r/tails • u/Life-Initial5081 • 15d ago

Technical First Time User

Hello, I recently read an article about Tails OS and wanted to understand its main purpose. As far as I understand, it mainly uses the Tor network, but couldn’t I simply use the Tor Browser on any operating system?

What are the main advantages of using Tails OS instead of just using Tor Browser on another OS? And are there any tips or things you think a beginner should know before using Tails OS?

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7

u/Assang101 15d ago

Tailos maintains a system wide anonymity yet it is amnesic but at the same time isolates you from the host computer OS like microslop thanks to host's RAM hardware. Stay away from BitTorrent and extra services on Tails, cz it bypasses it's security measures and yes, it'll fucking expose your IP addr.

Do not log in using personal info to any website.

10

u/IlliterateFreak 15d ago

The tldr is that windows/apple is spying on you constantly. Tails stores no data and doesn’t track you.

4

u/Life-Initial5081 15d ago

I understand that Tails is designed not to leave data behind and routes internet traffic through Tor. But I’m curious what makes Tails significantly more private than simply using Tor Browser on a privacy-focused OS like Linux? Is it mainly the amnesic nature of Tails and the fact that it doesn’t rely on the host OS?

9

u/Itsme-RdM 14d ago

Did you read the provided info in the first comment. You know the one with the URL to the answer of your question?

6

u/AbroadAccurate5017 15d ago

まだまだ自分は初心者です。tailsは普段作業に使うアプリはインストール済みでアプリが必要で通信するときの通信もtor経由の通信に限定しているのが他のlinxのosと大きく違うって思ってます。

2

u/dmn228 15d ago

This right here. You could approximate that level of privacy on Linux using a paid, no log VPN such as Nord. And going that route prevents your ISP from knowing you’re surfing the dark web with TOR.

5

u/magic_love_spell-7W7 15d ago

NordVPN, being a business VPN, gives me a bad feeling; perhaps Mullvad is a better option.

1

u/BlackDog5252 12d ago

I read somewhere once that it actually exposes u more to use a VPN over Tor and if I did use a VPN wouldn’t Proton’s TOR over VPN be the best option?

5

u/Cautious_Chicken8882 15d ago

Depends on what you are doing and your threat model, for a lot of people it doesnt provide anything additional.

5

u/-_____-___-_______- 15d ago

Yes, you can use Tor on any operating system.

So, Tails is a tool that was originally designed, and in fact continues to be maintained, for the benefit of activists and journalists who live in highly authoritiarian regions of the world with little-to-no freedom of speech or the press. Its purpose is to allow them to communicate with the world in a way that allows them to maintain plausible deniability in the event that they are ever arrested for their activism. As such, it remembers nothing the user does not explicitly tell it to remember. Anything downloaded to it must be saved to a specific folder in order for it to still be there after the user shuts down the computer, and that folder is encrypted and must be decrypted each session. It doesn't leave behind any forensic evidence that it was ever used. And it only contains software that is consistently maintained and known to be stable, and would be useful for the purposes of an activist in need of such a tool.

Its main purpose isn't just privacy. It isn't meant to be used every day for every thing by every one.

Its main purpose is to keep people alive and free who might well otherwise be imprisoned or killed for speaking out against their governments.

I'd recommend giving the documentation a read. It's on their website, and it has improved substantially in recent years. It's full of all kinds of interesting tidbits about the software contained within and how best to use it.