Geared toward preserving privacy and anonymity, Tails comes with an impressive set of cryptographic tools. All connections to the Internet go through the Tor network, which "… protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world." The Tor anonymity network is designed to leave no trace and prevent surveillance of your online activities.

The Tails Live system runs from a DVD, USB stick, or SD card. Tails uses only RAM for storage, leaving your hard disk untouched. You can communicate anonymously and circumvent censorship with applications that encrypt your files, email, and chat messages. Tails version 1.1 is based on Debian GNU/Linux and boots into the Gnome desktop version 3.4 in Fallback mode.