We often hear the sentence "I have nothing to hide," which is an
understandable reaction to the myriad ways in which we have been
trained to think that it is acceptable to be surveilled, or to have to
hand over your information. But we should have the inalienable right
to know exactly what data from us, or from our loved ones, is being
exposed when using software. We should have the right to view whatever
data software is collecting from us, so we can make an informed
decision whether or not we want to allow a program into our lives.
In this world of constant bulk surveillance, free software and the
four freedoms are a prerequisite for privacy. Because bulk
surveillance is so pervasive, free software alone is not enough to
ensure safe communications and secure data. The Free Software
Foundation (FSF) wants to give you the tools to increase your level of
personal privacy. In order to do that, we use a free (as in freedom)
program called GnuPG to encrypt our email communication, and we
have created the Email Self-Defense guide to help you learn how
to do it, too.
This guide will take you through setting up encryption, but it is also
the place you can link to when you want to introduce your friend,
colleague, or family member to email encryption, regardless of their
technical skill level.
If you've been putting off setting up encryption, or know someone
who might like your help setting it up, this is a great occasion to
do it! It only takes about forty minutes with the Email Self-Defense
guide.
The FSF introduced the Email Self-Defense guide in 2014, and it
has been one of our most popular resources because of its ease of use
and its global application. Available in sixteen languages, the
guide has helped over 13,500 people protect themselves by setting up
and testing their encryption keys. Today, we released an update to the
guide to make sure it can continue to empower people in the fight
against mass surveillance.
The guide used to lay out the steps to encryption using a program
called Enigmail, an add-on to many popular desktop mail clients that
is now no longer supported upstream. In the updated version we are
introducing today, we went through the steps of creating a PGP (which
stands for Pretty Good Privacy) key with the GnuPG (more commonly
known as GPG) program in the command line on GNU/Linux, and the
nonfree operating systems macOS and Microsoft Windows. It then takes
you through integrating your key into your email client, and through
testing it with our friendly encryption robot Edward.
By encrypting as much traffic that passes over the Internet as
possible, we help subvert the efforts of bulk surveillance systems to
spy on our communications. Everywhere in the world, there are
journalists, freedom fighters, political activists, whistleblowers,
and refugees, who depend on the protective blanket of encryption. You
can help protect their anonymity by setting up encryption for
yourself.
Not everyone expects the same level of privacy in their lives, but
every person we know has a limit to what privacy violations they would
allow. And the current state of technology is pushing the boundaries
of what we experience as acceptable further, with each line of
proprietary code that is written. At the FSF, we know that it is only
when we control our system, when we can see the source code of the
programs we use, or in other words, by using free software, that we
can guarantee privacy. This connection makes encryption both a perfect
kitchen table issue, as well as a step in our new campaign, the
freedom ladder, but perhaps most importantly, it makes it vital
that we know how to defend ourselves.
Initiatives like these are important for the continued education of
people about free software matters and the tools they can use to
protect themselves. Can you deepen your commitment by donating
to the FSF? Or, you can join with thousands of like-minded others as
an FSF associate member. You can start for as little as $10 per
month ($5 for students), or $120 per year, and you'll help us reach
our summer fundraising stretch goal of USD 11,000. Even better,
every dollar we raise right now will be matched by generous
donors. As an associate member, you'll be able to enjoy all of our
member benefits, which include merchandise discounts, a 16GB
bootable membership card, and use of the videoconferencing server.
Also, if you're on social media, we encourage you to share the
importance of free software with your friends and followers by using
the #UserFreedom hashtag. It may seem like a small thing, but using
your voice is the best way to draw others to the global free software
movement.
We hope you will use the guide to set up your own encryption, and to
share it with others as well. If you're interested in working on a
translation, you can find more information at the GPG guide page
on the LibrePlanet wiki.
Email Self-Defense is a great way to start a free software
conversation and get someone to use their first free software
program, while protecting themselves. Our freedom is worth fighting
for, and every encrypted file we send can be one among many,
increasing the force of anonymity.
