Serious about online privacy? This ‘live’ Linux OS is for you

Tails stands for “The Amnesic Incognito Live System,” and the operating system certainly lives up to that name.

But what is Tails?

Tails is a live operating system, which means it’s not installed. Instead, it runs completely from your system’s RAM. Because of this, you can run your usual operating system and, when you need serious privacy, insert a bootable USB drive (with Tails on it), boot your computer, and enjoy all the privacy you need.

Also: How to use Tor to privately browse the web – it’s easier than you think

As soon as you boot Tails, you’ll be greeted by a Tor connection window, which allows you to enable an automatic Tor connection and even hide the fact that you’re connecting to Tor from your local area network.

Tails focuses on four issues:

• Privacy – All traffic is routed through the Tor network, so your activity cannot be tracked.
• Amnesic – Tails forgets all data when you shut it down and doesn’t retain any data between boots. Tails wipes everything clean. So, when you start it up, it’s just like it was the first time you used it.
• Encryption – Tails includes a suite of encryption tools to encrypt files, emails, and even instant messaging.
• Live – Tails is live, so there’s nothing to install on the host computer.

For anyone looking for the utmost privacy, Tails is about as good as it gets.

Why use Tails?

The obvious answer is privacy. If you don’t want anyone tracking you, creating profiles of you, or collecting any kind of data to sell, you want Tails because no other operating system can deliver like this.

You might also have highly sensitive data you need to transmit (such as a contract, a will, or another type of document containing information like your Social Security number). If that’s the case, why chance it with a traditional operating system?

Maybe you simply do not want to leave a trace behind to give other users some indication of what you’ve been doing online.

There are myriad reasons to want to gain access to the kind of security Tails offers.

But there’s one thing to keep in mind.

Tails shouldn’t be considered an everyday operating system. Remember, this is a live distribution, which means it’s not installed. On top of that, you might find some applications and websites do not function as you would expect them to. This is due to the live nature of the distribution as well as its dependency on Tor.

With that in mind, Tails is the operating system you keep around when privacy and security are a must.

Also: This lightweight, easy-to-use Linux OS can save your aging Windows 10 PC

Tails is based on Debian and uses the GNOME desktop environment (with a few tweaks, such as a standard menu instead of the usual App Overview). The collection of software includes:

• KeePassXC
• Tor Browser
• Thunderbird
• GIMP
• LibreOffice
• Audacity
• Synaptic

Persistent storage

Another cool feature of Tails is that you can set it up for persistent storage. What this does is create a special section of your USB thumb drive to house files and configurations, so they can be used/accessed every time you boot.

Persistent storage is created from an easy-to-use GUI that can be launched from Applications > Tails > Persistent Storage. One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot create persistent storage if you run Tails as a virtual machine (which is what I did for testing).

Once you’ve created persistent storage, it will remain on the USB drive, so you can access it every time you boot Tails. This is a great option for those who want to benefit from the privacy and security found in Tails but don’t want to have to start over every time. For example, you might create documents on Tails and want to save them for later use. If that’s the case, you’ll need persistent storage.

Keep in mind that, even with persistent storage enabled, you should not think of Tails as an everyday operating system.

Also: If you’re ready to break up with Windows, this is the Linux distro I suggest for new users

Another caveat to using Tails is that you must know how to access your computer’s boot menu so you can select the USB drive when you boot the machine. If your computer is set up to automatically boot from a detected USB device, you’ll have to do it manually every time. For that, you’ll need to look up how to access the boot menu for your computer. Most likely, it only requires you to hold down one of the function keys as you turn the computer on (but do your research).

Should you use Tails?

The answer to the question boils down to how often you need serious privacy. If you find your normal operating system gives you enough security and privacy for everyday use, but you need added protection when dealing with certain files or information, then you should be employing Tails for such occasions.

Tails is for those who need serious privacy and security and don’t mind doing a bit of extra work to gain it. The good news is that the most challenging aspect of using Tails is burning the ISO to a USB drive, which can be done with a tool like uNetBootin. Once you’ve created the USB drive, everything else is self-explanatory.

Also: Deepin 25 Linux preview looks and feels more like Windows – but is it safe?

You can download an ISO (for burning to your USB drive) from the official Tails download page.

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