I just installed TAILS and everything with persistence. It seems to work from my limited knowledge, but when I go to shutdown, it says it's wiping memory and the computer should shut down but it never does. It has underneath that, that if the computer doesn't shut down then the memory wasn't wiped.
If the memory isn't wiped after every session, it's saved somewhere on the computer right? And I'm fucked if that happens?
Has anyone else had this error?
hi mate, don't worry about it - it's a very common bug with certain hardware configurations (are you using a mac?) and wiping the memory at shutdown/reboot. you can simply force your computer off after a moment when it is stuck on that screen by holding the power button down.
now to address your concerns about tails - the primary way through which tails is "amnesic" is that it does not write to your hard disks unless you tell it to by manually mounting each partition. In the case of your internal hard drive, it will refuse to mount or write to it at all unless you escalate your privileges. This is good, because even if you delete something on a hard disk (at least the traditional hdds), it is still physically there until it is actually overwritten. most operating systems use the hdd for all kinds of temp files, caches, and swap space, that can be found long after the processes that produced them have ended. RAM, on the other hand, is volatile, and cannot physically retain information for more than a minute or two after losing power.
memory wiping is a feature of tails to prevent "cold boot" attacks, in which an attacker is able to physically access the machine right after it has been shut off (e.g, the police raid you while you're using it, and you pull out the USB for an emergency shutdown). In such an attack, tails tries to wipe the memory by writing it over with zeros before powering down. This is an unstable procedure by nature - it is trying to both kill everything and overwrite itself in the RAM at the same time. Clean shutdowns in tails are pretty inconsistent in my experience, some machines are better than others.
Even if it hangs, it may have at least started the process and reduced the time it would take for the remaining memory to dissipate. To be safe, i would recommend letting it sit for 10 minutes or so if it does not wipe the memory before using the computer with another operating system. A little longer if you have more than 8 gb. This will also help clear out the video ram (vram). the tails developers discuss this in more detail on their website: https://tails.boum.org/support/known_issues/index.en.html#index23h2. they also explain somewhere how you can simulate a cold boot attack and see if a pattern you write to memory is retained after reboot.
i hope this makes you feel better - let me know if you have lingering concerns. im just a hobbyist but i think its safe to say that you can continue using tails even with that bug, as long as you understand its implications.