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New features
Add
curl
, a command line tool to download over HTTPS, FTP, and other protocols.curl
can be useful for online investigations as an alternative towget
.Everything you do with
curl
goes through the Tor network. If you want to usecurl
on a local network, use/usr/bin/curl
instead.
Changes and updates
Use LUKS2 by default for all new Persistent Storage and LUKS encrypted volumes. LUKS2 provide stronger cryptography by default.
We will provide a migration plan from LUKS1 to LUKS2 for existing Persistent Storage in Tails 5.14 (early June).
Update Tor Browser to 12.0.6.
Fixed problems
For more details, read our changelog.
Known issues
None specific to this release.
See the list of long-standing issues.
Get Tails 5.13
To upgrade your Tails USB stick and keep your persistent storage
Automatic upgrades are available from Tails 5.0 or later to 5.13.
You can reduce the size of the download of future automatic upgrades by doing a manual upgrade to the latest version.
If you cannot do an automatic upgrade or if Tails fails to start after an automatic upgrade, please try to do a manual upgrade.
To install Tails on a new USB stick
Follow our installation instructions:
- Install from Windows
- Install from macOS
- Install from Linux
- Install from Debian or Ubuntu using the command line and GnuPG
The Persistent Storage on the USB stick will be lost if you install instead of upgrading.
To download only
If you don't need installation or upgrade instructions, you can download Tails 5.13 directly:
Highlights
Radically Open Security audited the security of the new Persistent Storage, our migration to Wayland, and the Unsafe Browser.
We already started releasing fixes to the issues that they identified. We will publish more about this audit and our mitigation plans in the coming months.
We analyzed the usability tests of the Persistent Storage done in March in Ecuador.
We applied to the Spyware Accountability Initiative to improve Tails for the journalists who use Tails to investigate and report on spyware or protect themselves from spyware in sensitive data.
Our entire team gathered in Paris, France to discuss internal matters, financial and product strategy.
Releases
Tails 5.12 was released on April 19.
It fixes many usability and reliability issues in the new Persistent Storage:
After you turn off a feature of the Persistent Storage, you can now click the Delete Data button to delete the data stored for this feature.
When creating the Persistent Storage, a random and very secure passphrase is now displayed as a suggestion, using the diceware technique.
Use a new icon for the backup utility for the Persistent Storage.
Improve the error message when a feature of the Persistent Storage fails to activate from the Welcome Screen to clarify which feature is affected.
Make the activation of the Persistent Storage more reliable in 2 error cases. (#19376 and #19331)
Add a progress indicator while turning on a new feature to clarify that it can take some time. (#19291)
Make sure that all data that is already available in Tails is really copied to the USB stick when turning on a feature. (#19368)
Metrics
Tails has been started more than 724 299 times this month. This makes 24 143 boots a day on average.
New features
Data deletion when deactivating a feature of the Persistent Storage
After you turn off a feature of the Persistent Storage, you can now click the Delete Data button to delete the data stored for this feature.
Passphrase suggestion when creating the Persistent Storage
When creating the Persistent Storage, a random and very secure passphrase is now displayed as a suggestion:
This passphrase uses the diceware method to give very strong security guarantees while being possible to memorize.
For example, a six-word passphrase like we suggest would take 3 505 years to crack at a trillion guesses a second.
Learn more about the maths in The Intercept: Passphrases That You Can Memorize — But That Even the NSA Can’t Guess.
Changes and updates
Update Tor Browser to 12.0.5.
Update the Linux kernel to 6.1.20. This improves the support for newer hardware: graphics, Wi-Fi, and so on.
Use a new icon for the backup utility for the Persistent Storage.
Fixed problems
We fixed several reliability issues with the Persistent Storage:
We improved the error message when a feature of the Persistent Storage fails to activate from the Welcome Screen to clarify which feature is affected.
After starting Tails, the feature that failed to activate is marked as such in the Persistent Storage settings. You can try turning the feature off and on again or deleting its data to reset it entirely.
