- Tails 5.9 is released with a fix for the graphical issues that were introduced in the previous version, Tails 5.8.
- The developers of the Tails operating system have fixed the issue caused by the transition to Wayland by updating the kernel to version 6.0.12.
- The developers have apologized for this issue and provided fixes for the remaining minor issues in the privacy-focused operating system.
Approximately 1 month after the release of Tails 5.8, Tails developers introduces version 5.9 of the privacy-focused operating system. Tails 5.8 has brought many improvements, including a Persistent Storage overhaul, transitioning to Wayland from X.Org, Tor bridge improvements, and more. While those changes aim to improve the overall experience while using the operating system, they also brought some problems in graphics.
Fixed by a kernel update
Tails 5.9 announcement comes with an apology from the developers for new graphical issues that came with Tails 5.8. Those issues mostly existed because of the switch to Wayland by default while using Linux kernel 5.10 LTS, which did not end up well. To fix those issues, Tails 5.9 updates the kernel version to 6.0.12 and removes the Troubleshooting Mode 2 option from the boot options.
The new version of Tails also comes with a couple of package updates for Tor Connection; Tor Browser is updated to version 102.7, and Tor client is updated to version 0.4.7.13. The error interface in Tor Connection assistant is simplified when using the automatic connection option, and the wording is now more clear for backup utility in the Persistent Storage. The latest version of Tails 5.9 removes the confirmation dialog when the user decides to launch the Unsafe Browser as well.
Other fixes in Tail 5.9
You can see the remaining fixes in Tails 5.9 below:
- Fix starting AppImages that use the Qt toolkit like Feather and Bitcoin-Qt.
- Fix clipboard encryption and decryption in Kleopatra.
- Fix at least 2 cases of Persistent Storage not activating:
- When activation takes longer
- When the Dotfiles feature includes symbolic links
- Fix 3 clipboard operations with KeePassXC:
- Copying a passphrase to unlock a database
- Using the auto-type feature
- Clearing passwords automatically from the clipboard after 10 seconds
- Fix the display of the applications menu that was broken in some GTK3 applications installed as Additional Software.
- Localize the homepage of the Tor Browser when started through the Tor Connection assistant.
Download Tails 5.9
Tails is a live USB operating system for privacy reasons and it is meant to be installed on USB drives. Tails 5.9 installers are now available for Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems as well as direct ISO and IMG files for manual installation. You can follow the link below to download the suitable installer or image file for your system: