Tails 0.12 blends in better in internet cafes

The newly stable Windows Camouflage helps Tails blend in at internet cafes The new release of Tails, "The Amnesiac Incognito Live System", now has an option for "Windows camouflage" so it can blend in better at internet cafes. Tails 0.12, a Debian GNU/Linux distribution combined with Tor anonymous browsing, is designed to be used in situations where users wish to not only remain anonymous, but also avoid bringing attention to themselves. Use of Tails, its anonymous connections, mail, instant messaging and cryptographic tools is designed to leave no trace on machines. But the developers had noticed that the Tails user interface was unfamiliar to many people and could draw attention to itself when used in public locations. The new version's greeter screen now has a checkbox which, when selected, makes the software look more like Windows XP to help avoid that unwanted attention.

Other changes in the new release include an "Unsafe Web Browser" which has direct access to the network and is not routed through Tor. This can be used to log in to captive portals such as those found in libraries, internet cafes and other publicly available internet connections.

Iceweasel has been upgraded to the 10.0.5 extended support release (ESR), Tor has been upgraded to 0.2.2.37 and the Linux kernel has been upgraded to version 3.2.20. The developers now recommend that cryptkeeper is not installed, for a number of reasons, and users of Tails who use it for persistence should follow the migration procedure in the release notes. A full detailed list of changes is available in the change log.

Existing users of Tails are encouraged to upgrade to Tails 0.12 due to numerous security holes in Tails 0.11. Tails 0.12 is available to download from the project's web site where details on how to verify the downloaded image and install it to CD or USB stick are also provided. Tails is released as free software under the GPLv2, GPLv3 and later.

(djwm)