3.16 and Tails 4.0 beta 2 right now through our free Linux software portal, but please keep in mind not to install or run the Tails 4.0 beta on production machines.