Tails is an operating system that can be started on almost any computer from a DVD or USB stick. It attempts to solve many of the problems users have when setting up encryption tools for the first time by "doing the right thing" out of the box, by default:

It forces all of your web traffic through the Tor anonymity network, so you don’t have to configure any of the settings on any program.

It allows you to use GPG encryption when you are emailing and/or OTR encryption while instant messaging, with little setup required.

It allows journalists to work on sensitive documents, edit audio and video, and store all their files in an encrypted format.

Critically, Tails never actually touches your hard drive and securely wipes everything you’ve done every time you shut it down (unless you specifically save it on an encrypted drive). This serves two important purposes: first, it helps journalists who are operating in environments or on networks that may already be compromised by governments or criminals. As we learned last week, if you’re working at a big news organization, that’s almost a given. Second, it prevents journalists from leaving any trace of work that they don’t specifically opt-in to leaving. This prevents information leakage and mistakes in case your computer falls into the wrong hands.

All of these qualities make it an ideal tool for journalists who are either steeped in security training or are coming to encryption for the first time and are a big reason why it won Access's 2014 Innovation Award for Endpoint Security. As always, everyone should remember that no privacy tool—including Tails—can guarantee you 100% security from all adversaries, and like all software, Tails may have vulnerabilities or weaknesses that could be exploited. But that's all the more reason to support the project, so those vulnerabilities can be found and fixed as quickly as possible.

The NSA stories have been the biggest story in journalism in the past decade, yet the tool relied on by the reporters who broke the stories is incredibly underfunded. Tails’ 2013 expense report shows that they only had an operating budget of around 42,000 euros, which is less than $60,000. They have only a handful of core developers and none are able to work full-time because of the lack of funds supporting it.

If you’d like to help journalists uncover more stories like the NSA revelations, help them by helping Tails. You can donate to them right now on our front page, along with other free software projects like Tor, Open WhisperSystems, and the LEAP encryption access project. You can also support Tails’ Knight Open News Challenge proposal, which could also get the Tails team critical funding so they can stay ahead of the security curve.

Next month, Tails will be launching version 1.0, a critical milestone for software projects. Let’s help them get to 1.0 and beyond.