We’vewalked you through setting up email encryptionbefore and it’s easy to do.
It takes a few minutes to get set up.
I usedMailvelopefor Gmail to do it.
Mailvelope is just an extension, so it doesn’t take much time to set up.
Set Up Time: 5 minutes.
Nobody is going to want to do this.
Pretty much everyone I tried to get to send encrypted messages to just laughed at me.
After all, sending an email to your parents asking for a news update isn’t really worth encryption.
However, sending an email to your parents asking for their social security number for some formsis worth it.
But that’s it for most of us.
How Secure Is it?
If you need encryption beyond webmail, we recommendthe Enigmail Project.
This makes it so that to read an IM conversation the recipient needs authentication by you.
Like email, you might also want to encrypt your instant message chat conversations.
Also like email, this is incredibly easy to do.
I set up a couple different methods for this.
This turns onOff the Record Messagingthat’s encrypted, authenticated, and not stored.
Basically, it’s a “set it and forget” method of encryption.
Setup Time: 30 Seconds.
Annoyances: Chat encryption is actually super simple and doesn’t really have a lot of downsides.
- How Secure Is it?
For most of us, OTR encryption is plenty.
For something even more disposableandencrypted, we’d also recommend software likeTor ChatorCryptocatfor group conversations.
This ensures that if a backup or file syncing site is hacked, your files can’t be accessed.
With a service like Dropbox, you actually have a few options.
This is fine in most cases.
Once I started, I realized that the number of files I need to encrypt is pretty minimal.
How Secure Is it?
Of course, TrueCrypt is secured with a password, so don’t go leaving that around.
This way you’re the only one who even knows your file syncing service exists.
Another option is to go from Dropbox to anothercloud storage service with encryption built in like one of these.
Hiding your web traffic ensures that corporations (and people) can’t spy on what you’re doing.
I opted for the less intrusive surfing app extensions.
Setup Time: 5 minutes.
Annoyances: The bulk of the privacy extensions don’t cause much trouble and are actually pretty helpful.
In reality, it’s something everyone can set up.
It takes a few minutes and for the most part you won’t even notice they’re running.
- How Secure Is it?
internet tool extensions help mask what you’re doing, but they don’t take care of everything.
To really privatize what you’re up to,you’ll also need a VPN.
This means you only have to remember a single password.
Setup Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour.
In fact, they all have their own weaknesses.
LastPass is confusing to newcomers and it takes awhile to get into using it properly.
Otherwise you will lock yourself out of accounts because you’re free to’t remember the password.
Which is to say: password managers are confusing for most people.
- How Secure Is it?
Any password manager isonly as secure as your password, but they’re still pretty strong.
You’ll also need astrong password no matter what.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
What it Does: Two-factor authentication isavailable on a ton of services these days.
Essentially, it’s a simple feature that asks for more than your password.
It requires something you know (like your password) and something you have (like your phone).
Setup Time: 15 Minutes.
Annoyances: Two-factor authentication is one of those solutions thatsoundsway more annoying than it actually is in practice.
Most services, like Facebook or Twitter, only require a single authentication on each rig.
So, once you set up and verify your identity once, you’re good to go.
Other services, like Google, require you to authenticate every 30 days.
How Secure Is it?
Like anything with privacy, it’s really about picking and choosing your battles.
Photos byJ Lesselich,biker_becca,geralt,geralt.
