Best Privacy Tools Available This Year

Any time you use a digital device, you can assume somebody is tracking you. Don’t believe this? Take a look at your Facebook and Instagram feed. Do any of those ads look like something you may have searched recently? And it’s one of the countless examples in the digital world.

Cybercriminals, hackers, companies, and internet service providers want your data. You have less privacy than ever before. But you can fight back. Check out these fabulous tools to improve your privacy and security online.

ProtonMail

Ask most IT professionals what email client they use, and you’ll likely hear ProtonMail. ProtonMail is an encryption-based email. It ensures secure and private email delivery. And not only between ProtonMail users but also with people who use other clients like Gmail and Outlook.

ProtonMail uses end-to-end encryption so that no prying eyes can take a look at your messages. It’s also functional and robust, making it an excellent replacement for traditional email options.

NordLocker

Every 39 seconds, hackers commit a cybercrime. They target sensitive account information, correspondence, and, most of all, files. Your data is a potential goldmine for criminals. They contain not only personal information but all kinds of valuable details. That’s why, nowadays, file encryption is not a luxury but a must.

NordLocker is not the only file encryption service you can use, but it’s one of the latest and most secure ones. NordLocker software encrypts your chosen files with the latest security protocols. And it works with one click. You can encrypt any file type and protect it with an access code, ensuring only authorized users can view or edit the contents of the file. You can use it both on data kept in local storage or the ones you upload into the cloud.

Telegram

Telegram brings the power of encryption to your messages. Telegram is all about security. It ensures private and safe transmission of messages and audio calls between users. It’s compatible with all platforms and offers not only privacy and security but great functionality as well.

To have the privacy you need, make sure to use secret chats as the default chat isn’t encrypted. The one downside to Telegram is that it doesn’t offer video chat. But users predict this feature will arrive soon.

Opera Browser

All internet users should be running a virtual private network (VPN) at all times on their devices. And Opera is the first major browser to offer a built-in VPN (and for free). Thus, it provides an extra layer of security by encrypting your browsing.

Although it’s not perfect, it’s a great quick tool to use when your connection is not private. Combine Opera with the double VPN setup, and you’ll have some of the most reliable security setups available.

DuckDuckGo

Personalized search has been a significant feature of Google and other search engines for over a decade now. They generate results for you based on your browsing history. But that’s also the reason why you see those targeted ads for things you searched for. Doesn’t that feel like a total invasion of your privacy?

Meanwhile, the DuckDuckGo search engine focuses on your privacy. It doesn’t sell your information to advertisers, and it doesn’t collect any data about its users. That makes it the best search engine for maintaining privacy.

Have I Been Pwned

HaveIBeenPwned is an online tool that checks whether your credentials suffered in any data leaks. You can check your email, domain, passwords, and more. It tells you how many times (and how) your accounts have been exposed. Have I Been Pwned also lists helpful information on how you can fix the problem and improve your overall security.

Tor Browser

You don’t need Tor Browser for your daily internet use. It’s slow and a bit clunky. But if you want an ultra-secure and anonymous internet experience, nothing compares to Tor. TOR, or The Onion Router, hides your IP address, location, and device information to help privately browse the internet. It does so by using a series of relays and encryption protocols.

Tor sends your traffic through a series of volunteer-run servers, encrypting it at each stop. It makes anonymous browsing but much slower performance. And while it’s an excellent tool for protecting privacy, it’s not the safest option out there. As the network includes volunteer-run servers, you can never know if any of those volunteers have ulterior motives for doing the good deed.

Eraser

You may be aware that when you delete files, they’re not gone. Instead, the data remains accessible on your computer until you overwrite it. Eraser is a free security tool that completely removes the contents of your files. Instead of standard delete, it erases and rewrites each file several times to ensure that it is unrecoverable.

Conclusion

Better security and privacy are only a few clicks away. Whether you want your files, browsing history, messages, or search queries kept private, there’s a tool to ensure it. Enhance your privacy and start using these tools right now.