A month after the previous 6.1 release, Tails 6.2 is out, much to the excitement of individuals passionate about online privacy. As an acronym for The Amnesic Incognito Live System, it is a Debian-based Linux distribution that helps users to stay anonymous online.
Tails 6.2: Key Updates
This update’s standout feature is the addition of 21 new languages to the Welcome Screen. Users can now navigate Tails in Albanian, Armenian, Basque, Bengali, Bulgarian, Estonian, Galician, Icelandic, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Malay, Norwegian Nynorsk, Polish, Serbian, Slovak, Swahili, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
For those eager to contribute to the translation efforts, Tails encourages participation through the Tor Project Weblate, promising that new languages will be added to future versions as soon as 25% of strings are translated.
Additionally, Tails 6.2 includes updates to key components like the Tor Browser, now at version 13.0.14, and the Tor client, updated to 0.4.8.11. These updates ensure users have the latest in secure browsing technology.
Also, the localization section of the Welcome Screen has been renamed to Language and Formats, and a ‘Make Upgrade later‘ option has been made the default choice to streamline the upgrade process.
The new release has also focused on improving hardware compatibility and system reliability. In light of this, Tails 6.2 resolves a crucial reliability issue that disabled Wi-Fi on specific devices and enhances the operating system’s resilience against potential security vulnerabilities like the Spectre v4 by disabling Speculative Store Bypass.
Those interested in the technical details and the complete list of changes can refer to the release announcement or visit the full changelog.
Upgrading to Tails 6.2
For those looking to upgrade or install Tails 6.2, the process is straightforward. Automatic upgrades are available for users with Tails 6.0 or later installed on their USB sticks.
For new installations, detailed instructions are provided for Linux, Windows, and macOS users. It’s important to note that installing a new version instead of upgrading will result in losing all data stored in Persistent Storage on the USB stick.
