You may want more privacy online for a variety of reasons. You may be a journalist covering a sensitive topic, or you may simply want more peace of mind after the NSA revelations. To better protect yourself, here are 11 tools that will help you encrypt your data, block annoying ads, or be completely anonymous online. Note that these are not the only tools out there, and no security measure is 100% effective. All of the tools listed below are free.
- Tor Project
Tor is a free program that allows users to use internet connections anonymously. It is widely considered to be one of the best tools for protecting online privacy.
- The Guardian Project
The Guardian Project creates open-source applications to help users communicate privately. All applications are free for Android smartphones.
- DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that doesn't track or share your personal data. If you're looking for the best privacy protection, use this and that Google.
- HTTPS Everywhere
When you browse the web, you’ll notice that URLs are usually prefixed with “http://,” rather than the more secure version: “https://” (HTTP Secure). The HTTPS Everywhere browser add-on works in Chrome, Firefox, and Opera and attempts to automatically change any HTTP address to HTTPS, which encrypts communication between the user and the server to protect against eavesdroppers or fraudsters.
- Ghostery
Ghostery lets you keep tabs on companies that track your visits to websites. With this add-on, you can block companies from collecting your data while you browse.
- Privacy Badger
Privacy Badger is a browser extension that can block advertisers. If Privacy Badger “suspects” that a tracker is exceeding logging limits and without the user’s permission, then the add-on blocks the advertiser.
- GPG
You may have heard of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), an encryption program developed in the early 1990s to make email communications more secure. It's a bit outdated, though. A better option is GPG. The GNU Privacy Guard system allows you to encrypt your data.
- Cryptocat
Cryptocat is an encrypted chat service that can be added as a browser extension or as an app for Mac systems. It is one of the most popular encryption tools, often used by journalists and human rights defenders.
- Wickr
Wickr sends photos, videos, and attachments that will eventually be deleted, but unlike Snapchat, Wickr encrypts the messages. Not even Wickr itself is supposed to know what messages you send. Anything you send can last anywhere from a few seconds to several days.
10. Signal
For phone calls on iPhones, there's an app called Signal that's probably the best iOS app that provides call encryption. Looking to Open Whisper Systems, the company behind Signal, there's a similar app for Android called RedPhone that provides end-to-end encryption.
11. Surveillance Self-Defense Guide
For those of you who take your online privacy very seriously, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for civil rights related to modern technology, has published an extensive index of security tips and explanations for all types of Internet users, whether novice or expert.
