Cyber security tools
A selection of tools journalists use to protect sources, documents and communication.

This is a list of free tools and techniques you can use to better protect yourself online. This list follows along with the inewsource’s April 3 cyber security discussion and is only a tiny portion of what’s available. Note: inewsource is not advocating for any product in particular.

If you find any part of this list or the April 3 discussion valuable, please share it! And make sure to tag @inewsource on Twitter or Facebook.

How journalists use secure communications to interact with sources

Phone apps to download and use for secure communication:
Wickr: wickr.com
Signal: signal.org
Threema: threema.ch
Silence: silence.im
Adium: adium.im
Kik: kik.com

PGP email encryption:
OpenPGP: openpgp.org
Thunderbird (Mozilla): goo.gl/4Lqkt3

Secure online browsing tools:
Tor Browser: torproject.org
Firefox: goo.gl/hTTXMp
Brave: brave.com
Opera: opera.com

File sharing:
Onion Share: onionshare.org (requires Tor)

Anonymously file records requests to local, state or federal agencies:
Muckrock.com

General privacy risks online

Check if a Twitter user is a bot: goo.gl/vLtQJa
Meet Mitsuku (three-time winner of the Loebner Prize Turing Test): pandorabots.com/mitsuku

Knowledge is Power

California’s Constitutional right to privacy: goo.gl/rtmMSW
California’s Data Breach Notice: goo.gl/tYz9bh
California Online Privacy Protection Act: goo.gl/BwxmDe

Cybersecurity Best Practices

Top 5 Android security apps”: goo.gl/iAwiaL

Non-tracking search engines for browsers:
Duck Duck Go: duckduckgo.com
WolframAlpha: wolframalpha.com
Startpage: startpage.com

Password management applications:
LastPass: lastpass.com
Dashlane: dashlane.com
Roboform: roboform.com
KeePass Password Safe: keepass.info
Sticky Password: stickypassword.com

How to set up two-factor authentication with Gmail: goo.gl/smB43K
How to set up two-factor authentication with Yahoo: goo.gl/76j4GB

Unsecured networks:
What is a virtual private network? goo.gl/jehRTn
SurfEasy VPN: surfeasy.com

Block spying ads:
Privacy Badger: eff.org/privacybadger

Electronic Frontier Foundation resources: eff.org

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Brad RacinoAssistant Editor and Senior Investigative Reporter

Brad Racino was the assistant editor and senior investigative reporter at inewsource. He's a big fan of transparency, whistleblowers and government agencies forgetting to redact key information from FOIA requests. Brad received his master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri...