Tails (operating system)
This article needs to be updated. (January 2018) |
Tails 3.7 Desktop | |
| Developer | The Tails project |
|---|---|
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source |
| Initial release | June 23, 2009 |
| Latest release | 3.10.1 / October 23, 2018 |
| Latest preview | 3.6 RC 1 / March 2, 2018[1] |
| Marketing target | Personal computers |
| Update method | Tails Upgrader[2] |
| Package manager | dpkg |
| Platforms | x86-64[3] |
| Kernel type | Monolithic |
| Userland | GNU |
| Default user interface | GNOME 3 |
| License | GNU GPLv3[4] |
| Preceded by | Incognito |
| Official website | tails |
Tails or The Amnesic Incognito Live System is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity.[5] All its outgoing connections are forced to go through Tor,[6] and non-anonymous connections are blocked. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB, and will leave no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. The Tor Project has provided financial support for its development.[7]
Contents
History[edit]
Tails was first released on 23 June 2009. It is the next iteration of development on Incognito, a Gentoo-based Linux distribution.[8] The Tor Project has provided financial support for its development.[7] Tails has also received funding from the Debian Project, Mozilla, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.[9]
Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Barton Gellman have each said that Tails was an important tool they used in their work with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.[10][11][12]
As of release 3.0, Tails requires a 64-bit processor to run.[13]
Bundled software[edit]
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- GNOME desktop
Networking[edit]
- Tor with: Stream isolation, regular, obfs2, obfs3, obfs4, and ScrambleSuit bridges support.
- NetworkManager for easy network configuration
- Tor Browser, a web browser based on Mozilla Firefox and modified to protect your anonymity with: Torbutton for anonymity and protection against JavaScript, all cookies are treated as session cookies by default; HTTPS Everywhere transparently enables SSL-encrypted connections to a great number of major websites, NoScript to have even more control over JavaScript, uBlock Origin to remove advertisements.
- Pidgin preconfigured with OTR for end-to-end encrypted instant messaging
- Thunderbird email client with Enigmail for OpenPGP support
- Liferea feed aggregator
- Aircrack-ng for Wi-Fi networks auditing
- Electrum, an easy-to-use bitcoin client
Encryption and privacy[edit]
- LUKS and GNOME Disks to install and use encrypted storage devices, e.g. for USB sticks
- GnuPG, the GNU implementation of OpenPGP for e-mail and data encryption and signing
- Monkeysign, a tool for OpenPGP key signing and exchange
- PWGen, a strong random password generator
- Shamir's Secret Sharing using gfshare and ssss
- GNOME virtual keyboard as a countermeasure against hardware keyloggers
- MAT to anonymize metadata in files
- KeePassX password manager
- GtkHash to calculate checksums
- Keyringer, a command line tool to encrypt secrets shared through Git
- Paperkey, a command line tool to back up OpenPGP secret keys on paper
- DeepOnion wallet, an anonymous cryptocurrency using Tor network
One may choose among a large number of languages and keyboard layouts when the system is booted.
Release history[edit]
Legend: Old version Latest version Future release |
| Release history | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Version[14] | Release date[14] | Notes | |
| 0.1 | June 20, 2009 |
| |
| 0.2 | June 23, 2009 | ||
| 0.3 | November 26, 2009 | ||
| 0.4 | February 5, 2010 | ||
| 0.4.1 | February 6, 2010 | ||
| 0.4.2 | February 7, 2010 |
| |
| 0.5 | April 30, 2010 | ||
| 0.6 | October 20, 2010 |
| |
| 0.6.1 | December 24, 2010 | ||
| 0.6.2 | January 19, 2011 | ||
| 0.7 | April 6, 2011 |
| |
| 0.8, 0.8.1, 0.9, 0.10, 0.10.1, 0.10.2, 0.11, 0.12, 0.12.1, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.17.1, 0.17.2, 0.18, 0.19, 0.20, 0.20.1, 0.21, 0.22, 0.22.1, 0.23 | |||
| 1.0[15] | April 27, 2014 |
| |
| 1.0.1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.4, 1.4.1 | |||
| 1.5[17] | August 10, 2015 |
| |
| 1.5.1, 1.6 | |||
| 1.7[17] | November 3, 2015 | ||
| 1.8, 1.8.1, 1.8.2 (last version to fit 2GB flash drive) | |||
| 2.0[18] | January 25, 2016 |
| |
| 2.0.1 | |||
| 2.2[17] | March 7, 2016 | ||
| 2.2.1, 2.3 | |||
| 2.4[17] | June 6, 2016 | ||
| 2.5[20] | July 31, 2016 | ||
| 2.6[21] | September 20, 2016 | ||
| 2.7[22] | November 13, 2016 | ||
| 2.7.1[23] | November 30, 2016 | ||
| 2.9.1[24] | December 14, 2016 | ||
| 2.10[25] | January 24, 2017[25] | ||
| 2.11[26] | March 7, 2017[26] |
| |
| 2.12[27] | April 19, 2017[27] | ||
| 3.0[28] | June 13, 2017[28] | ||
| 3.1[29] | August 8, 2017[29] | ||
| 3.2[30] | October 3, 2017[30] | ||
| 3.3[31] | November 14, 2017[31] | ||
| 3.4[32] | January 9, 2018[32] |
| |
| 3.5[33] | January 23, 2018[33] | ||
| 3.6[34] | March 13, 2018[34] |
| |
| 3.7[35] | May 9, 2018[35] | ||
| 3.8[36][37] | June 26, 2018[36] | ||
| 3.9[38][39] | September 5, 2018[39] |
| |
| 3.9.1[40] | October 3, 2018[40] |
| |
| 3.10.1[42] | October 23, 2018 |
| |
| Version | Release date | Notes | |
In mainstream media[edit]
