The topic of security is one we think about everyday.  Data integrity depends on tight and proactive security.  Here are 9 tools that can help your employees use the internet safely and securely.

Password Keepers are great maintenance tools to remember all the passwords we are forced to create. There are ways to create passwords that are easy to remember, but here are three of our favorite tools to do the job for us:

  1. KeePassX saves user names, passwords, urls, attachments and more all in one secure place. In addition to storing this information, it has a password generator to assist in creating the passwords themselves.

  2. 1Password is an application that creates unique passwords for you and auto-fills them into various websites automatically for you.

  3. LastPass remembers your passwords and allows you to log into your sites securely with one single click.  It’s available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

  4. Personal VPN’s are another tool that employees and home users can use to anonymize web browsing, fend off hackers and eavesdroppers, and connect to your home country’s network while traveling. Here are three we like:

  5. StrongVPN

  6. OverPlay

  7. WiTopia

  8. Data Encryption Tools protect data created and shared, and protect against surveillance of information. Here are three great examples:

  9. TrueCrypt is a free open-source software that allows you to create and maintain a data storage volume, where your data is encrypted right before it is saved and decrypted right after it is loaded.

  10. GnuPG is an open source tool that helps users encrypt files and messages.  Its services include a versatile key management system and access modules for tons of public key directories.

  11. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that protects users against Internet surveillance or “traffic analysis” so they can share information over public networks without compromising privacy.

We applaud friends who already use these types of tools and encourage others to give them a try.  Have any favorites you think should be on the list?