You can help Tails! The first release candidate for the upcoming version 1.2 is out. Please test it and see if it works for you.

  1. How to test Tails 1.2~rc1?
  2. How to automatically upgrade from 1.1.2?
  3. What's new since 1.1.2?
  4. Known issues in 1.2~rc1

How to test Tails 1.2~rc1?

  1. Keep in mind that this is a test image. We have made sure that it is not broken in an obvious way, but it might still contain undiscovered issues.

  2. Either try the automatic upgrade, or download the ISO image and its signature:

    Tails 1.2~rc1 ISO image

    Tails 1.2~rc1 signature

  3. Verify the ISO image.

  4. Have a look at the list of known issues of this release and the list of longstanding known issues.

  5. Test wildly!

If you find anything that is not working as it should, please report to us! Bonus points if you first check if it is a known issue of this release or a longstanding known issue.

How to automatically upgrade from 1.1.2?

These steps allow you to automatically upgrade a device installed with Tails Installer from Tails 1.1.2 to Tails 1.2~rc1.

  1. Start Tails 1.1.2 from a USB stick or SD card, and set an administration password.

  2. Run this command in a Root Terminal to select the "alpha" upgrade channel and start the upgrade:

    echo TAILS_CHANNEL=\"alpha\" >> /etc/os-release && \
     tails-upgrade-frontend-wrapper

  3. Once the upgrade has been installed, restart Tails and look at System ▸ About Tails to confirm that the running system is Tails 1.2~rc1.

What's new since 1.1.2?

Notable changes since Tails 1.1.2 include:

  • Major new features

    • Install (most of) the Tor Browser, replacing our previous Iceweasel-based browser. The version installed is a development build based on Firefox 31.1.1.
    • Upgrade Tor to 0.2.5.8-rc.
    • Confine several important applications with AppArmor.

  • Bugfixes

    • Install Linux 3.16-2 from Debian unstable.

  • Minor improvements

    • Upgrade I2P to 0.9.15, and isolate I2P traffic from the Tor Browser by adding a dedicated I2P Browser. Also, start I2P automatically upon network connection, when i2p is present on the kernel command line.
    • Make it clear that TrueCrypt will be removed in Tails 1.2.1 (#7739).
    • Enable VirtualBox guest additions by default (#5730). In particular this enables VirtualBox's display management service.
    • Make the OTR status in Pidgin clearer thanks to the formatting toolbar (#7356).
    • Upgrade syslinux to 6.03-pre20, which should fix UEFI boot on some hardware.

See the online Changelog for technical details.

Known issues in 1.2~rc1