ACHIEVING ONLINE SECURITY AND ANONYMITY USING TAIL OS AND TOR NETWORK

Online security and privacy while browsing the internet are the major concerns for people. Due to advancements in technology, risks associated with them have also increased. Cybercriminals become more attentive and find sophisticated ways to attack. Everybody wants to make their online activities and communications private and secure.

?However, it's difficult to achieve this objective, and thus, people are on cyber threats. They are facing difficulties and trying various techniques to achieve online privacy. The InfoSec community has developed different tools and techniques utilizing the TOR network to send data privately and securely. Tails operating system and TOR network make you browse the dark web anonymously.

?If you want to browse the internet without leaving any traces, tails help you focus on maintaining your privacy online. This article will help you understand the tails OS and TOR networks for online privacy. Let's get started.

What is Tails?

Tails is a portable operating system that helps you protect against censorship and surveillance. It uses the Tor network to protect your online security and privacy and helps you avoid censorship. Tails include selecting an application for working on sensitive documents and communicating securely.

?If you're looking for an OS that offers you online security and anonymity while respecting your privacy, you should leverage Tails. It's a Debian-based live Linux distribution that offers secure surfing. Tails being a live system runs from the memory of a system while securing user privacy and anonymity and leaving no traces of usage. The reason is that it's in the default setup and does not utilize the system's hard drive.

Advantages of Leveraging Tails

●????No setup is required as Tails is pre-configured to route the network traffic using Tor.

●????It helps you secure your computers, laptops, and PC.

●????Secure your browsing history and protect your privacy while using someone else's machine.

●????Save the selected files and configurations to the persistent encrypted storage.

●????It leaves no traces of websites you visit, the password you enter, and files you open.

●????Access software to deal with sensitive data and communicate securely.

●????It helps avoid mistakes. Tails blocks applications trying to connect to the internet without Tor, delete the memory at shutdown, and encrypt persistent storage.

Apart from it, Tails comes with a suite of tools to protect your data via strong encryption:

●????Encrypt your USB or hard disk using LUKS.

●????Use HTTPS automatically to encrypt all your communications to websites.

●????Sign and encrypt your document and emails using OpenPGP.

●????Delete your files securely and clean your disk space via Nautilus Wipe.

●????Protect instant messages using OTR.

?Tails offer a secure platform that helps improve endpoint security by making it easier to utilize the right tools appropriately.

What is the Tor Network?

The Onion Router (Tor) is a free and open-source software to enable anonymous communication. It directs the internet traffic using a worldwide, free, volunteer overlay network that consists of more than six thousand relays. Tor helps conceal users' location and usage from anyone performing traffic analysis and network surveillance.

?Using Tor makes it difficult to trace users' internet activity. Its intended use is to protect user privacy and freedom. Moreover, it provides the ability to communicate confidentially via IP address anonymity via Tor exit nodes.

?Let's see who uses the Tor network and why:

?●????For-profit enterprises: Organizations using Tor can benefit from enhanced data security and privacy.

●????Government agencies: Tor can protect and share sensitive government data securely.

●????Private Individuals: Anyone who wants online privacy and better security can benefit from the Tor network. Activists, journalists, and people facing censorship may opt to interact online via Tor.

?Tor Browser blocks the browser plugin, such as RealPlayer, Flash, QuickTime, etc. They can be manipulated into revealing their IP address. It's not recommended to install additional plugins or addons into the Tor Browser, because addons or plugins may bypass Tor or compromise your security and privacy. Tor browser comes with HTTPS Everywhere, NoScript, and other patches for protecting your online activities.

How does Tails work?

Turn off your computer and start the Tails USB stick to use tails rather than starting on macOS, Windows, or Linux. You can transform your PC into a secure machine for a limited time. You can also keep safe while using someone else's computer.

?Tails is a 1.2 GB download with a half-hour installation time. Tails may be installed on any USB stick with a minimum capacity of 8 GB. It is compatible with most computers that are less than ten years old. After you've shut down Tails, you can restart the other operating system.

?Tails operate independently from the other operating system and never access the hard disc, so you don't have to worry about the machine getting infected with viruses. On the other hand, Tails can't always defend you if you install it from a system with viruses or if you are using it on a device with malicious hardware, like keyloggers.

?Tails always start from a clean slate, and anything you do is automatically erased when you close it. Almost everything you do on the computer can leave traces if you don't use Tails:

●????Websites you visited, even if they were in private mode.

●????Files you've opened, even if they've been removed.

●????Even if you use a password manager, you must remember your passwords.

●????You used all of your gadgets and Wi-Fi networks.

?On the other hand, Tails never writes to the hard disc and only runs from the computer's memory. The memory is completely erased when you close Tails, removing all traces.

Leave No Traces to the Internet

The Tor network is used for anything you do on the internet from Tails.

By routing your connection through three relays, Tor encrypts and anonymizes it. Relays are servers that are managed by a variety of persons and organizations all around the world.

?A single relay is never aware of both the source and destination of an encrypted connection:

●????The first relay just knows where you're coming from; it has no idea where you're heading.

●????This third relay can only tell you where you're heading, not where you're coming from.

●????To prevent the 3rd relay from reading the content of the final destination, the connection is encrypted wherever possible.

?Tor is secure by design, even if a few relays are unscrupulous.

?Prevent Censorship and Online Surveillance

Tor prevents someone watching your online activities and internet connection from learning what you are doing on the internet. Moreover, you can prevent censorship because it's impossible for a censor to know which sites you visit.

?If connecting to the Tor network is blocked or harmful to use in a location, for instance, in some regions with heavy censorship, you can leverage bridges to hide that you are connected to the Tor network. Moreover, it lets you visit sites anonymously or by changing your identity. Online trackers won't be able to follow you around from one site to another anymore.

The True Importance of Online Security and Privacy

While most users try to avoid being spied on and targeted by criminals and unethical internet service providers, others have more serious concerns. For some, remaining anonymous while browsing and moving across the internet untracked can be a matter of preventing censorship, malware, viruses, oppression, and even surveillance.

?For these users, it's critical for them to act anonymously and imperative that no trial, physical or virtual, is left behind. Use tails when you want to ensure that your online activities leave no traces.?