Thank you so much, BitingBird! I really appreciate your kind words.
Like you, we're all volunteers. We don't make any money doing this, but we
do it because it's just the right thing to do. We believe in it, and you
guys have made it a whole lot easier.
Thank you for the tip! I hadn't thought to look for a list like that
before, and it'll really help to have it handy. Good thinking!
Thanks again for the encouragement. I'll pass along your love, and I speak
for all of us when I say "right back atcha"!
Chris
On Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 5:47 PM, BitingBird <bitingbird@???> wrote:
> Likewise, love what you do :)
>
> I just wanted to point you to
> https://tails.boum.org/support/known_issues/index.en.html#index1h2 so
> that your team doesn't waste time trying to install USB sticks that
> won't work. Don't hesitate to send an email if you find others that are
> not listed!
> Lots of love to the people working on this project, and of course to the
> ones that need this.
>
> Cheers,
>
> BitingBird
>
> Christopher Cox:
> > Wow. It's really great to hear from you. Love what you do.
> >
> > You do have the right people, and I can speak for all of us when I say
> that
> > we're excited about your message! As far as the website, we're in the
> > middle of an update, and the new site (which includes more information
> > about this effort) should be launching today... fingers crossed. If you
> > wanted a sneak peak, and if you can pardon the clutter, you can see it at
> > opsecprofessionals.org/development.
> >
> > So from the reddit post, you probably have a pretty good idea of what
> we're
> > trying to accomplish. But basically, our flagship initiative is called
> > Operation: Safe Escape. It's an effort to add the security layer missing
> in
> > far too many domestic violence situations. You might be surprised at how
> > many victims of domestic violence don't get the information they need to
> > stay safe, even when they're working with a shelter (who often don't know
> > either). For example, it's very common to tell people to put a "go bag"
> > together and hide it in their closet, so they can escape at a moment's
> > notice. Of course you can see the problem with doing that- if the abuser
> > were to find it, the results could be disastrous.
> >
> > It was actually thinking along these lines that started us with using
> > Tails. Many shelters use the same variation of a security plan template,
> > which is a document the person can print out and plan their escape ahead
> of
> > time. It has important questions, like where they can go for the first
> > night, who's able to loan them money, what safety code words they'll use
> > with their children, things like that. Important questions that people
> need
> > to think about ahead of time. And right at the bottom, it tells the
> reader
> > to make sure to hide it very well.
> >
> > Once again, you can see the problem that. It's the same problem, and it's
> > only one of many. And Tails actually helps with a lot of them. It lets us
> > digitize the form and teach people how to store and access it online (in
> > progress). But it also takes care of the browser history problem (safe
> > browsing mode is great, but even a cursory level of IT knowledge will let
> > an abuser view the DNS records. And yes, they teach each other about
> those
> > things, believe it or not), protects against inadvertant downloads,
> allows
> > for secure communications with their support system and shelters, things
> > like that. It protects against a multitude of technical threats.
> >
> > But it also helps on a psychological level. The people we're talking
> about,
> > they're scared. They have good reason to be. To them, often, the abuser
> is
> > this looming figure that has their hands in everything and will find out
> if
> > they try to leave. They control everything, and monitor anything. The
> user,
> > they don't feel safe using the same computer, so often they don't seek
> help
> > until it's too late. If at all. A Tails instance feels different, and
> they
> > can feel safer while using it. Plus it's very easy to use and hard to use
> > wrong.
> >
> > As you saw, we're trying to make this as nondescript as possible. The
> idea
> > is to give the user a measure of plausible deniability. The amnesiac part
> > makes that possible.
> >
> > We also work with the shelters themselves. Security experts in different
> > disciplines- everything from INFOSEC to PHYSEC- all worked together to
> > create a basic security plan applicable to both hidden and public shelter
> > locations. Secure comms is a big piece of that.
> >
> > If I could have one wish (one wish aside from the fact that we didn't
> even
> > have to think about something like this), it would have to do with the
> > memory wipe screen if the drive is removed. In a situation where the user
> > has to pull the drive (such as when the abuser comes home unexpectedly),
> it
> > would help a lot of the screen were black instead of displaying the
> memory
> > wiping process. Although it's a lot better than having a browser window
> > open with domestic violence resources shown, it still raises questions
> that
> > a user may not be able to explain. And we work under the assumption that
> > any question will have to be answered; we'd rather be able to provide a
> > good cover if it has to be.
> >
> > Thank you again for what you do. We've already given out many of these
> > drives, many from people that saw what we were trying to do and had a
> need
> > for themselves or a loved one. So you're already helping, and we really
> > appreciate it.
> >
> > Thanks again, for all you do.
> > Chris
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 8:01 AM, sajolida <sajolida@???> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm part of the people developing Tails [1].
> >
> > [1]: https://tails.boum.org/
> >
> > We read with great interest your call for help regarding collecting USB
> > sticks for domestic violence survivors [2].
> >
> > [2]:
> > https://np.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/5zcz12/
> were_a_nonprofit_group_that_works_with_victims_of/?st=j0awf03a&sh=9584e0d5
> >
> > We would be extremely interested in learning more about your initiative,
> > especially to understand how Tails really helps these people out,
> > learning from experiences on the ground to hopefully make Tails even
> > better for such scenarios.
> >
> > But we couldn't find anything about this on opsecprofessionals.org.
> > Are we contacting the right people?
> >
> > NB: I'm putting in copy tails-project@??? which is a public mailing
> > from our community. Feel free to answer to me only if you'd rather keep
> > the communication private.
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Tails-project mailing list
> > Tails-project@???
> > https://mailman.boum.org/listinfo/tails-project
> >
>
>
