When talking on the Internet, you have a total privacy expectation of zero. Everything you send, whether it is in Email or in IM, or even on the Web, is fully visible by everyone connected to the Internet, who might know the methods of listening.

How do you defend against this threat?

E-Mail:

Windows Privacy Tools: For users of Windows and Outlook and Outlook Express.

Enigmail: An extension for users of Mozilla Thunderbird.

EntourageGPG: For users of Entourage on the Macintosh

All of these tools use the encryption software package called the Gnu Privacy Guard. There is also a Macintosh-specific version as well.

Instant Messaging

Gaim is a free, multi-protocol chat program that includes support for AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ, among others. It also has a plugin that allows you to encrypt your communication with everyone else who uses Gaim.

Web Browsing

TOR, which stands for "The Onion Router," is a free program that will send your pages through several computers, encrypting them all the way, to hide any traces of what you're browsing for online. This will make online profiling and identity theft that much harder.