Minimum Security Requirements

HTTPS Everywhere [Browser Extension]

• Install: HTTPS Everywhere web browser plugin. Available for Firefox, Chrome, and Opera.
• What it does: When you connect to a website sometimes that website has the capacity to deliver pages and your requests over an encrypted connection, but sometimes they don't by default enable encryption. HTTPS Everywhere makes sure that when encrypted web connections are possible they will be used. This only protects the content of the information you're requesting, not which website you're requesting from.
• Use case: Make what you post on certain websites and your passwords is actually encrypted when you visit them.
• More info: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

Noscript/Ghostery

• Install: Firefox or Chrome addons/plugins
• What it does: Allows you control over what scripts or programs are run when delivered to your web browser when visiting a website.
• Use case: Protection from infection by malware by governments and botnets.
• More info: Noscript, Ghostery

OpenPGP [Email Encryption]

• Install: Thunderbird (open source email client) and Enigmail (encryption plugin)
• What it does: Authenticates end users through encrypted signatures appended to emails.
• Use case: Sending secure information in the body of an email message.
• More info: https://securityinabox.org/en/thuderbird_encryption (note spelling error in url)

Tor [Web Browser Security]

• Install: Tor Browser Bundle
• What it does: Disguises your IP address.
• Use case: Protecting the information you receive or share on websites.
• More info: https://www.torproject.org/

OTR [Off-the-Record Chat]

• Install: Pidgin
• What it does: Provides strong encryption for instant messaging conversations
• Use case: Engaging in a synchronous one-on-one online conversation, the contents of which are encrypted (though not the metadata).
• More info: https://www.riseup.net/en/otr

Redphone [Encrypted Phone Calls]

• Install: Redphone from the Google Play Store
• What it does: Provides end-to-end encryption for phone calls.
• Use case: Having a cellular voice conversation, the contents of which are encrypted (though not the metadata).
• More info: https://whispersystems.org/

TextSecure [Encrypted Text Messages]

• Install: TextSecure from the Google Play Store
• What it does: Provides end-to-end encryption for text messages.
• Use case: Having a secure text-messaging conversation (except metadata).
• More info: https://whispersystems.org/

Full Disk Encryption

• Install: By default upon installing Linux, PGP for Macs or TrueCrypt for Windows
• What it does: Fully encrypts your hard drive upon installation of a fresh operating system.
• Use case: Protect the contents of your laptop's hard drive
• More info: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/11/privacy-ubuntu-1210-full-disk-encryption for Linux; http://kb.iu.edu/data/azmb.html For Macs; http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/tutorial#Y0 for Windows.

Cyanogenmod [Root Your Android Phone]

• Install: Cyanogenmod ROM from https://cyanogenmod.org
• What it does: Replaces the Android OS with a custom operating system with
• Use case: Making your phone more lightweight, transparent and controllable.
• More info: https://cyanogenmod.org

Tails

• Install: Make a bootable copy on a USB stick.
• What it does: An operating system you boot from a CD or USB that is built to provide very strong anonymity at the technological level.
• Use case: You want to post something on a blog or to a journalist from a network or computer you don't want any sign of your activity on.
• More info: https://tails.boum.org/