What is Tails?
Tails is a portable operating system that protects against surveillance and censorship. It runs from a USB stick, leaves no trace on the computer, and routes all traffic through Tor.
- Amnesic: Leaves no trace—RAM wiped on shutdown
- Tor by Default: All traffic routed through Tor
- Portable: Runs on any computer from USB
- Secure Tools: Pre-installed encryption and privacy software
- MAC Spoofing: Changes hardware identifiers
Who Uses Tails?
Journalists
Protecting sources, secure communication
ProfessionalActivists
Organizing in hostile environments
AdvocacyWhistleblowers
Anonymous disclosure of wrongdoing
DisclosurePrivacy Advocates
Maximum privacy for sensitive tasks
PersonalInstallation
Download
Download from tails.net (official site). Verify the signature!
Create USB
Use balenaEtcher or similar to write image to USB drive (8GB+ minimum).
Boot
Restart computer, access boot menu, select USB drive.
Configure
Set up persistent storage if needed (encrypted).
Included Software
Tor Browser
Anonymous web browsing
BrowserThunderbird
Email with OpenPGP
EmailKeePassXC
Password manager
SecurityOnionShare
Anonymous file sharing
SharingVeraCrypt
Encrypted volumes
EncryptionMAT2
Metadata removal
PrivacyPersistent Storage
While Tails is amnesic by default, you can create an encrypted persistent volume to save files across sessions.
- Encrypted with your passphrase
- Choose what to persist: files, settings, software
- Can store GPG keys, passwords, documents
- Unlock optionally at boot
Trade-off: Persistence reduces amnesia. Only use for necessary data. Use strong passphrase.
Best Practices
- Always verify download before creating USB
- Boot on trusted hardware when possible
- Keep Tails updated
- Don't modify Tor Browser settings
- Use bridges if Tor is blocked
- Shut down properly (don't just unplug)