As promised, the new version of the privacy-focused Linux distribution Tails 3.9 is now available. As we discussed a few days ago, we covered the expected features for this new vision of Tails in a previous article.
Without further ado, we present the new features offered with the arrival of this new version of Tail 3.9, which is now available to the public.
It is important to remember that the Tails operating system is a live operating system that can boot on almost any computer from a DVD, USB device, or SD card.
Its goal is to preserve the privacy and anonymity of the distribution user and helps them to:
- Use the Internet anonymously and bypass censorship, since all Internet connections of the computer that is using this distribution are forced to go through the Tor network.
- By using this connection filtering system you do not leave traces on the computer you are using unless explicitly instructed by the system and browser.
- It also offers a suite of next-generation cryptographic tools to encrypt your files, emails, and instant messages.
About the new version of Tails 3.9
With Tails' live system, users can browse the internet anonymously and securely. The new version 3.9 installs the software automatically after startup, integrates VeraCrypt encryption software, and upgrades the Tor browser to version 8.0.
If users install a package from the repository, they can now set it with a single click to automatically install the package on every startup.
However, the Tails developers point out that this approach could undermine the security of the distribution based on the installed package.
It is also important to mention that in this new release of Tails 3.9 the persistent storage configuration has been improved to facilitate scrolling and in accordance with the GNOME guidelines.
VeraCrypt software encrypts data on a corresponding volume. Users can now easily open one of these with a mouse click (via Applications â–¸ System Tool â–¸ Unlock VeraCrypt Volumes ).
From now on, Thunderbird will serve as the official RSS and Atom news reader. While Liferea is still supported, as mentioned in the previous article, it will be replaced by Thunderbird, so it's advisable to begin the transition in this version, ideally starting in early 2019 with Tails 3.12.
Finally, the developers have updated some software packages . This includes version 8.0 of the Tor browser, which is based on Firefox 60 ESR. Thunderbird has also been updated to version 60.
In addition, users get Tor 0.3.4.7-rc and Electrum 3.1.3. It is also important to note that the system's Linux kernel comes with version 4.17, and the Tor developers have brought the microcode for Intel and AMD processors to date.
The developers point out that starting from a DVD can take longer than with previous versions.
Of the changes and updates that can be highlighted in this new release of Tails 3.9 we find the following:
- The Tor Browser browser update to 8.0, based on Firefox 60 ESR.
- Based on Firefox Quantum.
- New view of the Tor circuit
- The Thunderbird update from 52 to 60.
- Updated Tor to 0.3.4.7-rc.
- Various updates make Tails work better on recent hardware (graphics, Wi-Fi, etc.)
- The new version of the Linux kernel to 4.17, which also fixes the Foreshadow attack
- The DRM and Mesa libraries were updated in this new version of Tails to improve compatibility with some graphics cards.
- Updated Intel and AMD microcodes and most firmware packages.
Download the new version of Tails 3.9
If you want to obtain this new version of Tails 3.9, you should go to the official website of the project where you can obtain the download link for the system image.