Ubuntu Privacy Remix

Ubuntu Privacy Remix is an open source and free of charge Ubuntu derivative specifically designed to keep users' identity anonymous at all times, as well as to protect their data from various threats. It features its own GnuPG front-end, TrueCrypt, and provides users with a read-only operating system.

Availability, supported architectures, supported languages, boot options

The operating system is available for download as a Live DVD ISO images, which has been designed from the ground up to be used as-is, directly from a DVD disc or a USB thumb drive of 2GB or higher capacity. Supported architectures include 64-bit (amd64) and 32-bit (i386).

The boot prompt is hidden by default and it will automatically boot the live environment if the user presses no key within 5 seconds. To access the boot menu, press any key on your keyboard within 5 seconds from the moment you boot from the bootable medium.

It will allow you to change the language of the live environment, boot an existing operating system that is installed on the first disk drive, run a memory (RAM) diagnostic test, and check the disc for defects (only if using a DVD media). Supported languages include English, German, Spanish, Italian, and French.

Non-manipulable operating system, traditional desktop environment

The traditional graphical session in Ubuntu Privacy Remix is powered by the GNOME 2 desktop environment, which comprises of two panels. While the top panel can be used for accessing the main menu and launching apps, the bottom panel is designed to allow users to interact with running programs and switch between virtual workspaces.

Default applications include the Mozilla Firefox web browser, GIMP image editor, gThumb image viewer, Inkscape vector graphics editor, Evolution email and calendar client, LibreOffice office suite, Tellico collection manager, Scribus desktop publishing app, Texmaker LaTeX editor, Figaro's Password Manager, PiTiVi video editor, VLC Media Player, Arista audio transcoder, Totem movie player, and VirtualBox.

Bottom line

Ubuntu Privacy Remix is a special distribution of Linux based on a LTS (Long Term Support) release of the world's most popular free operating system, Ubuntu, and designed for people who are looking for a read-only OS that cannot be installed and uses no network daemons.

What is new in this release:

• The UPR Team has published the first stable release of Ubuntu Privacy Remix 12.04r1 (Codename Protected Pangolin).
• UPR 12.04r1 is designed to boot on newer machines with UEFI + SecureBoot and supports lots of new hardware; but keeps running even on old machines by using the traditional and lightweight GNOME Classic desktop environment.

What is new in version 10.04r3:

• Based on Ubuntu 10.0.4
• Uses a new kernel based on Linux 3.0.26, which adds support for a lot of (newer) hardware.
• The GPG-Frontend was updated, bugs were fixed and new features added.
• The handling of TrueCrypt volumes has been further improved. It is now possible to check fully-encrypted drives. New options for fixing more difficult filesystem damages were added.
• Added multimedia codecs so that now (nearly) all common audio and video formats can be played.
• VirtualBox OSE was added to allow execution of other operating systems within the secure UPR environment.
• Bugs have been fixed and small features were added
• More Details of new features and concepts can be found in the manuals, accessible from the "Help" Menu. The corresponding sections are marked with "New".

What is new in version 10.04r1:

• TrueCrypt has been updated to version 6.3a. Version 7.0 obviously has introduced changes to the container format, at least containers created with it cannot be opened with an earlier version. Unfortunately, we found no documentation about these changes, so we will use 6.3a until we have done a full review of Truecrypt 7 on our own.
• We have written our own frontend to GnuPG, which replaces seahorse. With it, you can use GPG features like key groups or restoring original filenames. Use it like the seahorse plugins from the context menu (Encrypt, Sign). Settings can be made from "Applications - Security - GnuPG Settings". It is also possible to show all recipient keys of an encrypted file. This frontend is optimized for dealing with large keyrings (>300 keys), key lists can be searched and filtered. For password caching, the "normal" gpg-agent is used, which has fewer bugs than seahorse. For key management, seahorse is still used.
• The scripts for extended TrueCrypt volumes have been improved. The backup feature during close now can backup other open containers as well. Printer configuration is now saved.
• New applications: VYM Mindmapper, GIMP, xterm (for enabling TrueCrypts "repair filesystem" feature)
• Simple creation and use of LUKS-encrypted volumes

What is new in version 10.04 RC1:

• New features: our own GPG-Frontend making it possible to use groups and deal with large keyrings (>300 keys); as well as an extenden backup when closing extended TrueCrypt volumes.

