IT Support 406: How to Use Tor (The Onion Router) Part 6

An area of IT support that has become more important with each passing day is to ensure the privacy and security of client systems and data. Tor is a unique and interesting part of this process. Due to an onslaught of requests, I've added a separate chapter to Practical Paranoia: OS X Security Essentials just for Tor (The onion router.) Over the next two weeks we will be going step-by-step through the process of understanding Tor, creating a Tails bootable thumb drive, and how to use the main applications within the Tails drive.

Assignment: Create a Tails Boot Thumb Drive with a Persistent Volume

I can her it now: “Jeez Marc, we just bloodied our hands creating a boot thumb drive. Why do it again?” The reason is that the first drive is created without using the Tails Installer. Subsequent drives can be created from the first which has the Tails Installer. When created with the Tails Installer, the thumb drive can be configured with an encrypted persistent volume. You will be able to store files on these subsequent thumb drives in an encrypted storage area. Hey, developers work in mysterious ways.

In this assignment, we will create another Tails boot thumb drive which is capable of having an encrypted persistent volume.

1. Boot your computer from the Tails boot thumb drive created in the previous assignment.

2. Once at the Desktop, select the Applications menu or Windows icon > Tails > Tails Installer.

3. Select the Clone & Install button.

4. The Tails Installer opens.

5. Insert another suitable USB thumb drive on which you want to install Tails.

6. The fresh thumb drive will appear in the Tails Installer window > Target Device pop-up menu. 

7. In the Tails Installer window, select the Install Tails button.

8. At the Please Confirm Your Device Selection menu, select the Yes button. Depending on the speed of your computer, and the speed of your thumb drives, this process may take up to 30 minutes.

9. At the Installation Complete! Window, select the OK button.

10. To be extra slick, repeat this entire assignment, but this time boot from the new thumb drive, and use the original thumb drive to clone to. In this way, you will now have two thumb drives that can hold an encrypted persistent volume!

Awesome! Just one more step and you will have in your hands one of the top tools recommended by Edward Snowden to enable complete privacy and secrecy in all Internet activities.

Warmly,

Marc L. Mintz, MBA-IT, ACTC
President & CIO
Mintz InfoTech, Inc.
505.814.1413 ? 888.479.0690
[email protected] ? www.mintzIT.com