As you might have noticed, the last monthly report was a long time ago, because the people who were doing them had really no time left. Somebody new finally takes over, let's hope it lasts :)

So, here is a minimal report for the second half of 2014, the next ones will be more complete.

Releases

Code

For details, see each release announcement. Notable changes include:

  • 1.1.1: I2P now needs to be enabled with a boot option. We made this choice after a security hole affected I2P ; this problem is now fixed, but if any other is discovered in the future, it won't affect Tails users who don't use I2P.

  • 1.2: Tor Browser replaces the previous Firefox + Torbutton setup. This allows us to work more closely with Tor people and provide a more unified experience to the user.

  • Several major applications are confined with AppArmor. This improves the overall security provided by Tails, and AppArmor work is going on to confine more applications :)

  • 1.2.1: finally remove TrueCrypt. It was abandonned upstream since a long time, and it's safer to use maintained, reviewed encryption methods, like LUKS (that's what the persistence uses). You can still open your TrueCrypt volumes, but we recommand you switch to LUKS volumes as soon as possible.

Funding

  • We passed a call for donations on our website which was quite successful. Donations are still welcome though :)

  • The grant proposal that we submitted to the Digital Defenders was approved. It will fund part of our activity over 2015:

    • Build our capacity to provide same-day security updates:
      • Increase the test coverage of our automated test suite to cover most of our remaining manual tests.
      • Write automated tests for the new features to be developed during
      • Buy dedicated hardware to allow core developers to be able to run the test suite locally.
    • Streamline the installation process for less tech-savvy people:
      • Have Tails Installer available in Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives.
      • Write a Firefox extension to automate the ISO verification at download time.
      • Rework our download and installation instructions as a web assistant to guide new users step-by-step through the process.
    • Provide one year of help desk.

  • We submitted a full proposal to the Open Technology Fund. It passed a first round of review and is now waiting for the approval of their final committee.

Outreach

  • Several Tails contributors attended the 31C3 in Hamburg. We held a Tails table where many people came to ask questions, get Tails installed, start to contribute or just say thank you. We even had some origami folding moments :)

  • We passed a call for help on porting Windows camouflage to GNOME 3.14.

Press & Testimonials

For more information concerning the second half of 2014, see our press page.

  • 2014-12-29: In Reconstructive narratives at the 31th Chaos Communication Congress, Jacob Appelbaum and Laura Poitras explained that properly implemented encryption technologies such as Tor, Tails, GnuPG, OTR, and RedPhone are some of the only ones that can blind the pervasive surveillance of the NSA. They are rated as "catastrophic" by the NSA itself.

  • Tails is being used in the film Citizenfour by Laura Poitras and appears in the credits.

Documentation

Metrics

In August 2014:

  • Tails has been started more than 287,156 times in August. This makes 9,263 boots a day on average.
  • 19,910 downloads of the OpenPGP signature of Tails ISO from our website.
  • 110 bug reports were received through WhisperBack.

In September 2014:

  • Tails has been started more than 344,639 times in September. This makes 11,488 boots a day on average.
  • 26,311 downloads of the OpenPGP signature of Tails ISO from our website.
  • 102 bug reports were received through WhisperBack.

In October 2014:

  • Tails has been started more than 364,727 times in October. This makes 11,765 boots a day on average.
  • 27,342 downloads of the OpenPGP signature of Tails ISO from our website.
  • 160 bug reports were received through WhisperBack.

In November 2014:

  • Tails has been started more than 337,962 times in November. This makes 11,265 boots a day on average.
  • 21,301 downloads of the OpenPGP signature of Tails ISO from our website.
  • 74 bug reports were received through WhisperBack.

In December 2014:

  • Tails has been started more than 347,669 times in December. This makes 11,215 boots a day on average.
  • 26,549 downloads of the OpenPGP signature of Tails ISO from our website.
  • 91 bug reports were received through WhisperBack.