We made the activation of the Persistent Storage more reliable in 2 error cases. (#19376 and #19331)
We added a progress indicator while turning on a new feature to clarify that it can take some time. (#19291)
We made sure that all data that is already available in Tails is really copied to the USB stick when turning on a feature. (#19368)
For more details, read our changelog.
Known issues
None specific to this release.
See the list of long-standing issues.
Get Tails 5.12
To upgrade your Tails USB stick and keep your persistent storage
Automatic upgrades are available from Tails 5.0 or later to 5.12.
You can reduce the size of the download of future automatic upgrades by doing a manual upgrade to the latest version.
If you cannot do an automatic upgrade or if Tails fails to start after an automatic upgrade, please try to do a manual upgrade.
To install Tails on a new USB stick
Follow our installation instructions:
- Install from Windows
- Install from macOS
- Install from Linux
- Install from Debian or Ubuntu using the command line and GnuPG
The Persistent Storage on the USB stick will be lost if you install instead of upgrading.
To download only
If you don't need installation or upgrade instructions, you can download Tails 5.12 directly:
Highlights
We got in touch with the journalists that reported how feminists in Mexico were spied by the army: https://nocallaronlasolas.serendipia.digital/.
We improved Persistent Storage behavior and UX in corner-cases (!1010).
We have started tests of the new Persistent Storage. As you might remember, there was a big revamp in Tails 5.8. The new implementation has been designed to have a smoother UI.
Releases
Tails 5.11 was released on March 20:
it improves performance on low-memory systems, and improves your ability to record screencasts.
Metrics
Tails has been started more than 740000 times this month. This makes 23884 boots a day on average.
New features
Tails now uses the
zram
Linux kernel module to extend the capacity of the computer's memory.You can run more applications or use your session for longer periods of time. Tails will handle more load before freezing and become slow more progressively.
You can record screencasts using the integrated feature of GNOME. We configured this feature to allow unlimited screencasts. See screenshot and screencast.
Changes and updates
Update Tor Browser to 12.0.4.
Update Thunderbird to 102.9.0.
Redesigned the unlocking section of the Welcome Screen.
For more details, read our changelog.
Known issues
None specific to this release.
See the list of long-standing issues.
Get Tails 5.11
To upgrade your Tails USB stick and keep your persistent storage
Automatic upgrades are available from Tails 5.0 or later to 5.11.
You can reduce the size of the download of future automatic upgrades by doing a manual upgrade to the latest version.
If you cannot do an automatic upgrade or if Tails fails to start after an automatic upgrade, please try to do a manual upgrade.
To install Tails on a new USB stick
Follow our installation instructions:
- Install from Windows
- Install from macOS
- Install from Linux
- Install from Debian or Ubuntu using the command line and GnuPG
The Persistent Storage on the USB stick will be lost if you install instead of upgrading.
To download only
If you don't need installation or upgrade instructions, you can download Tails 5.11 directly:
What's coming up?
Tails 5.12 is scheduled for April 18.
Have a look at our roadmap to see where we are heading to.
Highlights
@bokonon joined our team, as our Fundraising Lead. bokonon will help us develop and grow our fundraising initiatives, to support the work we do to accomplish our mission.
We prepared usability tests planned in Ecuador in March.
Releases
We released Tails 5.10 on February 16.
As part of our focus on polishing user experience, Tails now asks for confirmation when starting without unlocking the Persistent Storage. Because we humans sometimes forget stuff. It's OK :)
Tails 5.10 fixed a few problems introduced in Tails 5.8 in December, and some more:
Fixed another case of Persistent Storage not activating. (#19432)
Avoid opening the Persistent Storage settings each time after login. (#19410)
Solve a possible privilege escalation through a symlink attack.
Metrics
Tails has been started more than 652 918 times this month. This makes 23 318 boots a day on average.
Cambios y actualizaciones
Update Tor Browser to 12.0.3.
