You need

1 USB stick

Only for Tails!

8 GB minimum

Your Tails

1 USB stick

8 GB minimum

All data will be lost!

Why?

X

It is currently impossible to manually upgrade a Tails USB stick while running from itself. This scenario requires creating an intermediary Tails on another USB stick, from which to upgrade your Tails.

Windows 7

or later

macOS 10.10

Yosemite
or later

Linux

any distribution

Debian

Ubuntu

or another derivative

another Tails

USB stick or DVD

2 GB of RAM

64-bit

Intel processor

not Apple M1

2 GB of RAM

64-bit

a smartphone

or a printer
to follow the instructions

1 hour in total

½ hour

¼ hour

1.3 GB to download

½ hour to install

½ hour to upgrade

Your steps

Download Tails

While you are downloading, we recommend you read the release notes for Tails 5.4 .  They document all the changes in this new version: new features, problems that were solved, and known issues that have already been identified.

Download Tails 5.4 USB image ( 1.3 GB ) Download Tails 5.4 USB image ( 1.3 GB ) Download Tails 5.4 USB image ( 1.3 GB )
Download Tails 5.4 ISO image ( 1.3 GB ) Download Tails 5.4 ISO image ( 1.3 GB ) Download Tails 5.4 ISO image ( 1.3 GB )

or download using BitTorrent BitTorrent

If the download fails, try to download from another mirror. download from another mirror.

Warnings: Tails is safe but not magic!

Tails is safer than any regular operating system. But Tails, or any software or operating system, cannot protect you from everything—even if they pretend to.

The recommendations below will keep you even safer, especially if you are at high risk.

Protecting your identity when using Tails

Tails is designed to hide your identity.

But some of your activities could reveal your identity:

  • Sharing files with metadata, such as date, time, location, and device information
  • Using Tails for more than one purpose at a time
Protecting your identity

Limitations of the Tor network

Tails uses the Tor network because it is the strongest and most popular network to protect from surveillance and censorship.

But Tor has limitations if you are concerned about:

  • Hiding that you are using Tor and Tails
  • Protecting your online communications from determined, skilled attackers
Limitations of Tor

Reducing risks when using untrusted computers

Tails can safely run on a computer that has a virus.

But Tails cannot always protect you when:

  • Installing from an infected computer
  • Running Tails on a computer with a compromised BIOS, firmware, or hardware
Using untrusted computers

Protecting your identity when using Tails

Clean metadata from files before sharing them

Many files contain hidden data, or metadata:

  • JPEG and other image files often contain information about where a picture was taken and which camera was used.

  • Office documents often contain information about their author, and the date and time the document was created.

To help you clean metadata, Tails includes mat2, a tool to remove metadata in a wide range of file formats.

Metadata has been used in the past to locate people from pictures they took. For an example, see NPR: Betrayed by metadata, John McAfee admits he's really in Guatemala.

Use Tails sessions for only one purpose at a time

If you use Tails sessions for more than one purpose at a time, an adversary could link your different activities together.

For example, if you log into different accounts on the same website in a single Tails session, the website could determine that the accounts are used by the same person. This is because websites can tell when 2 accounts are using the same Tor circuit.

To prevent an adversary from linking your activities together while using Tails, restart Tails between different activities. For example, restart Tails between checking your work email and your whistleblowing email.

We are not aware of any such attacks to deanonymize people online who used Tails for different purposes at a time.

If you worry that the files in your Persistent Storage could be used to link your activities together, consider using a different Tails USB stick for each activity. For example, use one Tails USB stick for your activism work and another one for your journalism work.

Limitations of the Tor network

Tails makes it clear that you are using Tor and probably Tails

Everything you do on the Internet from Tails goes through the Tor network.

Tor and Tails don't protect you by making you look like any random Internet user, but by making all Tor and Tails users look the same. It becomes impossible to know who is who among them.

  • Your Internet service provider (ISP) and local network can see that you connect to the Tor network. They still cannot know what sites you visit. To hide that you connect to Tor, you can use a Tor bridge.

  • The sites that you visit can know that you are using Tor, because the list of exit nodes of the Tor network is public.

Parental controls, Internet service providers, and countries with heavy censorship can identify and block connections to the Tor network that don't use Tor bridges.

Many websites ask you to solve a CAPTCHA or block access from the Tor network.

Exit nodes can intercept traffic to the destination server

Tor hides your location from destination servers, but it does not encrypt all your communication. The last relay of a Tor circuit, called the exit node, establishes the actual connection to the destination server. This last step can be unencrypted.

