[[!meta title="Verify the ISO image using OpenPGP"]]

It is important to check the [[!wikipedia Data_integrity desc="integrity"]] of the ISO image you downloaded to make sure that the download went well.

Those techniques rely on standard HTTPS and [[!wikipedia Certificate_authority desc="certificate authorities"]] to make you trust the content of this website. But, [[as explained on our warning page|doc/about/warning#man-in-the-middle]], you could still be victim of a man-in-the-middle attack while using HTTPS. On this website as much as on any other of the Internet.

As a consequence, they don't provide you with a strong way of checking the ISO image [[!wikipedia Authentication desc="authenticity"]] and making sure you downloaded a genuine Tails. In a dedicated section, we will propose you some more advanced techniques to check the authenticity of the ISO image.

All Tails ISO image are cryptographically signed by our OpenPGP key. OpenPGP is a standard for data encryption that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication through the use of keys owned by its users. Checking this signature is the recommended way of checking the ISO image integrity.

If you already know how to use an OpenPGP key you can download it straight away:

[[!inline pages="lib/download_tails_signing_key" raw="yes"]]

Otherwise, read our instructions to check the ISO image integrity:

[[!toggleable id="verify_the_iso_image_using_gnome" text=""" [[!toggle id="verify_the_iso_image_using_gnome" text=""]]

Using Linux with Gnome: Ubuntu, Debian, Tails, Fedora, etc.

[[!inline pages="doc/get/verify_the_iso_image_using_gnome" raw="yes"]] """]] [[!toggleable id="verify_the_iso_image_using_the_command_line" text=""" [[!toggle id="verify_the_iso_image_using_the_command_line" text=""]]

Using Linux with the command line

[[!inline pages="doc/get/verify_the_iso_image_using_the_command_line" raw="yes"]] """]] [[!toggleable id="verify_the_iso_image_using_other_operating_systems" text=""" [[!toggle id="verify_the_iso_image_using_other_operating_systems" text=""]]

Using other operating systems

[[!inline pages="doc/get/verify_the_iso_image_using_other_operating_systems" raw="yes"]] """]]

So how can I better check the ISO image authenticity?

The Tails signing key that you downloaded from this website could be a fake one if you were victim of a [[man-in-the-middle attack|doc/about/warning#man-in-the-middle]].

Finding a way of trusting better Tails signing key would allow you to authenticate better the ISO image you downloaded. The following page will give you hints on how to increase the trust you can put in the Tails signing key you downloaded: