Good burner laptop for Tails? (linux)

pooptastic

Member
Oct 18, 2015
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Figuring it might be smart to setup a laptop just running tails, with the way politics seem to be going these days, and also being tracked by every advertiser out there.

Full-blown conspiracy style! A free speech laptop that only boots into tails, unless anyone knows of a similar 'boot from Usb as a new OS every time' linux distro that's better.

How are those cheapie j1900 intel laptops? The j1900's an actual quadcore... https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...re-N2840-2GB-RAM-32GB/415030_32221310074.html

Or something like a used Thinkpad 520? Just something inexpensive that can browse the internet and youtube at 1080p, yet not be super laggy and slow doing it.
 
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lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,363
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Something from the pawn shop. You can get a functional computer cheap.
 

LPCTech

Senior member
Dec 11, 2013
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Use free wifi also, because if you use your home internet they can still identify you in certain ways. Also, while tails might keep you a bit anonymous, if you are specifically targeted for surveillance, tails wont help.
 

pooptastic

Member
Oct 18, 2015
87
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Not too surprised. Mostly I was wanting something that drops google/facebook/amazon etc profiling stuff fully. For comparisons between my always logged in desktop.

Already see sites load differing content based on my browsing habits, so want a new window into things when I notice it.
 

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,840
617
121
Wouldn't really matter what laptop you get. So long as the CPU is at least a dual core 2.4-3.0 GHz and it boots from USB. Although I'd use CD.

I run Kali on USB in a Precision M6300.

I run Tails in VMware though which they say is not advised.
 
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lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,363
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Not too surprised. Mostly I was wanting something that drops google/facebook/amazon etc profiling stuff fully. For comparisons between my always logged in desktop.

Already see sites load differing content based on my browsing habits, so want a new window into things when I notice it.
You might want to change your "normal" browsing habits. Eg. block third party cookies, block scripts, use a cookie manager to delete cookies you don't need to keep, use an ad blocker... Something like tails is useful, but probably overkill for most people doing every day tasks.
 
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pooptastic

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Oct 18, 2015
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Is it overboard? With computer fingerprinting I don't think so.

https://browserleaks.com/canvas

I mean incognito browser mode not working is one thing, but my firing up a browser I never use or log into anything, yet still having a unique fingerprint is kind of a bit much isn't it?

I'm actually sort of curious if doing Tails on a virgin laptop might even work the way I'd hope it would.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,363
7,514
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I don't know. It depends on what your threat model is. If the risk is being put in jail, tails would be the minimum I'd use. General trackers and whatnot? I'm not as concerned. I minimize exposure using methods from my previous post(I forgot to add user agent spoofing), but I'm still leaving my ip address around. I use very little google, and no social media aside from forums. My adblocking lists are aggressive, and block various web beacons and trackers. They aren't getting much from me aside from knowing I was there.

Regarding your question about tails... Your operating environment will be generic, but some things will still get through, and depending on how unique your setup is, they could figure out your machine. A lot of people are on tor though, so chances are decent that your details will be the same as someone else's.
 
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pooptastic

Member
Oct 18, 2015
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I was just wanting to experiment with a laptop with tails, maybe a user agent blocker for browsers and then test some things out.

Been reading a lot of dystopian sci-fi lately, so wondered how easy or impossible it would be to make a free speech setup for emergencies if the country suddenly turns into a dictatorship overnight, like it seems to be practically doing.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,363
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This stuff is worth knowing, and it's good to learn what's out there and how to use it, but don't get too wound up in negativity. Assuming you're in North America, there's still a long way to go before we're like North Korea.

As an American, my biggest concern is corporate profiling where I get "special" rates for products/services based on my browsing history. I think the steps I take go a long way towards negating their data on me. Getting a little farther out, machine profiling could turn one into a criminal suspect simply out of unfortunate coincidences. Data someone doesn't have is data that can't be used against me. Finally, what I do is no one's business but my own. I like to reduce my data trail simply cause I'm an asshole. If someone wants something from me, they can explicitly ask, and I may or may not comply depending on how I feel that day.

tl;dr
Keep studying, and play around, but keep perspective on real risks. You can get swallowed by paranoia if you let it get out of control.
 
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pooptastic

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Oct 18, 2015
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Yeah, all good points there.

It's just interesting to see how much is tracked by companies right now, and if there's any way to ninja vanish from it still, what all it would take.
 

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,840
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Like what was mentioned already, there are many methods to negate the spy crap. I use a handful myself. You don't have to use Tails full time and Tor is riddled with FBI and NSA spying too. When I use Tor I also use a double hop connection with my VPN.

It's all a matter of staying abreast of all the current spy ploys and knowing how to combat it. And that's what I have done.
 

Bardock

Senior member
Mar 12, 2014
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  • get from craigslist in cash
  • 2gb ram in one stick so that memory erasing works when you unplug
  • cut mic cable
  • cut webcam cable
  • install tails to usb
  • remove hdd
  • remove battery
  • remove wifi (optional, I would for securit)
There is some really bad advice in this thread. Never use tails with vpn the devs are dead set against it, you can read more about it in the tails documentation. Combining tails and vpn you might as well log on from police station.

Connect through a bridge to obfuscate the fact you are on tor from the isp.

Good on op for investing in your own privacy. Learn encryption and stop talking about this on clearanet sites that log ip address.

When on tor only connect to onion sites don't go to the clearnet, that will deannonymize you if the exit node is malicious.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,200
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www.anyf.ca
Mostly anything will do. Remove/block camera or any built in mic etc. Don't be tempted to store stuff on the hard drive. In fact I would fill the hard drive with cat pictures and encrypt it. You don't even need to remember the key. It never gets used beyond that point. Set it to boot off cdrom drive by default and have tails in there. I specify cdrom as that way there is no chance of anything getting written to a cd, vs if you used a usb stick. You could use a separate encrypted usb stick if you do need to store stuff like photos you took etc. This is one of those times were cloud may even be viable, find some free cloud service, make a new account and use it only for that one trip. When you get home, download the contents using Tor.

If it the laptop gets confiscated along the way you'll be able to giggle at the fact that they'll spend so much time and resources decrypting that hard drive only for it to be filled with cat pictures.
 

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,840
617
121
You don't need the HDD. Just boot from CD or USB. CD would be better, but then you would need a USB stick that is encrypted to store things on. I wouldn't allow storage on the Tails USB.
 

hrsetrdr

Member
Apr 13, 2002
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2
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I was just wanting to experiment with a laptop with tails, maybe a user agent blocker for browsers and then test some things out.

Been reading a lot of dystopian sci-fi lately, so wondered how easy or impossible it would be to make a free speech setup for emergencies if the country suddenly turns into a dictatorship overnight, like it seems to be practically doing.

Yeah, could happen. First thing a dictatorship would do is lockdown the 'net, cut off access to/from the geographic location.

Any Linux "live" distro, no hdd write privileges, on a used / referb'd netbook(Asus my favorite) with at least dual core + 2gb RAM.