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Tails (operating system)

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Tails
Tails logo
Tails 6.1 Desktop, with Tor Browser open.
DeveloperThe Tails Project
OS familyLinux (Unix-like)
Working stateActive
Source modelOpen source
Initial releaseJune 23, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-06-23)
Latest release6.9[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 31 October 2024; 22 days ago (31 October 2024)
Repositorygitlab.tails.boum.org/tails/tails
Marketing targetPersonal computers
Available in33 languages
Update methodTails Upgrader[2]
Package managerAPT (front-end), dpkg
Platformsx86-64[3]
Kernel typeMonolithic
UserlandGNU
Default
user interface		GNOME 43
LicenseGNU GPLv3[4]
Preceded byIncognito
Official websitetails.net

Tails, or "The Amnesic Incognito Live System", is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity against surveillance.[5] It connects to the Internet exclusively through the anonymity network Tor.[6] The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB and never writes to the hard drive or SSD, leaving no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. It can also be run as a virtual machine, with some additional security risks.[7]

The Tor Project provided financial support for Tails' development in the beginnings of the project,[8] and continues to do so alongside numerous corporate and anonymous sponsors.

History

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Tails was first released on June 23, 2009. It is the next iteration of development on Incognito, a discontinued Gentoo-based Linux distribution.[9] The original project was called Amnesia. The operating system was born when Amnesia was merged with Incognito.[10] The Tor Project provided financial support for its development in the beginnings of the project.[8] Tails also received funding from the Open Technology Fund, Mozilla, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.[11]

Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, Bruce Schneier 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][12][13][14]

From release 3.0, in 2017, Tails requires a 64-bit processor to run.[15]

In 2023, the Tails Project approached the Tor Project to merge operations. The merger was completed on September 26, 2024, stating that, "By joining forces, the Tails team can now focus on their core mission of maintaining and improving Tails OS, exploring more and complementary use cases while benefiting from the larger organizational structure of The Tor Project."[16][17]

Features

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Tails's pre-installed desktop environment is GNOME 3. The system includes essential software for functions such as reading and editing documents, image editing, video watching and printing. Other software from Debian can be installed at the user's behest.[18][19] Despite being open-source, Tails contains non-free firmware blobs.[20]

Tails includes a unique variety of software that handles the encryption of files and internet transmissions, cryptographic signing and hashing, and other functions important to security. It is pre-configured to use Tor with multiple connection options. It tries to force all connections to use Tor and blocks connection attempts outside Tor. For networking, it features a modified version of Tor Browser with the inclusion of uBlock Origin,[21] instant messaging, email, file transmission and monitoring local network connections for security.[19]

By design, Tails is "amnesic". It runs in the computer's random access memory (RAM) and does not write to a hard drive or other storage medium. The user may choose to keep files, applications or some settings on their Tails drive in "Persistent Storage". Though the Persistent Storage is encrypted by default, it is not hidden and detectable by forensic analysis.[22] While shutting down, Tails overwrites most of the used RAM to avoid a cold boot attack.[23]

Security incidents

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In 2014, Das Erste reported that the NSA's XKeyscore surveillance system sets threat definitions for people 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".[24][25]

In the same year, Der Spiegel published slides from an internal National Security Agency presentation dating to June 2012, in which the NSA deemed Tails on its own as a "major threat" to its mission and in conjunction with other privacy tools as "catastrophic".[26][27]

In 2017, the FBI used malicious code developed by Facebook, identifying sexual extortionist and Tails user Buster Hernandez through a zero-day vulnerability in the default video player. The exploit was never explained to or discovered by the Tails developers, but it is believed that the vulnerability was patched in a later release of Tails. Hernandez had eluded authorities for a long time; the FBI and Facebook had searched for him with no success, and resorted to developing the custom hacking tool. He was arrested in 2017, and in 2021 he was sentenced to 75 years in prison.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New Release: Tails 6.9". October 31, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Tails - Incremental upgrades". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  3. ^ "Tails - System requirements". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "Tails 0.11 incognito live system released". The H. April 30, 2012. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  5. ^ Vervloesem, Koen (April 27, 2011). "The Amnesic Incognito Live System: A live CD for anonymity". LWN.net. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "Anonym im Netz" [Anonymous on the Net]. TecChannel (in German). February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  7. ^ "Running Tails in a virtual machine". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Finances". Tails. April 4, 2013. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  9. ^ Gray, James (September 16, 2011). "The Tails Project's The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails)". Linux Journal. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Finley, Klint (April 14, 2014). "Out in the Open: Inside the Operating System Edward Snowden Used to Evade the NSA". WIRED. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  11. ^ "Tails report for May, 2014". Tails. June 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  12. ^ Timm, Trevor (April 2, 2014). "Help Support the Little-Known Privacy Tool That Has Been Critical to Journalists Reporting on the NSA". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Condliffe, Jamie (April 15, 2014). "Try the Super-Secure USB Drive OS That Edward Snowden Insists on Using". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  14. ^ "Air Gaps - Schneier on Security". www.schneier.com. October 11, 2013. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "Tails - Tails 3.0 is out". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "Tails - Uniting for Internet Freedom: Tor Project & Tails Join Forces". tails.net. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  17. ^ Sawers, Paul (September 26, 2024). "The Tor Project merges with Tails, a Linux-based portable OS focused on privacy". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  18. ^ "APT repository". tails.boum.org. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Features and included software". tails.boum.org. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  20. ^ "Explaining Why We Don't Endorse Other Systems". www.gnu.org. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  21. ^ "Browsing the web with Tor Browser". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  22. ^ "Tails - Creating and configuring the Persistent Storage". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  23. ^ "Tails - Memory erasure". tails.boum.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  24. ^ Appelbaum, J.; Gibson, A.; Goetz, J.; Kabisch, V.; Kampf, L.; Ryge, L. (July 3, 2014). "NSA targets the privacy-conscious". DasErste.de. Archived from the original on May 23, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  25. ^ Bruce Schneier (July 3, 2014). "NSA Targets Privacy Conscious for Surveillance". Schneier on Security. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  26. ^ SPIEGEL Staff (December 28, 2014). "Prying Eyes: Inside the NSA's War on Internet Security". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  27. ^ "Presentation from the SIGDEV Conference 2012 explaining which encryption protocols and techniques can be attacked and which not" (PDF). Der Spiegel. December 28, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  28. ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (June 10, 2020). "Facebook Helped the FBI Hack a Child Predator". Vice. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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