💻 Tails OS Guide
Maximum anonymity with the amnesic operating system Tails
Intermediate
📖 30 min
What is Tails?
Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System) is an operating system that:
- Boots from USB - leaves no traces on the computer
- Forces ALL traffic through Tor
- Forgets everything when you shut down (amnesia)
- Includes all security tools you need
1. Download Tails
Only from the official website:
https://tails.net/install/Verify the download with PGP signature!
2. Create USB
You need:
- USB drive (at least 8 GB)
- Etcher or Rufus to write the image
- Download Etcher (balena.io/etcher)
- Select the Tails .img file
- Select your USB drive
- Click "Flash!"
3. Boot Tails
- Insert the USB drive
- Restart the computer
- Press F12/F2/Del to select boot device
- Select the USB drive
- Wait for Tails to boot
4. Configure Tails
At the welcome screen:
- Select language and keyboard layout
- Do NOT enable "Unsafe Browser" unless you need it
- Click "Start Tails"
Persistent Storage (optional)
If you want to save certain files between sessions:
- Go to Applications → Tails → Configure persistent volume
- Create a strong password
- Choose what to save (PGP keys, wallets, etc.)
⚠️ Persistent storage slightly reduces anonymity. Use with caution.