Ask for confirmation when starting without unlocking the Persistent Storage.
Update our documentation on the Persistent Storage.
Problemas arreglados
Avoid crashing when the download of an upgrade is stopped and resumed. (#18435)
Solve a possible privilege escalation through a symlink attack. (#19424)
Dennis Brinkrolf discovered that an adversary who could already run arbitrary code as the amnesia user in Tails 5.9, could have escalated their privileges to reading arbitrary files on the system. It might have been possible to use this as part of an exploit chain to gain root privileges.
Persistent Storage
Avoid opening the Persistent Storage settings each time after login. (#19410)
Solve some cases of failure to activate the Persistent Storage by bumping the unlocking timeout to 120 seconds. (#19432)
Para más detalles, lee nuestro changelog.
Problemas conocidos
Nada concreto para esta versión.
Mira la lista de problemas duraderos.
Get Tails 5.10
Para actualizar Tails y mantener tu almacenamiento persistente
Automatic upgrades are available from Tails 5.0 or later to 5.10.
You can reduce the size of the download of future automatic upgrades by doing a manual upgrade to the latest version.
Si no puedes hacer una actualización automática, o si Tails falla al iniciar después de una actualización automática, intenta hacer una actualización manual.
Para instalar Tails en una nueva memoria USB
Sigue nuestras instrucciones de instalación:
- Instalar desde Windows
- Instalar desde macOS
- Instalar desde Linux
- Instalar desde Debian o Ubuntu usando la linea de comandos y GnuPG
El Almacenamiento Persistente en la memoria USB se perderá si instalas en vez de actualizar.
Para sólo descargar
If you don't need installation or upgrade instructions, you can download Tails 5.10 directly:
What's coming up?
Tails 5.11 is scheduled for March 14.
Have a look at our roadmap to see where we are heading to.
Highlights
We agreed internally on strategic goals for the new 3 years.
In terms of product strategy, we will focus on learning about existing users who match our personas and how to serve them better. We will focus less on acquiring new users from our target audience.
In terms of features, we will prioritize better interoperability with tools like mobile messaging apps, online video calls, and social media.
We updated our documentation to the new Persistent Storage and added a page about opening your Persistent Storage from another operating system.
We made Tails Upgrader use our new pool of mirrors at https://download.tails.net/ instead of our previous custom solution.
Releases
Tails 5.9 was released on January 23.
It fixed most of the regressions introduced in Tails 5.8 in December:
Fixed support for some graphics cards.
Fixed starting AppImages that use the Qt toolkit like Feather and Bitcoin-Qt. (#19326)
Fixed clipboard encryption and decryption in Kleopatra. (#19329)
Fixed at least 2 cases of Persistent Storage not activating:
Fixed 3 clipboard operations with KeePassXC.
Metrics
Tails has been started more than 713 228 times this month. This makes 23 007 boots a day on average.
We are sorry that Tails 5.8 affected many of you so badly.
Thanks to your patience and feedback, we were able to solve most of these new issues.
Cambios y actualizaciones
Update Tor Browser to 102.7.
Update the Tor client to 0.4.7.13.
Simplify the error screen of the Tor Connection assistant when connecting automatically.
Improve the wording of the backup utility for the Persistent Storage.
Remove the confirmation dialog when starting the Unsafe Browser.
Problemas arreglados
Fix support for some graphics cards:
Update the Linux kernel to 6.0.12. This improves the support for newer hardware in general: graphics, Wi-Fi, and so on. (#18467)
Remove from the Troubleshooting Mode 2 boot options that break support for some graphics cards:
nomodeset
andvga=normal
. (#19321)
Please let us know if the support for your graphics cards has been fixed or is still broken.
Fix starting AppImages that use the Qt toolkit like Feather and Bitcoin-Qt. (#19326)
Fix clipboard encryption and decryption in Kleopatra. (#19329)
Fix at least 2 cases of Persistent Storage not activating:
Please keep reporting issues with the new Persistent Storage. We give them top priority!
