Set up email encryption in half an hour

As part of the global Reset the Net action, the Free Software Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes computer user freedom and aims to defend the rights of all free software users, has released Email Self-Defense, a step-by-step guide that can teach even low-tech users how to use email encryption.

“Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance systems,” the organization notes, adding that bulk surveillance violates people’s fundamental rights and makes free speech risky.

“All you need to start is a computer with an Internet connection, an email account and about half an hour. You can use your existing email account for this without affecting it,” they say. “Once you’ve finished, you’ll be able to send and receive emails that are coded to make sure that a surveillance agent or thief can’t intercept your email and read it.”

The guide is available for GNU/Linux, OS X and Windows users.