- The developers of Tails have announced the release of Tails 5.8, approximately 1 month after the release of the 5.7 version.
- The new version of the security and privacy-focused Linux distribution improves Persistent Storage by bringing new features.
- Tails 5.8 also replaces X.Org with Wayland, improving the security in the operating system, and activates Unsafe Browser by default.
Almost one month after the release of Tails 5.7, the developers announced the release of Tails 5.8. The security and privacy-focused Linux distribution delivers a few new features in its latest version, including a complete overhaul of the persistent storage feature.
Improvements in Persistent Storage
The Persistent Storage module of Tails, which allows users to save some files and information in the USB stick use case, has been almost the same since 2012. Now, the users will not have to restart the Persistent Storage application each time they activate a new feature. Additionally, users will be able to change the password of the storage whenever they desire. Finally, Persistent Storage is now integrated into the welcome screen, providing users direct access to the feature.
The X.Org display system is now replaced with Wayland, which delivers more security depth by making it harder for a compromised application to complete its tasks. The Tails team gives the example of the problem in Tails 4.8, which allowed a compromised application to start an invisible Unsafe Browser instance, deanonymizing the user; this is the complete opposite situation of what Tails aims to do. By replacing X.Org with Wayland, the team turned Unsafe Browser on by default, which can later be turned off by the user.
Tails 5.8 now allows users to set up their Tor bridges by scanning a QR code, which can be accessed by the following options:
- Send an empty email to [email protected] from a Gmail or Riseup email address.
- Get bridges from https://bridges.torproject.org/ and print the QR code on paper.
The update also fixes some small issues in Tor Connection assistant including adding a display percentage in the connection progress bar, fixing links to documentation, and adding a label in the custom bridge line to clarify its purpose.
Download Talis 5.8
Tails 5.8 is now available for download as USB and DVD/VM ISO files: