<s>
Tails	B-Application
,	O
or	O
"	O
The	B-Application
Amnesic	I-Application
Incognito	I-Application
Live	I-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
"	O
is	O
a	O
security-focused	O
Debian-based	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
aimed	O
at	O
preserving	O
privacy	O
and	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
connects	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
exclusively	O
through	O
the	O
anonymity	B-Application
network	I-Application
Tor	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
run	O
as	O
a	O
virtual	B-Architecture
machine	I-Architecture
,	O
with	O
some	O
additional	O
security	O
risks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Tor	B-Application
Project	I-Application
provided	O
financial	O
support	O
for	O
its	O
development	O
in	O
the	O
beginnings	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
and	O
continues	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
alongside	O
numerous	O
corporate	O
and	O
anonymous	O
sponsors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tails	B-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
on	O
June	O
23	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
next	O
iteration	O
of	O
development	O
on	O
Incognito	O
,	O
a	O
discontinued	O
Gentoo-based	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Tor	B-Application
Project	I-Application
provided	O
financial	O
support	O
for	O
its	O
development	O
in	O
the	O
beginnings	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tails	B-Application
also	O
received	O
funding	O
from	O
the	O
Open	O
Technology	O
Fund	O
,	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
the	O
Freedom	O
of	O
the	O
Press	O
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Laura	O
Poitras	O
,	O
Glenn	O
Greenwald	O
,	O
and	O
Barton	O
Gellman	O
have	O
each	O
said	O
that	O
Tails	B-Application
was	O
an	O
important	O
tool	O
they	O
used	O
in	O
their	O
work	O
with	O
National	O
Security	O
Agency	O
whistleblower	O
Edward	O
Snowden	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
release	O
3.0	O
,	O
Tails	B-Application
requires	O
a	O
64-bit	B-Device
processor	I-Device
to	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tails	B-Application
's	O
pre-installed	O
desktop	O
environment	O
is	O
GNOME	B-Language
3	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tails	B-Application
includes	O
a	O
unique	O
variety	O
of	O
software	O
that	O
handles	O
the	O
encryption	O
of	O
files	O
and	O
internet	O
transmissions	O
,	O
cryptographic	O
signing	O
and	O
hashing	B-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
other	O
functions	O
important	O
to	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
pre-configured	O
to	O
use	O
Tor	B-Application
with	O
multiple	O
connection	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
tries	O
to	O
force	O
all	O
connections	O
to	O
use	O
Tor	B-Application
and	O
blocks	O
connection	O
attempts	O
outside	O
Tor	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
networking	O
,	O
it	O
features	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
Tor	B-Operating_System
Browser	I-Operating_System
with	O
the	O
inclusion	O
of	O
uBlock	B-Protocol
Origin	I-Protocol
,	O
instant	O
messaging	O
,	O
email	O
,	O
file	O
transmission	O
and	O
monitoring	O
local	O
network	O
connections	O
for	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
design	O
,	O
Tails	B-Application
is	O
"	O
amnesic	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
runs	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
Random	B-Architecture
Access	I-Architecture
Memory	I-Architecture
(	O
RAM	B-Architecture
)	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
write	O
to	O
a	O
hard	O
drive	O
or	O
other	O
storage	O
medium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
may	O
choose	O
to	O
keep	O
files	O
,	O
applications	O
or	O
some	O
settings	O
on	O
their	O
Tails	B-Application
drive	O
in	O
"	O
Persistent	O
Storage	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
shutting	O
down	O
,	O
Tails	B-Application
overwrites	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
used	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
avoid	O
a	O
cold	O
boot	O
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
Das	O
Erste	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
NSA	O
's	O
XKeyscore	O
surveillance	O
system	O
sets	O
threat	O
definitions	O
for	O
people	O
who	O
search	O
for	O
Tails	B-Application
using	O
a	O
search	O
engine	O
or	O
visit	O
the	O
Tails	B-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
comment	O
in	O
XKeyscore	O
's	O
source	O
code	O
calls	O
Tails	B-Application
"	O
a	O
comsec	O
[	O
communications	O
security ]	O
mechanism	O
advocated	O
by	O
extremists	O
on	O
extremist	O
forums	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
Der	O
Spiegel	O
published	O
slides	O
from	O
an	O
internal	O
National	O
Security	O
Agency	O
presentation	O
dating	O
to	O
June	O
2012	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
NSA	O
deemed	O
Tails	B-Application
on	O
its	O
own	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
major	O
threat	O
"	O
to	O
its	O
mission	O
and	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
other	O
privacy	O
tools	O
as	O
"	O
catastrophic	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
FBI	O
used	O
malicious	O
code	O
developed	O
by	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
identifying	O
sexual	O
extortionist	O
and	O
Tails	B-Application
user	O
Buster	O
Hernandez	O
through	O
a	O
zero-day	O
vulnerability	O
in	O
the	O
default	O
video	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
exploit	O
was	O
never	O
explained	O
to	O
or	O
discovered	O
by	O
the	O
Tails	B-Application
developers	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
believed	O
that	O
the	O
vulnerability	O
was	O
patched	O
in	O
a	O
later	O
release	O
of	O
Tails	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hernandez	O
had	O
eluded	O
authorities	O
for	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
;	O
the	O
FBI	O
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
had	O
searched	O
for	O
him	O
with	O
no	O
success	O
,	O
and	O
resorted	O
to	O
developing	O
the	O
custom	O
hacking	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