Fix 3 clipboard operations with KeePassXC:
Fix the display of the applications menu that was broken in some GTK3 applications installed as Additional Software. (#19371)
Localize the homepage of Tor Browser when started from the Tor Connection assistant. (#19369)
Para más detalles, lee nuestro changelog.
Problemas conocidos
Please keep reporting issues with the new Persistent Storage and when starting on graphics cards that used to work with Tails.
Tor Browser has no minimize and maximize buttons (#19328)
To work around this:
Right-click on the Tor Browser tab in the window list at the bottom of the screen.
Choose Minimize or Maximize.
Welcome Screen and Tor Connection don't fit on 800×600 (#19324)
The top of the Welcome Screen and some button of the Tor Connection assistant are cut out on small displays (800×600), like virtual machines.
You can press Alt+S to start Tails.
Progress bar of Tor Connection gets stuck around 50% (#19173)
When using a custom Tor obfs4
bridge, the progress bar of Tor Connection
sometimes gets stuck halfway through and becomes extremely slow.
To fix this, you can either:
Close and reopen Tor Connection to speed up the initial connection.
Try a different
obfs4
bridge.This issue only affects outdated obfs4 bridges and does not happen with obfs4 bridges that run version 0.0.12 or later.
Mira la lista de problemas duraderos.
Get Tails 5.9
Para actualizar tu memoria USB de Tails y mantener tu almacenamiento persistente
Automatic upgrades are available from Tails 5.0 or later to 5.9.
You can reduce the size of the download of future automatic upgrades by doing a manual upgrade to the latest version.
Si no puedes hacer una actualización automática, o si Tails falla al iniciar después de una actualización automática, intenta hacer una actualización manual.
Para instalar Tails en una nueva memoria USB
Sigue nuestras instrucciones de instalación:
- Instalar desde Windows
- Instalar desde macOS
- Instalar desde Linux
- Instalar desde Debian o Ubuntu usando la linea de comandos y GnuPG
El Almacenamiento Persistente en la memoria USB se perderá si instalas en vez de actualizar.
Para sólo descargar
If you don't need installation or upgrade instructions, you can download Tails 5.9 directly:
What's coming up?
Tails 5.10 is scheduled for February 21.
Tails 5.8 is the most important release of Tails in years. It includes both major redesign of existing features, important usability improvements, and hardened security.
This work has been made possible by donations from users like you. If you like these changes and want more, donate now to fund our work in 2023.
Donate now to fund our work in 2023.
New features
New Persistent Storage
After 2 years of hard work, we are extremely proud to present you a complete redesign of the Persistent Storage.
The Persistent Storage hasn't changed much since its first release in 2012 because the code was hard to modify and improve. But, we learned from users that the Persistent Storage could do a lot more for you if it had more features and was easier to use.
You don't have to restart anymore after creating the Persistent Storage or each time you activate a new feature.
You can change the password of your Persistent Storage from this new application.
You can choose to create a Persistent Storage directly from the Welcome Screen, if you don't have one already.
Wayland and better Unsafe Browser
We replaced the deprecated X.Org display system with Wayland.
Even if you won't notice any visual difference, Wayland brings more security in depth to Tails by making it harder for a compromised application in Tails to compromise or misuse another application.
For example, since Tails 4.8, the Unsafe Browser was disabled by default because a security vulnerability in another application in Tails could start an invisible Unsafe Browser, reveal your IP address, and deanonymize you.
Wayland fixes this vulnerability and makes it safe to reenable the Unsafe Browser by default. You can still disable the Unsafe Browser in the Welcome Screen.
Wayland also brings in other features that were not working yet in the Unsafe Browser:
- Sound - Uploads and downloads - Alternative input methods for Chinese and other non-Latin languages - Accessibility features like the screen reader and virtual keyboard
QR code scanning of Tor bridges
We made it easier to enter new Tor bridges in Tails by scanning a QR code.
