From the moment we turn on the computer, the big Internet companies have identified us. They know who we are. Our tastes and interests. And they follow us wherever we go. And, moreover, it is increasingly difficult to connect to the Internet anonymously. Tails is an operating system designed just for it. Thanks to him, if we really care about our privacy and security, we will be able to connect to the Internet anonymously, completely privately, avoiding the tracking of these companies.
Tails has a fairly active development. Its developers take the security and privacy of users very seriously. Thanks to them, every few weeks, we can find a new version of Tails that brings to all users the latest security fixes and updates that allow users to continue browsing with the degree of anonymity promised.
A few hours ago, the developers of this distro just released one more maintenance update: Tails 4.9 . And these are all the news that it brings us.
What’s new and changed in Tails 4.9
The truth is that this new version has not brought any notable news. The developers of this anonymous Linux have mainly focused on updating the packages of the distro, and its main programs, so that all users can enjoy maximum security at all times.
Security fixes
The new Tails 4.9 is characterized by bringing the latest version of the Kernel by default, specifically 5.7.6-1. This version brings users greater stability, better support with newer hardware (especially with wireless network cards), and also fixes a number of bugs that could compromise user safety.
Also, this new distro update includes the latest versions of the following packages and programs so that
- Tor Browser
- Tor
- Thunderbird
- Evolution Data Server
- FFmpeg
- ImageMagick
- NSS
- OpenMPT
- WebKitGTK
- VirtualBox modules
Finally, indicate that the firmware-linux and firmware-nonfree components have been updated to version 20200421-1.
Other bugs fixed
Those responsible for Tails have taken advantage of the release of version 4.9 to correct some minor flaws detected in the system, failures that, although they are not security, can affect the correct operation of the system:
- Fixed an issue with Administrator passwords.
- Fixed a bug that caused the “tails-shutdown-on-media-removal” service to not start properly.
- Fixed a bug that could crash keyboards. Also, the keyboard layout is now automatically applied on the boot screen.
- Boot record can now be better controlled thanks to Plymouth.
- Fixed an error when starting Tails with the “toram” boot option.
- MAC spoofing messages are now translated. Other aspects of MAC spoofing have also been improved.
Known bugs
Those responsible for Tails warn of a failure in this new version. And it is that users with Wi-Fi adapters with Atheros AR9271 chips will not be able to use their network cards as they do not work in the Kernel Linux 5.7.6.
Download the new version
The new Tails 4.9 is now available to all users who want to start worrying about their security and privacy. The latest version of this anonymous Linux distro can be downloaded for free from the following link . After downloading the ISO image of the new version we can choose to either create a bootable USB to load this operating system on any PC, or load the operating system in VirtualBox or VMware directly from this ISO image.
If we already have a USB memory with Tails 4.2, or later, ready, we will be able to update to the new Tails 4.9 automatically, keeping the settings, to take advantage of these corrections.