hi, i'm currently running tails 5.22. i've not experienced any issues or anything, and i keep getting the notification to do the physical update. i understand that generally it's a good idea to stay updated to the most recent release which i was doing while updates were an easy download-and-restart process, but this new physical one has me procrastinating lol. how necessary is it to stay updated with the latest tails os release in terms of opsec and compatibilities/capabilities?
/u/KyleKlemons54 · N/A votes · 16th April, 2024 - 13:01 · Link
It's actually very important to update your Tails (whether automatically or manually) because: 1. You run the risk of getting hacked - while it might be unlikely given your OPSEC model the possibility of such still exists. Especially with the flaws inherent to whatever older TAILS distribution you're running (and while 5.22 MIGHT be """flawless""" that doesn't mean that someone hasn't found a way to hack it). 2. It, over time, might not even work anymore - since, again, it's a slightly older version of TAILS and ultimately won't be supported anymore. Which means that should you encounter a issue/problem with it, the TAILS team/whoever is operating with TAILS might not be able to help you resolve the issue that you're having. Keep in mind, while these are only two points, there are many reasons and rationales as to why you should always keep your TAILS up to date. Basically: keeping TAILS up to date literally ensures that you have up to date coverage, support, and even security as well as a stable enough release.
/u/DigitalShaman · N/A votes · 16th April, 2024 - 15:26 · Link
I posted a poll on precisely this a few weeks ago and the general consensus was "ASAP" or "when you have some free time" - so it seems some people think you should already been updated, others just say do it when you've got a little bit of down time, but do probably do go ahead and do it. The process for me went pretty smooth but did require me to effectively backup my existing tails onto another USB and i got some errors and had to make multiple attempts to get the manual update to work, however I still have the old version bootable on another USB. Just be sure in case you screw something up you follow the steps and do the backups. Be careful about which drive you're installing to so you don't overwrite your persistent data on your existing USB - I'm not a heavy linux user outside of Tails and so it was a bit confusing to me at times with multiple USBs plugged in to tell which one was running tails and which one was trying to install news tails to and i'm not even sure i did it fully correctly, but ultimately I have two USBs running the two versions of tails and didn't lose any of my data in the process, so i'd say when you've got a down day or two and a spare USB, just go ahead and do it. It can be a little jarring at first becuase some "insignificant" things changed that just make it LOOK a lot different (like the font in the text editor).
/u/bingobangobongo · N/A votes · 16th April, 2024 - 18:17 · Link
thank you :)
/u/JasonJones86 · N/A votes · 20th April, 2024 - 21:25 · Link
Custom font Liberation Mono 11 is always your friend and "Peninsula" Appearance is the best if you like black text, not this grayish one that's the new default :-)
/u/JasonJones86 · N/A votes · 20th April, 2024 - 21:20 · Link
Not every update is essential but you have to read the changelogs. If any critical programs like Tor Browser have been updated or if there are any security fixes then definitely update. If it's a small update that fixes a bug in a program you're sure you don't use then it's not essential but still a good idea. You're way behind on 5.22 and that's dangerous if you want to stay anonymous. Manual updates aren't difficult so long as you've got a spare USB stick to use and follow the guide on the Tails website.