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Tails 3.8 is out

tails.boum.org

11–20 of 31 posts

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#11
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"They" can't target you if they don't know who you are to begin with. A milquetoast public persona coupled with extensive Tor usage is quite privacy protecting :)

Well, you just blew your cover. They're watching you now. Alternatively, everyone could pretend to be a muslim-environmentalist-communist with strong interests in nuclear chemistry and virology. It isn't possible to watch everyone. Crap, they're gonna be watching me, now, too. Are you sure you aren't an agent provocateur?

[deleted]

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#12
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> If you are being actively targeted by state actors(fbi,nsa,cia,etc) The FBI is currently investigating hundreds, thousands, of drug-related crimes. They aren't deploying advanced firmware exploits on a daily basis. If you buy a laptop from a local store, and then run something like Tails from day one, the chances of them installing a firmware exploit remotely is nill. If you want to run Tails on your 5yo desktop t…

ahhh but where are you purchasing this "new" computer? It'd be foolish to assume that all new devices are clean.

There are classic cases of machines being intercepted in the post (including the cipher machines posted to the US Embassy in Moscow!).

But if you go pick out a machine from a store and take it home immediately then the chances of it having something preinstalled specifically to target you is nil.

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#13
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> If you are being actively targeted by state actors(fbi,nsa,cia,etc) The FBI is currently investigating hundreds, thousands, of drug-related crimes. They aren't deploying advanced firmware exploits on a daily basis. If you buy a laptop from a local store, and then run something like Tails from day one, the chances of them installing a firmware exploit remotely is nill. If you want to run Tails on your 5yo desktop t…

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2083300/report-nsa-intercept... If you know you are not being targeting then you don't have to worry but... If they know who you are and where you live, they can bypass any router(they work directly with oems) and get onto your computer on a hardware level. Keeping your identity private is the first task in security when dealing with the kind of people you need tails for.

Not unless you use something like pfsense on freed or mostly free hardware (many of us do this).

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#14
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ahhh but where are you purchasing this "new" computer? It'd be foolish to assume that all new devices are clean.

There are classic cases of machines being intercepted in the post (including the cipher machines posted to the US Embassy in Moscow!). But if you go pick out a machine from a store and take it home immediately then the chances of it having something preinstalled specifically to target you is nil.

This is one of the reasons I like to purchase laptops/components etc in person.

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#15
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"They" can't target you if they don't know who you are to begin with. A milquetoast public persona coupled with extensive Tor usage is quite privacy protecting :)

Well, you just blew your cover. They're watching you now. Alternatively, everyone could pretend to be a muslim-environmentalist-communist with strong interests in nuclear chemistry and virology. It isn't possible to watch everyone. Crap, they're gonna be watching me, now, too. Are you sure you aren't an agent provocateur?

>Well, you just blew your cover. They're watching you now.

"They're" watching everyone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempora

Parsing through all that data is an unsolved problem however: https://www.zdnet.com/article/nsa-whistleblower-overwhelmed-...

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#16
post #2

I like to point out that if your hardware is compromise then it doesn't matter what you run on top of it. If you are being actively targeted by state actors(fbi,nsa,cia,etc) then your computer is more than likely compromised.

If you are targeted by state actors it doesn't matter if your hardware is clean and your op-sec is tight because they can force you to reveal what is on your laptop.

However things like tails, etc will continue to protected you from a lot of non-government surveillance (comcast, fb, google, etc) and lots of different types of malware. That is still valuable.

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#17
post #2

I like to point out that if your hardware is compromise then it doesn't matter what you run on top of it. If you are being actively targeted by state actors(fbi,nsa,cia,etc) then your computer is more than likely compromised.

By that same logic, you might as well stop eating/drinking, because you're just going to die anyways, regardless of what you do to stay alive.

Re: Tails 3.8 is out

#18
post #2

I like to point out that if your hardware is compromise then it doesn't matter what you run on top of it. If you are being actively targeted by state actors(fbi,nsa,cia,etc) then your computer is more than likely compromised.

If you are targeted by state actors it doesn't matter if your hardware is clean and your op-sec is tight because they can force you to reveal what is on your laptop. However things like tails, etc will continue to protected you from a lot of non-government surveillance (comcast, fb, google, etc) and lots of different types of malware. That is still valuable.

I have noticed that people who swear the government can't do anything right thinks they can do this dead on.

My friend was investigated by the FBI for over 18 months. They acted in court that they miss everything all the time and was why they didn't have any video, audio (though several people were wired) or digital evidence and to please listen to the witnesses that got plea bargains after they got caught red handed committing several federal crimes and tax evasion of over $500,000. The audio sounded horrible. It was almost like listening to backward music lyrics and they could make you hear something possibly.

I doubt they can do much besides a handful of people.

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