A Tor connection goes through 3 relays with the last one establishing the actual connection to the final destination

The exit node can:

  • Observe your traffic. That is why Tor Browser and Tails include tools, like HTTPS Everywhere, to encrypt the connection between the exit node and the destination server, whenever possible.

  • Pretend to be the destination server, a technique known as machine-in-the-middle attack (MitM). That is why you should pay even more attention to the security warnings in Tor Browser. If you get such a warning, use the New Identity feature of Tor Browser to change exit node.

Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead

To learn more about what information is available to someone observing the different parts of a Tor circuit, see the interactive graphics at Tor FAQ: Can exit nodes eavesdrop on communications?.

Tor exit nodes have been used in the past to collect sensitive information from unencrypted connections. Malicious exit nodes are regularly identified and removed from the Tor network. For an example, see Ars Technica: Security expert used Tor to collect government e-mail passwords.

Adversaries watching both ends of a Tor circuit could identify users

A powerful adversary, who could analyze the timing and shape of the traffic entering and exiting the Tor network, might be able to deanonymize Tor users. These attacks are called end-to-end correlation attacks, because the attacker has to observe both ends of a Tor circuit at the same time.

No anonymity network used for rapid connections, like browsing the web or instant messaging, can protect 100% from end-to-end correlation attacks. In this case, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are less secure than Tor, because they do not use 3 independent relays.

End-to-end correlation attacks have been studied in research papers, but we don't know of any actual use to deanonymize Tor users. For an example, see Murdoch and Zieliński: Sampled Traffic Analysis by Internet-Exchange-Level Adversaries.

Reducing risks when using untrusted computers

Install Tails from a computer that you trust

Tails protects you from viruses and malware on your usual operating system. This is because Tails runs independently from other operating systems.

But your Tails might be corrupted if you install from a compromised operating system. To reduce that risk:

  • Always install Tails from a trusted operating system. For example, download Tails on a computer without viruses or clone Tails from a trusted friend.

  • Do not plug your Tails USB stick while another operating system is running on the computer.

  • Use your Tails USB stick only to run Tails. Do not use your Tails USB stick to transfer files to or from another operating system.

If you worry that your Tails might be corrupted, do a manual upgrade from a trusted operating system.

We don't know of any virus able to infect a Tails installation, but one could be created in the future.

No operating system can protect against hardware alterations

Your computer might be compromised if its physical components have been altered. For example, if a keylogger has been physically installed on your computer, your passwords, personal information, and other data typed on your keyboard could be stored and accessed by someone else, even if you are using Tails.

Try to keep your computer in a safe location. Hardware alterations are more likely on public computers, in internet cafés or libraries, and on desktop computers, where a device is easier to hide.

If you worry that a computer might be modified:

  • Use a password manager to paste saved passwords. This way, you don't have to type passwords that might be visible to people or cameras near you.

  • Use the Screen Keyboard, if you are using a public computer or worry that the computer might have a keylogger.

Keyloggers are easy to buy and hide on desktop computers but not on laptops. For an example, see KeeLog: KeyGrabber forensic keylogger getting started.

Other hardware alterations are much more complicated and expensive to install. For an example, see Ars Technica: Photos of an NSA “upgrade” factory show Cisco router getting implant.

No operating system can protect against BIOS and firmware attacks

Firmware includes the BIOS or UEFI and other software stored in electronic chips on the computer. All operating systems, including Tails, depend on firmware to start and run, so no operating system can protect against a firmware attack. In the same way that a car depends on the quality of the road it is driving on, operating systems depend on their firmware.

Keeping your computer in a safe location can protect against some firmware attacks, but some other firmware attacks can be performed remotely.

Firmware attacks have been demonstrated, but are complicated and expensive to perform. We don't know of any actual use against Tails users. For an example, see LegbaCore: Stealing GPG keys/emails in Tails via remote firmware infection.

Because you always have to adapt your digital security practices to your specific needs and threats, we encourage you to learn more by reading the following guides:

5.4

Verify your download

Verify your download to make sure that it is safe and was not corrupted during download.

Your BitTorrent client will automatically verify your download when it completes.

The verification below is optional for a BitTorrent download.

You seem to have JavaScript disabled. To verify your download, you can either:

You seem to be using Internet Explorer. To verify your download, please use a different browser.

or verify using the OpenPGP signature

X

OpenPGP signature OpenPGP signature

If you don't know how to use the OpenPGP signature, click instead on the button Select your download… to verify your download with JavaScript.

OpenPGP signing key

Security analysis of the different verification techniques

Verifying $FILENAME…

Verification successful! ($FILENAME)

Verification failed! ($FILENAME)

Why?

