Tails is one of the best security-centric Linux distributions. Tails team has released its first version based on Debian 10 “buster”. This released has been packed with a bunch of security fixes, new features, performance improvements, and the latest applications.
What’s New In Tails 4.0
Security Fixes
First thing first, Tails 3.16 was vulnerable with multiple security issues including issues with popular applications like Libreoffice, Samba, FFmpeg, OpenSSL, etc. Tails 4.0 packs a bundle of security fixes. You can find the complete list of security fixes here.
You should immediately upgrade to Tails 4.0 from any previous Tails version.
New password manager
In the new version, KeepassXC has replaced KeePassX, a password manager that is more actively developed than KeePassX.
Letter boxing in Tor 9.0
A new feature called Letter boxing has been developed for those who want to maximize or modify the default size of the Tor browser. Letter boxing prevents websites from identifying browser based on the size of the window. There will also be no warning when you try to modify the Tor browser window size.
Remove Metadata from files
Metadata of any file can tell a lot about the file creator. For example, a picture file will have information of the camera the picture was taken from, the date and time the picture was captured, and even the location where the picture was taken at.
MAT is a tool that removes metadata from file and keeps your privacy intact. Tails 4.0 has upgraded MAT version from 0.6.1 to 0.8.0. You can easily clear metadata of any file directly from the file manager as shown in the image below.
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Linux Kernel 5.3.0
The new tails version also uses the newer Linux kernel 5.3.0 which includes support for more hardware.
Updated applications
Here are these applications that have been upgraded to their latest version in Tails 4.0 –
- Electrum 3.3.8
- Enigmail 2.0.12
- Audacity 2.2.2
- GIMP 2.10.8
- Inkscape 0.92.4
- LibreOffice 6.1.5
- git from 2.20.1
- Tor 0.4.1.6
- OnionShare 1.3.2
- Scribus has been removed form 4.0
Improved performance & lightweight
The new iso image is 47MB less in size than the previous version. It also consumes approximately 250MB less memory and 20% faster than Tails 3.16.
Tails 4.0 also support Thunderbolt devices.
