The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails)

Tails or The Amnesic Incognito Live System is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity. All its outgoing connections are forced to go through Tor, 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.

To begin using Tails, go to their web-site and download the current version of the OS (version 3.7 was released on May 9, 2018).

Tails comes with a selection of tools to protect your data using strong encryption:

• Encrypt your USB sticks or external hard-disks using LUKS, the Linux standard for disk-encryption.
• Automatically use HTTPS to encrypt all your communications to a number of major websites using HTTPS Everywhere, a Firefox extension developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• Encrypt and sign your emails and documents using the de facto standard OpenPGP either from Tails email client, text editor or file browser.
• Protect your instant messaging conversations using OTR, a cryptographic tool that provides encryption, authentication and deniability.
• Securely delete your files and clean your diskspace using Nautilus Wipe.

 

Much of Tails' appeal is that the OS lives on a discreet and portable USB drive. It's also easy to install, and easy to launch and navigate from almost any Mac or PC with a USB slot.

 

Once you have downloaded Tails and have the ISO on a live CD or USB thumb drive, you boot your computer from that device (place the device in the computer and restart) and the computer boots up into the Tails operating system. The Tails systems is isolated from the rest of your computer, thus preventing you from leaving traces of what you are doing on-line on your computer.

Tails is not a magic bullet, and it cannot protect against compromised hardware, compromised software, or user error. Remember: encryption, security, and privacy are only as good as the user. Make sure you follow security best practices, and keep in mind that offline and clearnet activity like password and account sharing can compromise your encrypted sessions.

I use and recommend Tails. It is a great, easy to use, OS that is specifically designed to protect your privacy on-line. Will you use Tails every day? Maybe, but even if you don't, having Tails available to protect your more sensitive on-line activities is something you should consider.

Tails 3.7 is out (5/9/2018)