Now that the news of PRISM, the electronic surveillance program run by the United States National Security Agency (NSA), has leaked, many people are interested in avoiding the surveillance. At GreyCoder, we show how you can easily transition to secure services that are encrypted and make it more difficult for eavesdroppers to monitor your activities. Here is a quick run-down on how to avoid NSA surveillance:
Use Encrypted Email Where Possible
Use a reasonably private email provider (e.g. Namecheap) or Countermail. Note that these services won’t protect emails that you send to others unencrypted — your recipients must be using PGP. Countermail is somewhat difficult to use but it allows encrypted email through a browser using standard PGP (Pretty Good Privacy).
Alternately, you can also roll-your-own PGP encryption. For example, you can use the free Mozilla email program Thunderbird with the Enigmail extension.
Make Your Web Browsing Private
- Use a Virtual Private Network (like Private Internet Access) on all your computer and mobile devices (see our article explaining VPNs)
- Use a secure web browser Firefox with privacy-mode turned on, and privacy enhancing add-ons installed (see details here); or use the Tor Browser, for extra privacy
- Use a search engine that doesn’t track you like StartPage (a Google mirror)
Use Encrypted Instant Messages
You can easily send Instant Message that are encrypted. On iPhones and iPads, you can use Wickr, Silent Circle or an instant message app that supports OTR (e.g. IM+). On Android you can use TextSecure.
Use Secure Voice Chat Instead Of Telephones
Jitsi and Silent Circle offer secure voice chat capabilities. (Skype was recently bought by Microsoft and has eavesdropping capabilities).
More Options
See also PRISM Break.
It’s unbelievable the level of paranoia and egotism that most folks have, to actually believe that the NSA really gives a shit what YOU (an unimportant individual) does…
Well, the NSA is collecting information about you, whether you are “important” or not. So there’s no requirement to be paranoid or egoistical.
Don’t be ignorant, its in everyone face and is a problem everywhere unless you like peeping tom’s in all aspects.If you don’t care about privacy then good for you.many others don’t think this way regardless how mundane or important their lives are.they want to be left alone and live their lives without corporations and government to monitor them to their advantage,control and gain and rightfully so.the worldwide(every and all) government wants absolute control and powertrip in its paranoid and egotistical manner not the everyday people working and living day to day just getting by and enjoying life as best they can.
Its no longer a conspiracy or a single country problem its eveywhere.
It’s time to stop thinking in this matter cause its a real problem.
Anyways realize and reconsider
Thank you so very much for the great info on how to protect yourself from the NSA 🙂