Use the Internet without leaving a trace with Tails 1.5

Securing their Internet access proves to be an insurmountable obstacle for many users. In fact, you need to put in a considerable amount of effort to make online services of various kinds immune to eavesdroppers and data leeches. However, Tails [1] is a live distribution that saves you the time-consuming process of hardening your system. Tails is also ideally suited for on the go; it doesn't affect the host being used and therefore doesn't leave any traces behind on local mass storage.

You will find the current version of Tails (1.5) as a 960MB ISO image together with a signature file on the distribution's project page [2]. However, you don't need the signature to use Tails; you can determine from the checksums whether the integrity of the ISO image has been affected [3]. The image is suitable for both 32- and 64-bit computers. After downloading Tails, either burn the image to a DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive. Alternatively, you can use an SD memory card as a medium for the Debian derivative. The developers of Tails provide a detailed manual for generating the starting medium [4].

Tails is strikingly different from the start. After the login screen appears with the question More Options? , you can answer by clicking Yes and then Forward . The distribution then offers you an option window. Here you can both create an authentication for the administrator and also modify the visual appearance of the desktop – even in such a way that makes it look like a Windows 8 user interface from a distance. Additionally, you can define a modified MAC address in this window so that the computer doesn't stand out to administrators either in passing or on the network. Once you have chosen the desired settings, you can get to the desktop by clicking the Log in button (Figure 1).

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