Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System) is a Debian-based distro that differs from all other Linux distributions in that it is a live system solely focused on privacy.
The distribution is intended for security paranoids looking for maximum personal security and anonymity on the Internet. But, of course, this has its drawbacks.
For example, because it is primarily designed to run from a USB stick, the changes you make don’t get saved. So, as soon as you reboot, everything goes to default.
On top of that, because Tails is pre-configured to run everything through the Tor network, the speed of operations requiring a network connection is much slower than on a standard Linux distro.
Having made all these clarifications, let’s look at what’s new in Tails 5.5, which was just released.
Tails 5.5 Highlights
There aren’t many new features in this release, with only two making an impression in Tails 5.5. The first of these is related to the Tor browser.
As you know, the Tor network lies at the heart of the Tails Linux distro, and the Tor browser is a significant component. In Tails 5.5, it has received an update to version 11.5.4.
The second major change relates to the Thunderbird mail client. Tails 5.5 users will now be able to enjoy Thunderbird 102 as well as all the benefits it comes with. It is a significant upgrade that includes numerous improvements to the navigation, folder icons, and address book.
In addition, Thunderbird 102 also offers significant enhancements to the OpenPGP feature’s usability. So, you may now see whether an email will be encrypted or not when you write it.
Under the hood, Tails 5.5 has the Linux kernel 5.10.140, which improves compatibility with modern devices such as graphics and Wi-Fi.
You can refer to the announcement for detailed information about all changes in the Tails 5.5. In addition, you can download the latest Tails release from the official website.
Finally, remember that the distro is not intended to be a daily driver OS. In other words, Tails isn’t something you’ll want to use if you’re a Windows or Mac user looking to switch to Linux for everyday jobs.
