Ghost PC laptops: USB boot and a fresh session on restart

A different tool from a pentesting phone

An Android pentesting phone is built for mobile field work: a pocket-sized device, battery power and installed apps that remain available between ordinary restarts. A Ghost PC gives you a full keyboard, larger screen and desktop applications. Its default live session is temporary. Choose by the job and workflow; these are not interchangeable versions of the same device.

What “self-wiping on restart” means

In the supplied nonpersistent mode, files and changes kept only in the live session are discarded when you shut down or restart. The boot USB still contains the operating system, so it can start again. A file deliberately saved to another drive, an online account or a remote service remains there. This is a session reset, not a secure-erase guarantee for every storage device or external record.

Tails Privacy or Kali Live Lab

Tails Privacy is our starting recommendation for privacy-oriented browsing and documents. Tails is designed as an amnesic system, provides Tor Browser and supports optional encrypted Persistent Storage. Our default Ghost PC preparation leaves that persistence off.

Kali Live Lab is the edition for authorised security testing with desktop tools. Kali is designed for penetration testing and security auditing. We prepare the normal nonpersistent live mode; Tor routing and anonymity are not implied by that choice. Choose the edition when requesting the quote.

What the hardware preparation includes

The agreed model must allow internal user-storage drives to be physically removed. Deleting a partition or disabling a drive does not meet this specification. The quote records the laptop model, processor, memory, screen, condition, battery, charger, prepared USB media and selected live system. We test boot, shutdown and restart behaviour, networking and the agreed accessories before handover.

Older hardware must still support the chosen current system. Tails requires a compatible 64-bit x86 PC and does not support Android phones or Apple Silicon Macs. USB speed, memory, processor and display compatibility matter; more RAM alone does not establish performance.

Keep persistence as a separate choice

Some customers need to retain documents or assessment results. Optional encrypted persistence is a separately agreed configuration: it keeps the selected data between sessions and therefore changes the default reset behaviour. A full operating-system installation on an external SSD is another persistent setup. We do not silently include either in the Ghost PC baseline.

Choose, prepare and keep current

Pick a size and intended use, then request the exact configuration. The laptop listings are quotation options until the specific refurbished model, condition, final price and dispatch are agreed. We supply startup and shutdown instructions and identify the installed release and recovery media. Keep the live system updated; a repeatable session is not a substitute for current software.

“Ghost laptop” is a term used in online tutorials, not a certification or an assurance of invisibility. Tails documents limits involving online activity and untrusted hardware. The store promises the agreed hardware preparation and demonstrated session behaviour.

Project references

• Tails: how the system works ↗
• Tails: optional Persistent Storage ↗
• Tails: hardware requirements ↗
• Tails: documented limits ↗
• Kali: Live USB ↗
• Kali: persistence is an explicit configuration ↗
• Kali: intended use ↗

Requirements checked on 12 September 2026. The projects maintain their own software and documentation. pent.shop is an independent retailer and preparation service.