Add-onPrivacy workstation · Separate from the five stages
Tails Workstation
Tails is a free operating system from the Tor Project that runs from a USB stick, routes everything through Tor, and forgets the session when you shut down. I install it, verify it, set it up for the accounts you actually use, and hand it over with a written procedure. Then, if you want, I keep it working month to month.
Best fitJournalists, researchers, founders handling a sensitive deal, executives who travel through hostile networks, and anyone who needs one computer that leaves nothing behind. Individuals first, small teams by the stick.
The problem
Tails is free. The trust is the hard part.
Anyone can download Tails. The Tails project will not sell you a preinstalled stick, and says so plainly: once the system is on a stick, you can no longer run the cryptographic check yourself, so you have to trust the person who made it. Most people also stall at the first boot screen, never set up Persistent Storage, and lose their work the first time they shut down.
This service is that trusted person, with a procedure. I download the official image, verify its signature in front of you, write it to two good USB sticks, set up Persistent Storage for your email, messaging, bookmarks and files, and walk you through booting, unlocking, backing up and recovering. You leave with a working stick, a spare, and a document that tells you what to do when something goes wrong.
The operating system is unmodified Tails and stays that way. The fee pays for the verification, the setup, the handover and the document, not for the software. MKUltraman is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Tor Project or Tails.
- 2 sticks
- A working stick and a verified spare, both cloned from a checked image
- ¥120,000 + tax
- Setup for one person, half a day, in Tokyo or remotely
- ¥5,000/month + tax
- Support plan: release checks, manual upgrades, replacements, a person to ask
What the setup includes
A verified install, set up for your life, handed over with a document.
- 01
Verified image
The current Tails release, downloaded from the project and checked against its signature with you watching. No modified image, no third-party build, no mystery stick.
- 02
Two USB sticks
A working stick and a spare on hardware Tails supports well, both made with Tails Cloner so they are identical. The spare is what gets you back to work in minutes, not days.
- 03
Persistent Storage
Encrypted storage set up for the things you need between sessions: email in Thunderbird, bookmarks, files, Wi-Fi networks, additional software, and any Tor bridges you need in Japan or when travelling.
- 04
Threat conversation
Who are you protecting against, and from where? That decides whether Tails is the right tool, what to keep off the stick, and what habits matter more than any software. If Tails is wrong for you, I say so.
- 05
Written procedure
Your own one-page document: how to boot, unlock, back up and restore, what to do if the stick is lost or seized, and what never to do. Written for the day you are tired and alone with the problem.
- 06
Half-day handover
In person in the Tokyo area or over a call. You boot it, unlock it, send a message, take a backup and recover it, with me beside you. Travel outside Tokyo is billed at cost.
The support plan
What ¥5,000 a month actually pays for.
Tails upgrades itself over Tor when you boot, so nobody needs to maintain your copy. What needs a person is everything around it. Every month or two there is a new release. Some of them cannot be installed in place and need a manual upgrade from a second stick, which wipes Persistent Storage if nobody backed it up. Sticks get lost, confiscated, or die. Sites block Tor. Bridges stop working. The plan is for those days.
- 01
Release watch
When Tails ships a release, I verify it, test your workflow on it, and tell you in one line whether anything changes for you.
- 02
Manual upgrades
When a release needs a reinstall, I do it, or ship a freshly cloned stick, and your backup comes with me.
- 03
Spare and replacement
I hold a verified spare for you. Lost or broken stick means a new one by courier or in person, with your setup restored.
- 04
A person to ask
Wi-Fi that will not connect, a site that blocks Tor, a document that will not open. Email or Signal, answered within a working day.
Pricing
One setup fee, one small monthly plan, nothing hidden.
| Setup | One person. Verified image, two USB sticks, Persistent Storage, threat conversation, written procedure and a half-day handover in the Tokyo area or over a call. | ¥120,000 + tax |
|---|---|---|
| Additional stick | Each further person at the same company, set up in the same session or a later one. Shares the procedure and the threat conversation. | ¥40,000 + tax |
| Support plan | Per stick. Release checks, manual upgrades, a held spare, replacements, and a person to ask. No minimum term. Pay by card below, or by invoice on request. | ¥5,000/month + tax |
| Travel and courier | Handover outside the Tokyo area and courier delivery of replacement sticks are billed at cost. | At cost |
For a stick I have already set up. Card payment through Stripe, consumption tax added at checkout, cancel any time. New to Tails? Request the setup first.
Tails is published under the GNU General Public License by the Tor Project. The fee covers my work, not the software, and the stick carries the unmodified release. Source code for the installed version is available from the Tails project and from me on request.
Good fit if
- You need one computer that leaves nothing behind and routes everything through Tor
- You would rather watch the image being verified than trust a stick from a stranger
- You travel through networks you do not control, or work with sources, deals or records that must not leak
- You want someone to call when the stick dies on a Sunday
Not the right fit if
- You want to keep using your everyday accounts and apps as normal, which defeats the point
- You need a locked-down corporate laptop with central management, which is a Digital Baseline conversation
- You want a custom or rebranded operating system, which I do not make
Questions
Questions people ask before they buy.
Is this an official Tails product?
No. Tails is free software published by the Tor Project, and I have no connection to either. What I sell is my work: verification, setup, documentation and support. The system on the stick is the unmodified Tails release. The source code is published by the Tails project, and I will provide a copy of the source for the version I install on request.
Why pay for something I can download for free?
Because the download is the easy part. The Tails project itself says trust in a stick has to come from verifying the image yourself or from a person you trust who makes it for you. If you can verify, install, set up Persistent Storage and recover from a dead stick on your own, you do not need me. Most people cannot, and they find out at the worst moment.
Does Tails make me anonymous?
It makes a strong attempt, and it is far better than a normal laptop, but no tool does that by itself. Logging into your usual accounts, reusing names, or using it on the wrong network can undo it. The threat conversation in the setup is where we go through what Tails protects, what it does not, and what you have to do yourself.
Can you just post me a stick?
I can, but then you are trusting a package in the post rather than something you watched being made. For a first setup I prefer a handover in person or on a call where you see the verification. Replacement sticks under the support plan go by courier or in person, your choice.
What if I stop the support plan?
The stick keeps working and keeps upgrading itself. You lose the release checks, the manual upgrades, the held spare and the replacement service. There is no minimum term and you can start again later.
We have four people. Is it ¥120,000 each?
No. The first setup is ¥120,000 + tax and each additional stick for the same company is ¥40,000 + tax, because the threat conversation and the procedure are shared. The support plan is per stick, or it folds into Ongoing Stewardship if the company is already on it.
More about the work
Need the broader context first?
See how engagements run, what the Diagnostics stage covers, and the anonymous case files before you decide whether a Tails workstation is the right next step.
Tell me who it is for and what they are protecting.
A sentence or two is enough. I will reply with whether Tails is the right tool, what the setup would cover, and a date for the handover. If the honest answer is a different tool, you get that instead.
Request a Tails workstation →