To get a QR code, you can either:
Send an empty email to bridges@torproject.org from a Gmail or Riseup email address.
Get bridges from https://bridges.torproject.org/ and print the QR code on paper.
We are aware that the QR codes that are currently provided are too big to be easy to scan. We are working with Tor to make them smaller and easier to scan.
Cambios y actualizaciones
Update Tor Browser to 12.0.1.
Update Thunderbird to 102.6.0.
Update Tor to 0.4.7.12.
Remove the Dasher graphical text entry application.
Problemas arreglados
We fixed 3 usability issues in the Tor Connection assistant:
Display a percentage on the connection progress bar. (#19208)
Fix links to documentation. (#19172)
Add a Bridge label in front of the line to enter a custom bridge. (#19169)
Para más detalles, lee nuestro changelog.
Problemas conocidos
If you are facing some of these issues, try downgrading to Tails 5.7. To do so:
- Download Tails 5.7
- Do a manual upgrade to Tails 5.7.
Problems with Qt applications like Kleopatra and Feather
Applications using the Qt toolkit have issues in Wayland. You can work around these issues by running these applications using XWayland instead.
Clipboard encryption and decryption is broken in Kleopatra (#19329)
To fix this:
Choose Applications ▸ Utilities ▸ Terminal to open a terminal.
Execute the following command in the terminal:
unset QT_QPA_PLATFORM & kleopatra &
This only works if Kleopatra has never been started since Tails started. Otherwise, execute this command and try again:
killall kleopatra
AppImages like Feather wallet and Bitcoin-Qt fail to load (#19326)
To fix this:
Navigate to your AppImage in the Files browser.
Do right-click (on Mac, click with two fingers) in the folder and choose Open in Terminal.
Execute the following command in the terminal to start your AppImage.
Reemplaza:
- application.AppImage by the file name of your AppImage.
unset QT_QPA_PLATFORM ; ./application.AppImage
For example, to start the Feather wallet version 2.1.2, execute:
unset QT_QPA_PLATFORM ; ./feather-2.1.2.AppImage
Some graphics cards stopped working in Tails 5.8 (#19353)
People have reported us several graphics cards that used to work in Tails 5.7 and stopped working in Tails 5.8:
- Nvidia
10de:0a70
GeForce 310M10de:1f82
GeForce GTX 1650: this is fixed in Tails 5.910de:220a
RTX 308010de:2482
GA104 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti10de:2486
GA104 GeForce RTX 3060 Ti: this is fixed in Tails 5.910de:2488
RTX 3070: this is fixed in Tails 5.910de:2489
RTX 3060 Ti10de:24dc
GA104M GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile10de:2504
RTX: this is fixed in Tails 5.910de:2560
GA106M GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile- GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition: this is fixed in Tails 5.9
10de:25e0
- Intel
8086:0046
Core Processor Integrated Graphic Controller- This will be fixed in Tails 5.9 with an update of the Linux kernel.
8086:0a16
Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller8086:1916
Skylake GT2- Add the
i915.force_probe=1916
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:3185
GeminiLake (UHD Graphics 600)- Add the
i915.force_probe=3185
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:4690
- Add the
i915.force_probe=4690
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:4692
UHD Graphics 730- Add the
i915.force_probe=4692
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:46a6
Alder Lake-P- Add the
i915.force_probe=46a6
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:46a8
- Add the
i915.force_probe=46a8
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:4e55
- To fix this, add the
i915.force_probe=4e55
boot option.
- To fix this, add the
8086:4e71
- Add the
i915.force_probe=4e71
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:5917
- Add the
i915.force_probe=5917
boot option and let us know whether it helps.
- Add the
8086:8a56
- To fix this, add the
i915.force_probe=8a56
boot option.
- To fix this, add the
- AMD
1002:1506
1002:15e7
1002:6605
Radeon R7 M260X1002:6649
Bonaire FirePro W51001002:73df
RX Radeon 6700XT (Navi 22)1002:73ff
Navi 231002:743f
RX 6400
- If the error message lists multiple graphics cards:
- If possible, plug the monitor into the motherboard's Intel graphics card, as opposed to the external Nvidia or AMD/ATI graphics card.
