Hear a new tricks of the computer .
If
James Bond logs on to a computer, he doesn't want to leave a bunch of
files, cookies, or his IP address out there for someone to find. It
might seem extreme, but sometimes it's a good idea to take the same
precautions yourself.
In this
post, we'll walk through how to use a USB stick or DVD to anonymize,
encrypt, and hide everything you do on a computer no matter where you
are. When we say "browse without leaving a trace", we truly mean it.
Using the Linux-based, live-boot operating system Tails (The Amnesiac
Incognito Live System), you can use any computer anywhere without anyone
knowing you were ever on it. Tails is a portable operating system with
all the security bells and whistles you'll ever need already installed
on it. You can install Tails on one of your many dust-gathering USB
drives or a DVD. We'll show you how to set up your own portable boot
disc in the second section, but let's start by taking a look at what you
get with Tails.
What Tails Is and What's Packed Into It
The magic
of Tails is that you don't have to do a lick of work: once you create
your boot disc you'll have a completely anonymous, totally private
operating system preloaded with all the software you (or James Bond)
would need. What's packed into it? Let's take a look.
The Software Packed Directly into Tails
- Built-in online anonymity: The key feature that's going to appeal to most people is Tails' built-in online anonymity. This comes in the form of the customized web browser Iceweasel built using the anonymous web browsing technology from Tor. The browser also includes popular security extensions like HTTPS Everywhere for secure browsing, Adblock Plus to block ads, and NoScript to block Java and Flash. Other than those features, the web browser works exactly like you'd expect a web browser to work.
- Built-in encrypted email and chat: Additionally, you also get encrypted and private messaging. Tails includes the Claws email client with OpenPGP for email encryption and the instant messaging client Pidgin with an OTR cryptography tool that encrypts your IM conversations.
- Built-in file encryption: When boot Tails from a USB drive instead of a DVD, you can save documents to the thumb drive and they're automatically encrypted using an encryption specification called LUKS. (Since the DVD is read-only, you can't save any files—which is its own form of security.)
- A full suite of editing software: On top your web access being private you also get a full suite of work and creative software. Tails comes preloaded with Openoffice for editing documents, Gimp for editing photos, Audacity for editing sound, and plenty more additional software.
Now let's walk through how to set up a boot disc for yourself.
Step-by-Step Guide to Set Up Your Own Tails DVD or USB Drive
Tails is pretty easy to set up on your own and it doesn't differ much from setting up any other Linux Live CD. However, a few extra steps do exist to verify your download.
Step 1: Download the Necessary Files
You need to
download two different files to get started with Tails: an ISO (an
image of Tails that is burned to a disc) and a cryptographic signature
to verify the ISO image:
- Cryptographic Signature (Direct download / Torrent)
The
developers behind Tails recommend you verify your Tails ISO to make sure
it's an officially released version that hasn't been tampered with. We
won't walk through that process here, but they have instructions on
their web site for Windows and Mac or Linux.
Step 2: Burn Tails to a CD/DVD
You can find documentation for creating a Tails USB from scratch on each operating system here.
Alternately, you can more easily make bootable USB installation of
Tails after you boot from a Tails live DVD. For our purposes we're going
to burn Tails to a bootable DVD because it's an easier process than
creating a USB stick from scratch.
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