This is an excerpt from a Forbes article. Some good food for thought, although some of the last names of the software developers may warrant a pause on whether or not to use that specific software.
SOURCE
1. Email Privacy – Naked email is like a postcard for anyone to read. Pretty Good Privacy
(PGP), an open source software program created by Phil Zimmermann in
1991, is the global standard for point-to-point encrypted and
authenticated email. Hushmail
is an OpenPGP-compatible web-based email platform that does not have
access to your user password for decryption. Both products, when used
correctly, offer subpoena-proof email communication.
2. File Privacy – Your files might be
stored in the encrypted cloud but that doesn’t mean that they’re 100%
safe for your eyes only. Free and open-source TrueCrypt allows you to encrypt folders or entire drives locally prior to syncing with Dropbox. BoxCryptor also facilitates local file encryption prior to cloud uploading and it comes with added compatibility for Android and iOS.
There is an alternative to the dual-application process described
above. Although most cloud-based storage services transfer over an
encrypted session and store data in an encrypted form, the files are
still accessible to the service provider which makes the data vulnerable
to court-ordered subpoena. In order to rectify this, two different zero-knowledge data storage companies provide secure online data backup and syncing – SpiderOak and Wuala. For obvious reasons, there is no password recovery and employees have zero access to your data.
3. Voice Privacy – Wiretapping will become more prevalent in the days and months ahead. From the creator of PGP, Zfone is a new secure VoIP phone software product utilizing a protocol called ZRTP which lets you make encrypted phone calls over the Internet. The project’s trademark is “whisper in someone’s ear from a thousand miles away.” You can listen to Zimmermann present Zfone at DEFCON 15.
Also utilizing ZRTP, open-source Jitsi
provides secure video calls, conferencing, chat, and desktop sharing.
Because of security issues and lawful interception, Tor Project’s Jacob
Appelbaum recommends using Jitsi instead of Skype.
Designed specifically for mobile devices and utilizing ZRTP, open-source RedPhone from Whisper Systems is an application that enables encrypted voice communication between RedPhone users on Android.
4. Chat Privacy – Encrypting your chat or instant messaging sessions is just as important as encrypting your email. Cryptocat
establishes a secure, encrypted chat session that is not subject to
commercial or government surveillance. Similar to Cryptocat, the older
and more durable Off-the-record Messaging (OTR) cryptographic protocol generates new key pairs for every chat implementing a form of perfect forward secrecy and deniable encryption. It is available via Pidgin plugin.
5. Traffic Privacy – The final step in the process is geo-privacy, which refers to the protection of ‘information privacy’ with regard to geographic information. Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, have been used consistently for anonymous web browsing and IP address masking. Just make sure that your VPN provider does not log IP addresses and that they accept a form of payment that does not link you to the transaction.
Additionally, the Tor Project
provides free software and an open network for privacy-oriented
Internet usage. Intended to protect users’ personal freedom, privacy,
and ability to conduct confidential business, Tor (The onion router) is a
system that improves online anonymity by routing Internet traffic
through a worldwide volunteer network of layering and encrypting servers
which impedes network surveillance or traffic analysis.