- Explicitly select one of the two graphics adapters in the BIOS instead of letting the system choose one automatically. If this does not solve the problem, try selecting the other graphics adapter.
- Add the
nouveau.modeset=0
boot option. This will force the system to use your other graphics cards, instead of the NVIDIA one.
These graphics card probably don't work as good on Wayland as they used to work on X.Org.
Unfortunately, we have no solution to offer you so far.
We hope that this gets fixed in the next update of the Linux kernel, maybe in Tails 5.9.
Persistent Storage fails to load with symbolic links in Dotfiles (#19346)
If you have symbolic links in the Dotfiles feature of your Persistent Storage, your Persistent Storage fails to load with the error message:
Failed to activate the Persistent Storage.
Please start Tails and send an error report.
To fix this, remove or replace these symbolic links.
The following instructions explain how to access the content of your Persistent Storage.
When starting Tails:
Do not unlock your Persistent Storage.
Set an administration password.
In Tails, unlock your Persistent Storage:
Choose Applications ▸ Utilities ▸ Disks.
In the Disks utility, select your Tails USB stick in the left pane.
Select the TailsData LUKS partition in the right pane.
Click the
button.
Enter the passphrase of your Persistent Storage.
In the second password prompt, enter your administration password.
Click the TailsData Ext4 that appeared below the TailsData LUKS partition.
Click the
.
Close the Disks utility.
Navigate to the content of your Persistent Storage:
Choose Applications ▸ System Tools ▸ Root Terminal to open a terminal with administration rights.
Execute the following command to open the Files browser with administration rights:
nautilus
In the Files browser, navigate to /media/amnesia/TailsData/dotfiles.
Remove or replace all symbolic links in the dotfiles folder.
Symbolic links have the following icon:
Restart Tails and try unlocking your Persistent Storage like usually.
Tor Browser has no minimize and maximize buttons (#19328)
To work around this:
Right-click on the Tor Browser tab in the window list at the bottom of the screen.
Choose Minimize or Maximize.
Welcome Screen and Tor Connection don't fit on 800×600 (#19324)
The top of the Welcome Screen and some button of the Tor Connection assistant are cut out on small displays (800×600), like virtual machines.
You can press Alt+S to start Tails.
Switches of the Persistent Storage settings are very slow sometimes (#19291)
The switches that turn on and off the different features of the Persistent Storage are very slow to respond on some USB sticks. Please report on #19291 if this happens to you.
Progress bar of Tor Connection gets stuck around 50% (#19173)
When using a custom Tor obfs4
bridge, the progress bar of Tor Connection
sometimes gets stuck halfway through and becomes extremely slow.
To fix this, you can either:
Close and reopen Tor Connection to speed up the initial connection.
Try a different
obfs4
bridge.This issue only affects outdated obfs4 bridges and does not happen with obfs4 bridges that run version 0.0.12 or later.
Mira la lista de problemas duraderos.
Get Tails 5.8
Para actualizar Tails y mantener tu almacenamiento persistente
Automatic upgrades are available from Tails 5.0 or later to 5.8.
You can reduce the size of the download of future automatic upgrades by doing a manual upgrade to the latest version.
Si no puedes hacer una actualización automática, o si Tails falla al iniciar después de una actualización automática, intenta hacer una actualización manual.
Para instalar Tails en una nueva memoria USB
Sigue nuestras instrucciones de instalación:
- Instalar desde Windows
- Instalar desde macOS
- Instalar desde Linux
- Instalar desde Debian o Ubuntu usando la linea de comandos y GnuPG
El Almacenamiento Persistente en la memoria USB se perderá si instalas en vez de actualizar.
Para sólo descargar
If you don't need installation or upgrade instructions, you can download Tails 5.8 directly: