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The internet commonly provides a false sense of anonymity, whereas there is only pseudo-anonymity for most users. Pretty much everyone is identifiable online by their IP address , a unique identifier assigned to you by your internet service provider (ISP).

However, there are tools which can help you mask your actual IP address and provide an additional layer of protection for your online identity. This can be achieved with the use of Tor Browser or Virtual Private Network (VPN)  services.

Tor Browser is a free and open source software customised to work with the Tor network, based upon Mozilla Firefox, which encrypts  your browsing traffic and gives you a new identity, i.e. a new IP address. It is also particularly useful for accessing blocked websites on your network. There are some drawbacks however, as the Tor network provides generally slow internet speeds and users’ identity can be exposed if they do not use Tor Browser properly.

Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service which enables users to connect to the public internet through a private network, providing an additional encrypted layer of privacy and masking the users’ actual IP address. There are many VPN providers, but users should still take note and be aware of possible security aspects such as:

• Jurisdiction, i.e. in which country is the company providing VPN services based. Countries which are members of the “Five Eyes” mass surveillance alliance (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia) should generally be avoided;
• No logs policy, meaning that the VPN provider doesn’t log your internet traffic made through their network;
• Regularly performed independent security audits, which are usually documented on the VPN provider’s website;
• Price - some VPN services are quite expensive, but you should be vary of “completely free” VPN apps , as their business model is almost certainly based on tracking users. However, some paid-service providers  offer free plans with limited possibilities, such as lower speeds and a smaller number of servers .

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Encryption is the process of protecting data with a complex cipher, scrambling it so that it can only be accessed (decrypted) with a password or key, sometimes requiring an additional authentication factor, e.g. a digital certificate  . Encrypting hard drives and removable devices, such as USB drives, is especially recommended for people working with confidential information, primarily journalists and human rights activists.

VeraCrypt is a multi-platform (Windows, Linux, MacOS X) free and open source  disk encryption software with advanced capabilities. It can be used to encrypt only specific files, whole hard disk partitions, removable drives, as well as a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).

Cryptomator enables you to encrypt your cloud storage files for services such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Files are encrypted within a secure vault which is then stored with cloud service providers, which cannot access the data. Cryptomator is open source and available for Windows, Linux, MacOS X and mobile platforms (iOS, Android).

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Similar to hard drives and removable disks, communication channels can also be encrypted by protecting data with a complex cipher so that communication can only be accessed (decrypted) with a password or key. Of course, for journalists and human rights activists encryption is a key component of ensuring secure communication with confidential sources. This can be done in a variety of ways. 

Emails can be encrypted using PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which is based on public key cryptography. You need to generate a key pair - a public key which you share with others and a private key which you keep secret - in order to exchange encrypted emails with correspondents. 

If you use an email provider like Gmail or Outlook, you can encrypt your communication using Thunderbird, an open source email client with built-in OpenPGP capabilities, or by using the Mailvelope browser extension  which works with popular webmail services. 

However, there are email providers, such as ProtonMail or Tutanota, which encrypt your messages automatically when they are sent between their users, and also provide ways to send encrypted emails to those using other providers. 

A free and open source chat app that provides end-to-end encryption  by default is Signal. It is available for iOS and Android, as well as a desktop app. It provides a wide range of security options, such as self-destructing messages, PIN protection or encrypted video calls. Another app with a variety of options you can also use is Telegram, where Secret Chats need to be enabled for end-to-end encryption.

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