Set up Tails on a USB stick

1 Tails installation Assistant

Visit the main page for the Tails installer at https://tails.boum.org/ install/index.en.html. Click on ‘Let’s start the journey’ to continue. Make sure you have both a blank DVD and a USB stick (ideally at least 8GB but 4GB will do at a pinch) inserted into your computer.

2 Choose your operating system

For the purposes of this guide, we’re assuming you’re using a Debian/Ubuntu based system, but if you’re using another flavour of Linux feel free to click and follow the instructions there. Click ‘Let’s go” at the bottom of the next page to proceed to the next step.

3 Verify and install Tails

Use your favourite Bittorrent client to do this by clicking ‘Download Torrent file’. You may verify the download at this stage if you wish. On Ubuntu, open the SoftwareCenter, then click Edit > Software sources > Other >> Add’. You’ll need to add the following archive: ppa:tails-team/tails-installer.

4 Run the TAILS installer

SoftwareCenter will now update and you should be able to search for and install tails-installer. For Debian users, you will need to open the Synaptic Package Repository and ensure that jessie-backports is enabled. You should now be able to search for and install tails-installer package.

5 Install to USB stick

Choose the first option to install Tails onto a USB stick. You’ll need to navigate to the ISO image of the TAILS DVD and then click ‘install Tails.’ Read the warning message, then click ‘Yes’ to continue. You’ll need to enter your admin password at the end of install.

6 Boot into TAILS

Restart your machine to boot into Tails. If it doesn’t start automatically you may need to look at your machine’s boot menu to configure booting from USB first. For now choose the live mode. You’re now free to set up persistence and a new GPG keypair etc.