How do I make sure I have a safe version of Tails? Do note that this might not be enough for some systems that have Linux compatibility issues. Other requirements include a computer with at least 2GB of RAM and a processor with 64-bit x86-64 compatibility. In order to use Tails, you need either an empty flash drive or an empty DVD with at least 8GB of free space (remember that any data on them would be deleted while installing). Tails also comes with a host of open-source tools and software that can be used to operate and communicate securely, including the Tor Browser with uBlock ad blocker built in, Thunderbird which is an email client that encrypts emails, KeePassXC which is a password manager and OnionShare to share files over Tor among others. The OS encrypts these stored files by default. It also has a feature called persistent storage where you can use the extra space available in the flash drive with the OS to permanently store files and configuration. But this is not to say that you will lose all your files and storage each time you use the operating system. In essence, you start with a clean slate each time you login.

Since it doesn’t use the computer’s storage and runs off the flash drive and the computer’s memory, it has a feature called Amnesia where all this data is automatically deleted any time you leave the OS. Once you boot Tails from a USB flash drive, the system you are using is temporarily turned into a secure device, provided you followed the right steps to get Tails in the first place. The connection to the final destination is often encrypted to ensure that the relay cannot read it. The second relay will not know where you are requesting information from, but it will know where you are accessing it from. The first relay may know where you are requesting information from, but not where you are accessing it from or even what it is. When you browse the internet through the Tor network, activity is encrypted and passed through three relays. By default, the OS routes all internet traffic through the Tor network, a free worldwide volunteer network that uses a series of relays to obfuscate internet activity.

Other sponsors include the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the Mozilla foundation and alternative search engine company DuckDuckGo. Tails was first released in 2009 and has been receiving financial support from the Tor project from its early stages till today. Here’s a closer look at the Tails operating system, and how you can safely install it on any flash drive.

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