You can’t stop the NSA from tracking you, but you can make it harder

[silicon_toad2000]

http://www.abine.com/blog/2013/you-cant-stop-the-nsa-from-tracking-you-but-you-can-mess-up-their-data/

Tools to help you go private

For more in-depth guides, we recommend the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Surveillance Self Defense site and Prism-Break.org.

Also note that 1), some of these tools are kind of complicated if you aren’t tech savvy; and 2), many require 2-way encryption to work (so both you and the person you’re communicating with would have to have it installed).

Here are some of our favorites that you can try:

Internet Service Provider (ISP): Sonic
Wireless provider: Cricket
Encrypt an email account you already have: Thunderbird with [urlhttp://www.enigmail.net/home/index.php]Enigmail[/url]; Mac Mail with GPGTools; Outlook with GPG4Win
Private email clients: Unspyable, [urlhttps://countermail.com/]Countermail[/url], or Shazzle
Search engines: Ixquick and DuckDuckGo (edit: not to forget YacY)
Mobile calls: RedPhone, Silent Circle
Android proxy: Orbot
iOS proxy: FoxyProxy (configure it as a proxy, not a VPN)
Mobile photos: ObscuraCam
Text messaging: TextSecure
Online tracker blocking: our very own DNTMe
Web-based chatting: Adium with OTR, Cryptocat
Mobile chatting: Gibberbot (Android), ChatSecure (iOS)Virtual private networks (VPNs): iVPN, Private Wifi
Hard drive encryption: TrueCrypt
Web browser: Tor Browser (and Mozilla’s Firefox is the best major browser on privacy)
Mobile browser: [urlhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onion-browser/id519296448?mt=8]Onion Browser[/url] (iOS), Orweb (Android)

There’s an emerging consumer privacy movement built around the premise of giving regular web users (regardless of tech-savvy) the power to limit the personal info collected about them, so expect the usability and availability of privacy tools to skyrocket soon. For example, if you’re a user of our stuff, then you probably know that we have a tool in the works that will help mask your contact information. We’re actually optimistic that people will have more privacy 5 years from now than they do today.