«Tails": This is the name of the operating system that, according to Wired, was used by Edward Schoonen to keep his communications from the NSA secret. And, as noted, no one knows the identities of those who created it.
The Tails is described as a "computer-in-a-box": it is installed on DVD or USB, which is then used by the user to boot the computer. In its "heart" it is a version of Linux that is specially designed for anonymity on the Internet and is accompanied by various encryption and anonymity tools such as the application of the famous Tor, which makes anonymous the internet traffic of a user.
According to Wired, the Tails were used by Snowdoun, journalist Glen Greenwright and their co-worker, Laura Poatra. The main reason for this was that the Tails does not store data locally, which protects it from malicious software, but also from the research on the computer itself that can follow.
"Installation and verification have a degree of difficulty to ensure that they are done properly. But once completed, it's easy to use, "the Poyatra told the Wired via email.
Tor is used by Internet users wishing to be anonymous online, by activists, drug dealers, victims of harassment, etc. Tails makes it easy to use Tor, which runs automatically. When the user finishes using Tails, it can return to normal operation without any history of activity in the Tails.
The creators of the operating system, as expected, are very careful to maintain their anonymity: as noted in the post, Wired's questions were answered anonymously via email. The reason for this is partly because they want to protect some kind of government intervention in the code: "the NSA puts pressure on free software programs and developers in various ways," they noted. At the same time, they criticized the big companies of the Internet: "Today's Internet giants, giants like Google, Facebook and Yahoo, as well as intelligence services, want our lives to be more and more transparent online, which is only for their own benefit. So trying to offset this trend seems to be a sensible position for people to develop an operating system that advocates privacy and anonymity online. " Also, as pointed out in the article, in one of Snowden's leaks, there is a presentation in which the NSA seems to be "complaining" about Tails.
According to the team of its creators, work on Tails began five years ago. In the beginning the name of the project was Amnesia and it was based on a functional name Incognito. At some point Tails emerged, as a combination of the two programs (The Amnesic Incognito Live System). Although intended for use on desktops and laptops, it is noted that there is a team developing a version for mobile devices with Android and Ubuntu.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
Dimitris hates Mondays...