X

Most likely, the verification failed because of an error or interruption during the download.

The verification also fails if you try to verify a different download than the latest version, Tails 5.4 .

Less likely, the verification might have failed because of a malicious download from our download mirrors or due to a network attack in your country or local network.

Downloading again is usually enough to fix this problem. Otherwise, please try downloading from a different place or a different computer.

How does the verification work?

Please try to download again…

Please try to download again…

Error selecting image.

Make sure that you select a USB image that is readable by your browser.

Make sure that you select an ISO image that is readable by your browser.

Retry…

Error downloading checksum file from our website.

Make sure that your browser is connected to the Internet.

Retry…

Error reading image $FILENAME.

Make sure that $FILENAME is readable by your browser.

Retry…

Install Tails using GNOME Disks

  1. Install GNOME Disks.

    • If you are using the GNOME desktop environment, GNOME Disks should be installed by default.

    • Otherwise, install the gnome-disk-utility package using the usual installation method for your distribution.

      You can also install Tails using the dd command from any Linux distribution as described in our instructions for installing from Debian using the command line.

  2. Start GNOME Disks (also called Disks).

    For example, you can press the Super key, then type disk, then choose Disks.
    Choose Applications ▸ Utilities ▸ Disks.

  3. Plug in the intermediary USB stick on which you want to install Tails.

    All the data on this USB stick will be lost.

    The Persistent Storage of your Tails USB stick will not be copied to the temporary Tails.

    A new drive appears in the left pane. Click on it.

  4. Click on the Menu button in the titlebar and choose Restore Disk Image….

  5. In the Restore Disk Image dialog, click on the file selector button.

    Choose the USB image that you downloaded earlier.

    Make sure that the USB image has an .img file extension.

    If the image has an .iso file extension, it is not the correct image. Please go back to the download step. download step. download step.

  6. Click on the Start Restoring… button.

  7. In the confirmation dialog click Restore.

    Depending on your Linux distribution, you might be asked for your administration password.

    The installation takes a few minutes.

  8. After the installation is finished, click on the Eject button.

Well done!

You have installed Tails on your USB stick.

In the next step, you will make your computer start on this USB stick.

Tails might not work on your computer, so good luck!

If you already started on the other Tails, go directly to step 3: Verify that the other Tails is up-to-date.

Open these instructions on another device

In the next step, you will shut down the computer. To be able to follow the rest of the instructions afterwards, you can either:

  • Scan this QR code on your smartphone or tablet:

  • Print these instructions on paper.

  • Take note of the URL of this page:

    https://tails.boum.org/install/windows?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/install/mac?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/install/linux?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/install/expert?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/install/clone/pc?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/install/clone/mac?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/upgrade/tails?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/upgrade/windows?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/upgrade/mac?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/upgrade/linux?back=1 https://tails.boum.org/upgrade/clone?back=1

Restart on the intermediary Tails

Restart on the other Tails

Restart on your Tails USB stick

Make the computer start on the USB stick

  1. Make sure that you have installed Tails using either:

  2. Click on the Start button.

  3. Press and hold the Shift key while you choose Power ▸ Restart.

  4. In the Choose an option screen, choose Use a device.

    If the Choose an option screen does not appear, refer to the instructions on starting Tails using the Boot Menu key.

  5. In the Use a device screen, choose Boot Menu.

    Windows shuts down, the computer restarts, and a Boot Menu appears.

    Plug in your Tails USB stick shortly after choosing Boot Menu and while Windows is shutting down.

    In the future, we We recommend that you only plug in your Tails USB stick while Windows is shutting down. Otherwise, a virus in Windows could infect your Tails USB stick and break its security.

    Such an attack is possible in theory but very unlikely in practice. We don't know of any virus capable of infecting Tails. See our warning on plugging Tails in untrusted systems.

    The Boot Menu is a list of possible devices to start from. The following screenshot is an example of a Boot Menu:

  6. In the Boot Menu, select your USB stick and press Enter.

  7. If the computer starts on Tails, the Boot Loader appears and Tails starts automatically after 4 seconds.

    Black screen ('GNU GRUB') with Tails logo and 2 options: 'Tails' and 'Tails (Troubleshooting Mode)'.

Most computers do not start on the Tails USB stick automatically but you can press a Boot Menu key to display a list of possible devices to start from.

If Windows 8 or 10 is also installed on the computer, you can refer instead to the instructions on starting Tails from Windows 8 or 10. Starting Tails from Windows is easier than using the Boot Menu key.