On 3 July 2014, German public television channel Das Erste reported that the NSA's XKeyscore surveillance system contains definitions that match persons who search for Tails using a search engine or visit the Tails website. A comment in XKeyscore's source code calls Tails "a comsec mechanism advocated by extremists on extremist forums".[43][44]
On 28 December 2014, Der Spiegel published slides from an internal NSA presentation dating to June 2012 in which the NSA deemed Tails on its own as a "major threat" to its mission, and when used in conjunction with other privacy tools such as OTR, Cspace, RedPhone, and TrueCrypt was ranked as "catastrophic," leading to a "near-total loss/lack of insight to target communications, presence..."[45][46]
Tails Partners[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Call for testing: 3.6~rc1". 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
- ^ design documentation
- ^ Tails - System requirements
- ^ "Tails 0.11 incognito live system released", The H, 30 Apr 2012, retrieved 12 Aug 2012
- ^ Vervloesem, Koen (27 Apr 2011), "The Amnesic Incognito Live System: A live CD for anonymity", LWN.net, retrieved 12 Aug 2012
- ^ "Anonym im Netz" [Anonymous on the Net], TecChannel (in German), 6 Feb 2012, retrieved 12 Aug 2012
- ^ a b "Finances". Tails. 4 Apr 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ Gray, James (16 Sep 2011), "The Tails Project's The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails)", Linux Journal, retrieved 12 Aug 2012
- ^ "Tails report for May, 2014". Tails. 14 Jun 2014.
- ^ Timm, Trevor (2 Apr 2014). "Help Support the Little-Known Privacy Tool That Has Been Critical to Journalists Reporting on the NSA". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Retrieved 18 Apr 2014.
- ^ Finley, Klint (14 Apr 2014). "Out in the Open: Inside the Operating System Edward Snowden Used to Evade the NSA". WIRED. Retrieved 18 Apr 2014.
- ^ Condliffe, Jamie (15 Apr 2014). "Try the Super-Secure USB Drive OS That Edward Snowden Insists on Using". Gizmodo. Retrieved 15 Apr 2014.
- ^ "Tails - Tails 3.0 is out". tails.boum.org. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d Tails Developers (n.d.). "[no title]". Tails. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
- ^ a b c d Murphy, David (1 May 2014). "Secure OS Tails Emerges From Beta". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ "version 0.5". Tails. n.d. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hoffman, Chris (9 June 2016). "Tails, the anonymity-focused Linux distribution with deep Tor integration, reaches version 2.4". PCWorld. IDG. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ a b Paul, Ian (27 January 2016). "The ultra-secure Tails OS beloved by Edward Snowden gets a major upgrade". PCWorld. IDG. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ "Tails 2.4 is out". Tails. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
- ^ "Tails 2.5 is out". 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
- ^ "Tails 2.6 is out". 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
- ^ "Tails 2.7 is out". 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
- ^ "Tails 2.7.1 is out". 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
- ^ "Tails 2.9.1 is out". 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ a b "Tails 2.10 is out". 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
- ^ a b "Tails 2.11 is out". 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ^ a b "Tails 2.12 is out". 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.0 is out". 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.1 is out". 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.2 is out". 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.3 is out". 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.4 is out". 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.5 is out". 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.6 is out". 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.7 is out". 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ a b "Tails 3.8 is out". 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
- ^ DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 770, 2 July 2018
- ^ "Tails - Tails 3.9 is out". tails.boum.org. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
- ^ a b c "Tails - Calendar". 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
- ^ a b "Tails - Release notes". tails.boum.org. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ "Tails - Tails 3.9.1 is out". tails.boum.org. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ "Tails 3.10.1 is out". tails.boum.org. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
- ^ Jacob Appelbaum, A. Gibson, J. Goetz, V. Kabisch, L. Kampf, L. Ryge (3 Jul 2014). "NSA targets the privacy-conscious". DasErste.de.
- ^ Bruce Schneier (3 Jul 2014). "NSA Targets Privacy Conscious for Surveillance". Schneier on Security.
- ^ SPIEGEL Staff (28 Dec 2014). "Prying Eyes: Inside the NSA's War on Internet Security". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 23 Jan 2015.
- ^ "Presentation from the SIGDEV Conference 2012 explaining which encryption protocols and techniques can be attacked and which not" (PDF). Der Spiegel. 28 Dec 2014. Retrieved 23 Jan 2015.
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Amnesic Incognito Live System. |
- Official website
- Tails at Tor project website
- Tails - Known issues
- Tails at DeepOnion Website
- Tails at DistroWatch