Liberté Linux

[Eugen Leitl <eugen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://dee.su/liberte

Summary

Libertà Linux is a secure, reliable, lightweight, and easy to use
Gentoo-based LiveUSB Linux distribution intended as a communication aid in
hostile environments. Libertà installs as a regular directory on a USB/SD
key, and after a single-click setup, boots on any desktop computer or laptop.
Available internet connection is then used to set up a Tor circuit which
handles all network communication. During first boot, a unique email ID is
generated from fingerprints of user's certificate and Tor hidden service key.
This persistent ID allows one to stealthily communicate with other LibertÃ
users (the communication part is not yet finished). The distribution includes
image and document processing applications, and can function as a secure web
browsing platform.

For developers, Libertà can also serve as a robust framework for mastering
Gentoo-based LiveUSBs/CDs. The build process is fully automated with
incremental build support, and is more mature and reliable than most of
Gentoo's own outdated LiveCD tools. Gentoo is an extremely flexible
distribution for safely generating custom live media from source â for
instance, Libertà does not contain Portage, GCC, Perl or Python.

Download: liberte-2010.1.zip (see Install), liberte-2010.1-src.tar.bz2 (see
Build), SVN (changelog)

Project: SourceForge (files, tracker, support)

License: GPL

News: SourceForge, freshmeat.net (subscribe), linux.org.ru

[...]

Project scope

Libertà Linux is not a generic live Linux distribution with anonymity
features. For that purpose, you are better off installing the relevant
software on an off-the-shelf operating system (regular or live), or using one
of the live distributions that come pre-installed with anonymity software,
such as The (Amnesic) Incognito Live System.

The primary focus of Libertà is to let you communicate, stealthily and
securely, with other people in a hostile environment. Here, hostile
environment is one where someone is out to get you because of something you
do. Therefore, as security inevitably comes at a price of usability, and
assuming that you are a typical Tor (or Freenet, I2P, ...) user, LibertÃ
Linux is not for you.

[trollface] Why? Let's consider the (realistic) possibilities. A likely one
is that you are a clueless spoiled American adolescent (or a European
equivalent of one) with liberal views, believing that it is vital to prevent
the government from snooping on his political views, as expressed in various
circle-jerk online forums. Another possibility is that you are an adult
American neocon nutjob who likes to buy guns and memorize their technical
specifications, and frequently masturbates to the absurd idea that it will be
a rabble of people like him, and not the military elite, who might one day
overthrow the evil centralized government. Yet another possibility is that
you simply like to view nude pictures of little kidsâwhich, depending on your
jurisdiction and the hypocritic prurience of your surroundings, might as well
include 20-year-old nubile females.

In none of the cases above (or a combination thereof), is anyone really out
to get you. You are simply not significant. (Sure, the party van might still
show up at your front door in the last case, but you weren't really
communicating with anyone in the first place.) Same goes for privacy freaks,
etc., etc.âyes, Google keeps your search history forever, but it's only to
enhance its capability of shoving advertisements down your throat, nothing
personal. [/trollface]

Now, if you are still reading, you might as well be more unique. A dissident
in Iran, perhaps, or an anti-government cell coordinator in China. A
highly-ranked mole in the US intelligence service, passing information to his
handler in the Belarusian embassy. Or, a whistle-blower in an international
petroleum corporation. All these accounts have something in common: high
technological capacity of the authority in place, and willingness to use this
capacity to find out who you are in order to stop you.
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