The distro is now powered by Linux kernel 4.9.13

Apr 19, 2017 23:59 GMT  ·  By

The development team behind the popular and open-source Tails amnesic incognito live system announced today, April 19, 2017, the release and immediate availability for download of the Tails 2.12 maintenance update.

Tails 2.12 is the second security update to the Tails 2.x series, and possibly the last one to be published as the development of the major Tails 3.0 release nears its end. Besides addressing various long-standing issues and patching recently discovered security holes, Tails 2.12 ships with the more recent Linux 4.9.13 kernel.

Linux kernel 4.9.13 promises to improve support for newer hardware, including Wi-Fi and GPU, and Tails 2.12 is using TOR Browser 6.5.2 anonymous web browser by default, which is based on Mozilla Firefox 45.9.0. However, with this release, Tails completely drops support for I2P as alternative anonymity network.

"We removed I2P, an alternative anonymity network, because we, unfortunately, have failed to find a developer to maintain I2P in Tails. Maintaining software like I2P well-integrated in Tails takes time and effort, and our team is too busy with other priorities," reads today's announcement.

GNOME Sound Recorder now installed by default

Another interesting change shipping with today's Tails 2.12 release is the GNOME Sound Recorder open-source, modern, and simple sound recorder application, replacing the more complex Audacity software. All the sound clips that'll be recorded with GNOME Sound Recorder are to be saved to the Recordings folder.

Check out the complete changelog if you're curious to know what exactly was changed in Tails 2.12, and if you're using either Tails 2.10 or Tails 2.11, you can upgrade to Tails 2.12 right now using the built-in, automatic upgrade system. Newcomers can download the Tails 2.12 Live ISO image right now from our website. Tails 3.0 is coming June 13, 2017.