The following screenshot is an example of a Boot Menu:

This animation summarizes how to use the Boot Menu key to start on the USB stick:

The following instructions explain in detail how to use the Boot Menu key to start on the USB stick:

  1. Make sure that you have installed Tails using either:

  2. Shut down the computer while leaving the USB stick plugged in.

    Shut down the computer and plug in the Tails USB stick.

    Shut down the computer.

    Plug in the other Tails USB stick that you want to install upgrade from.

    Unplug your Tails USB stick while leaving the intermediary USB stick plugged in.

  3. Identify the possible Boot Menu keys for the computer depending on the computer manufacturer in the following list:

    ManufacturerKey
    AcerF12, F9, F2, Esc
    AppleOption
    AsusEsc
    ClevoF7
    DellF12
    FujitsuF12, Esc
    HPF9
    HuaweiF12
    IntelF10
    LenovoF12
    MSIF11
    SamsungEsc, F12, F2
    SonyF11, Esc, F10
    ToshibaF12
    others…F12, Esc

    On many computers, a message is displayed very briefly when switching on that also explains how to get to the Boot Menu or edit the BIOS settings.

  4. Switch on the computer.

    Immediately press several times the first possible Boot Menu key identified in step 2.

  5. If the computer starts on another operating system or returns an error message, shut down the computer again and repeat step 3 for all the possible Boot Menu keys identified in step 2.

    If a Boot Menu with a list of devices appears, select your USB stick and press Enter.

  6. If the computer starts on Tails, the Boot Loader appears and Tails starts automatically after 4 seconds.

    Black screen ('GNU GRUB') with Tails logo and 2 options: 'Tails' and 'Tails (Troubleshooting Mode)'.

  1. Make sure that you have installed Tails using either:

  2. Shut down the computer.

    Shut down the computer while leaving the USB stick plugged in.

    Plug in the other Tails USB stick that you want to install from.

  3. Plug in your Tails USB stick.

  4. Switch on the computer.

    Immediately press-and-hold the Option key (Alt key) when the startup chime is played.

    Hold the key pressed until a list of possible startup disks appears.

    'Option' or 'alt' key in the bottom left of Mac keyboard

  5. Choose the USB stick and press Enter. The USB stick appears as an external hard disk and might be labeled EFI Boot or Windows like in the following screenshot:

    Screen with the logo of an internal hard disk labeled 'Macintosh HD' and an external hard disk labelled 'Windows' (selected)

    If the USB stick does not appear in the list of startup disks:

    1. Wait a few minutes. Some USB sticks need some rest after installing.

    2. Make sure that you have installed Tails using either:

    3. Make sure that you have verified your download of Tails.

    4. Make sure that you have verified your download.

    5. Try installing again on the same USB stick.

    6. Try installing on a different USB stick.

    7. Try using the same USB stick to start on a different computer.

    If your computer still does not display the Boot Loader, it might currently be impossible to start Tails on your computer.

  6. If your Mac displays the following error:

    Security settings do not allow this Mac to use an external startup disk.

    Then you have to change the settings of the Startup Security Utility of your Mac to authorize starting from Tails.

    To open Startup Security Utility:

    1. Turn on your Mac, then press and hold Command(⌘)+R immediately after you see the Apple logo. Your Mac starts up from macOS Recovery.

    2. When you see the macOS Utilities window, choose Utilities ▸ Startup Security Utility from the menu bar.

    3. When you are asked to authenticate, click Enter macOS Password, then choose an administrator account and enter its password.

    Startup Security Utility

    In the Startup Security Utility:

    • Choose No Security in the Secure Boot section.

    • Choose Allow booting from external media in the External Boot.

    To still protect your Mac from starting on untrusted external media, you can set a firmware password, available on macOS Mountain Lion or later. A firmware password prevents users who do not have the password from starting up from any media other than the designated startup disk.

    If you forget your firmware password you will require an in-person service appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.

    Read more on Apple Support about:

  7. If the computer starts on Tails, the Boot Loader appears and Tails starts automatically after 4 seconds.

    Black screen ('GNU GRUB') with Tails logo and 2 options: 'Tails' and 'Tails (Troubleshooting Mode)'.

Troubleshooting

Starting the computer using a Boot Menu key can be faster than starting the computer on Windows first and then on Tails. We recommend you learn how to start Tails using the Boot Menu key if you use Tails regularly.

Apple does not prioritize collaborating with Free Software projects. Their newest hardware is usually very hard for Free Software developers to get working with Linux, and thus Tails. PC hardware tends to be more open and work better with Linux.

