Tails 5.9, which focuses on anonymity and privacy, has been released, mainly addressing bugs from the previous version of Tails 5.8, but also bringing some new features and improvements.
The developers have managed to resolve most of the issues reported by users in Tails 5.8, including support for certain graphics cards such as the Intel UHD 750 by upgrading the kernel to Linux 6.0.12. These graphics issues occurred because Tails 5.8 switched to Wayland by default and used the Linux kernel 5.10 LTS.
Also fixed in Tails 5.9 are the startup of AppImage binaries using Qt toolkits such as Bitcoin-Qt and Feather, clipboard encryption and decryption in the Kleopatra OpenPGP client, and the display of application menus by some GTK3 applications with additional software features installed.
Persistent storage has also been improved in terms of activation and backup utilities. In addition, KeePassXC Password Manager fixes three clipboard actions, including copying password phrases to unlock the database, automatically clearing passwords from the clipboard after 10 seconds, and using the auto-keying feature.
Tails 5.9 include localizing the Tor browser’s home page when launching from the Tor Connection Assistant, now having a simplified error screen when connecting automatically, and removing the confirmation dialog when launching an insecure browser.
This release comes with the latest Tor Browser 102.7 anonymous web browser based on Mozilla Firefox 102.7 ESR and Tor 0.4.7.13. The system is based on and synchronized with the Debian GNU/Linux 11 “Bullseye” repository.
Users can now download Tails 5.9 from the official website and can view a USB image or a traditional ISO image for media or virtual machines. The next Tails 5.10 release is scheduled for February 21, 2023.
