How to protect your PC from PRISM surveillance

If we assume that Apple, Google and Microsoft are being monitored, then the safest way to avoid being tracked is to ditch your smartphone. A number of services already ask for your location, in the name of providing better search results or services. And BlackBerry, of course, is no better; that company has already acceded to requests to allow foreign governments access to its data, so the paranoiacs should ditch them, too. Feature phones may be no better, but the amount of information that can be captured is much smaller.

Encryption, encryption, encryption

Eventually, however, you're going to have to start communicating with someone, probably electronically. If you'd like to think those conversations are private, it's time to start thinking about encryption.

To start out with, you'll want to encrypt your hard drive and existing files. Alex Castle's piece discusses using TrueCrypt and other tools to start securing your files. Note that some of the tools he recommends are from the providers that PRISM is reportedly monitoring; you'll have to decide if you want to go elsewhere for encryption protection.

From there, protect your email by encrypting it. To secure your email effectively, you should encrypt three things, Eric Geier notes: the connection from your email provider; your actual email messages; and your stored, cached, or archived email messages. If you want to take it even further, consider using a secure email service. Email will travel over the Internet, where it can be accessed by theoretically just about anyone. Companies like Silent Circle (founded by PGP creator Paul Zimmermann) profess to offer secure voice, email, voice communications via dedicated connections between subscribed devices.