Welcome to Tails!

Starting Tails

  1. After the Boot Menu, a loading screen appears.

  2. One to two minutes after the Boot Loader and the loading screen, the Welcome Screen appears.

    Welcome to Tails!

  3. In the Welcome Screen, select your language and keyboard layout in the Language & Region section. Click Start Tails.

    If your keyboard or touchpad doesn't work, try using a USB keyboard or mouse.

  4. After 15–30 seconds, the Tails desktop appears.

    Tails desktop

Welcome to your new Tails!

Test your Wi-Fi

Problems with Wi-Fi are unfortunately quite common in Tails and Linux in general. To test if your Wi-Fi interface works in Tails:

  1. Open the system menu in the top-right corner:

  2. Choose Wi-Fi Not Connected and then Select Network.

  3. After establishing a connection to a local network, the Tor Connection assistant appears to help you connect to the Tor network.

If your Wi-Fi interface is not working, for example:

  • There is no Wi-Fi option in the system menu:

  • You receive the notification Connection failed: Activation of network connection failed.

  • The interface is disabled when starting Tails or when plugging in your USB Wi-Fi adapter:

    Notification about network card being disabled

    In this case, you can disable MAC address anonymization to get your Wi-Fi interface to work in Tails. Disabling MAC address anonymization has security implications, so read carefully our documentation about MAC address anonymization before doing so.

To connect to the Internet, you can try to:

  • Use an Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi if possible. Wired interfaces work much more reliably than Wi-Fi in Tails.

  • Share the Wi-Fi or mobile data connection of your phone using a USB cable. Sharing a connection this way is called USB tethering.

    See instructions for:

    Tails cannot hide the information that identifies your phone on the local network. If you connect your phone to:

    • A Wi-Fi network, then the network will know the MAC address of your phone. This has security implications that are discussed in our documentation on MAC address anonymization. Some phones have a feature to hide the real MAC address of the phone.

    • A mobile data network, then the network will be able to know the identifier of your SIM card (IMSI) and also the serial number of your phone (IMEI).

  • Buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter that works in Tails:

    VendorModelSizeSpeedPriceBuy offlineBuy online
    Panda WirelessUltraNano150 Mbit/s$12NoAmazon
    Panda WirelessPAU05Small300 Mbit/s$14NoAmazon
    ThinkPenguinTPE-N150USBNano150 Mbit/s$54NoThinkPenguin

    If you find another USB Wi-Fi adapter that works in Tails, please let us know. You can write to sajolida@pimienta.org (private email).

You made it!

You managed to start your new Tails on your computer!

Congratulations for staying safe :)

Create a Persistent Storage (optional)

You can optionally create an encrypted Persistent Storage in the remaining free space on your new Tails USB stick to store any of the following:

  • Personal files
  • Some settings
  • Additional software
  • Encryption keys

The data in the Persistent Storage:

  • Remains available across separate working sessions.
  • Is encrypted using a passphrase of your choice.

The Persistent Storage is not hidden. An attacker in possession of your USB stick can know that there is a Persistent Storage on it. Take into consideration that you can be forced or tricked to give out its passphrase.

It is possible to unlock the Persistent Storage from other operating systems. But, doing so might compromise the security provided by Tails.

For example, image thumbnails might be created and saved by the other operating system. Or, the contents of files might be indexed by the other operating system.

Other operating systems should probably not be trusted to handle sensitive information or leave no trace.

Create the Persistent Storage

  1. Choose Applications ▸ Tails ▸ Configure persistent volume.

  2. Specify a passphrase of your choice in both the Passphrase and Verify Passphrase text boxes.

    We recommend choosing a long passphrase made of five to seven random words. See this article about memorizable and secure passphrases.

  3. Click on the Create button.

  4. Wait for the creation to finish.

  5. The list of features of the Persistent Storage appears. Each feature corresponds to a set of files or settings that can be saved in the Persistent Storage.

    We recommend you to only turn on the Personal Data feature for the time being. You can turn on more features later on according to your needs.

  6. Click Save.

Restart and unlock the Persistent Storage

  1. Shut down the computer and restart on your new Tails USB stick.

  2. In the Welcome Screen:

    Welcome to Tails!

    • Select your language and keyboard layout in the Language & Region section.

    • In the Encrypted Persistent Storage section, enter your passphrase and click Unlock to unlock the Persistent Storage for the current working session.

    • Click Start Tails.

  3. After 15–30 seconds, the Tails desktop appears.

  4. You can now save your personal files and working documents in the Persistent folder. To open the Persistent folder choose Places ▸ Persistent.