What is new in version 9.04r4:

• All software packages including the kernel were updated to their newest version to close security holes and fix bugs.
• This will be the last version of UPR 9.04, a Release Candidate of its successor, 10.04, is already available. Due to space constraints, Firefox (which was only good for viewing HTML files anyway) had to be replaced with Midori. The new version can be downloaded from the download area.

What is new in version 9.04r3:

• All software packages including the kernel were updated to their newest version to close security holes and fix bugs.
• USB creator was added to allow creating a bootable USB drive from within the UPR environment itself.

What is new in version 9.04r2:

• All software packages including the kernel were updated to their newest version to close security holes and fix bugs.
• Included are small bugfixes and improvements in the scripts for handling extended TrueCrypt-Volumes, including a new progress bar in the backup function during clean-up of old backups.
• Beagle-backend-evolution was added in order to allow indexing of contacts, appointments etc.

What is new in version 9.04r1:

• Changes in package / software selection:
• Added Figaros Password Manager 2
• Added Templates and documentation for scribus
• More PPDs for better printing support
• OpenJDK instead of GIJ as Java Runtime
• Added GParted for formatting and checking media
• Beagle replaces Tracker
• Compiz was removed, desktop effects were disabled due to compatibility reasons
• Added hamster-applet (Time tracking)
• Recompiled Truecrypt from source
• Documentation in PDF format is now on the CD itself (under help menu)
• New security features of UPR:
• The rights of the live session user were restricted, now only commands necessary for the scripts can be executed with admin rights (using sudo). Loading of malicious code, especially drivers/kernel modules, is now a lot more difficult.
• Other new features of UPR:
• Truecrypt containers can be opened by double-clicking
• The "wipe free space" script now contains an option for multiple passes, which is recommended for floppies
• The indexing service tracker was replaced by beagle, because tracker cannot index RTF files.
• The CD can be copied entirely to RAM (in the boot menu press F4 -> "Copy to RAM"). This does not work on every machine and requires at least 1.5 GB RAM
• New look:
• The icon set has been modified so that USB removable drives can be distinguished from truecrypt volumes.
• The scripts use the new notify osd
• The seahorse GUI has been split into two parts starting with Ubuntu 8.10. The seconed part is now under System->Settings->Encryption and Keyrings
• Truecrypt, seahorse and the password manager can now be found in the applications menu -> Security.
• Fixed problems:
• The gnome panel no longer needs to be quit when closing extended truecrypt volumes, making it possible to enable the truecrypt background task again.
• seahorse can now verify signatures
• other minor bug fixes
• Known problems:
• The driver for intel graphic chips contained in Ubuntu 9.04 is running in a slower but more compatible mode.
• The PDF viewer evince resp. the underlying libpoppler still has problems with multi-column selections
• Hints for previous users:
• Settings of OpenOffice.org 2.x in extended truecrypt volumes are not migrated, instead a new profile for OpenOffice.org 3 is created. This is because of known problems when migrating old user profiles.
• Existing tracker indices in extended truecrypt volumes are preserved, but cannot be used with UPR 9.04. Beagle needs to be set up again for indexing, it is not possible to take over the tracker configuration.

What is new in version 8.04 r3:

• New functions and features in detail:
• Added nautilus script to do a filesystem check on truecrypt volumes
• Added nautilus script to wipe free space on any open device (using secure-delete)
• Added shutdown script to overwrite free memory on shutdown (see article "The Problem of "Cold Boot Attacks"" for details)
• Added bright&shiny progress bar to backups (using gtkrsync)
• Checksums and signatures on CD now also in SHA-1
• Added ttf-liberation fonts for increased Windows compatibility
• Nautilus settings (views etc.) will be saved in extended TC volumes
• Updated Truecrypt to 6.1a
• Updated Kernel to 2.6.24-23
• Updated all other packages up to 02/06/2009
• Bug fixes:
• Close extended TC-Volumes: do not offer backup if closing the backup volume
• Close extended TC-Volumes: sync before closing
• Close extended TC-Volumes: remove unclean/incomplete backups
• Open/Close extended TC-Volumes: execute fsck before mounting to replay journal and fix errors. Note that a forced fsck may still be necessary in some cases.
• Close extended TC-Volumes: check for open files before closing
• Close extended TC-Volumes: write mounted volume to ~/.mounted_as_extended_tc_volume, making it possible to mount other ext3 formatted volumes as "normal" volumes.
• GNOME Desktop: disable startup sound (not a real bug, but annoys most people)
• OpenOffice.org: remove the (volatile) ubuntu.dic to avoid people adding words to it which are lost after reboot.