Okay, so everyone talks about security and privacy.

One question: How do we achieve it day to day?

Let me show you my own suite of tools that I use to keep my inbox clean, passwords from clogging my brain, and peace of mind intact, without opening up my wallet too much.

Here’s what I have in mine:

1. Password Manager

2. MFA

3. Email

4. Email Aliases

5. Pseudonym Identity

6. Cloud Storage

7. VPN

8. Browser

All of these tools contribute to my day to day life in different ways. Let’s break them down, along with their costs and software types. My personal choices are a little different from the ones given here, but the list includes free and/or open-source products for your consideration.

Quick Note On Software Types

Before I show you the list, I want to clarify what the different software types mean:

• FOSS: Free and Open Source Software. This software is fully free to use without subscribing. Ever. Plus, you can view the source code at any time (which is why it’s called open source).

• Freemium OSS: This software is open source, so the code is always available, but you may have to pay for some features, such as extra storage or advanced security measures.

• Proprietary: The source code for this software isn’t easily accessible, and often is done with a freemium model.

1. Password Manager: Bitwarden

This is the single most important security tool I have in my arsenal. It keeps my passwords strong and unique for each account, all locked away behind a single, super strong master password, and autofilled whenever I need it. Plus if you want to store credit cards and identity info for rapid fire autofill, as well as secure notes, you can do that, too.Cost/month: $0 USD ($1 USD if you want Premium) Software type: Freemium OSS

2. MFA: Aegis

Right up there with Bitwarden, Aegis is a free, open source MFA suite. You can even get it off FDroid if you don't want to deal with Google Play! It helps lock down my accounts further by making sure I have my phone on me before I'm let in to any of them. Authy by Twilio is a good alternative if you're looking for something a little more mature, if proprietary. Cost/month: $0 USDSoftware type: FOSS

3. Email: Proton

I've used Proton for years, since Proton was actually just ProtonMail. They’re true end-to-end encrypted email based in Switzerland, open-source, community-funded, and they’re a great alternative to the frankly invasive telemetry of Google and Microsoft. You get a gigabyte of storage for free, easy imports from Gmail, and the ability to send end-to-end encrypted messages, even to non-users. Downside, it is limited to 150 messages per day, but I don’t imagine you’ll be sending that many as an average user for a long time. Plus, they have strong privacy protections because of where they’re located, and end-to-end encryption means that they’re not going to be reading your messages on their servers even if they wanted to. For an alternative, look at Tuta, formerly Tutanota.Cost/month: $0 USD ($4 USD if you want 15GB of storage and unlimited messages)Software type: Freemium OSS

4. Email Aliases: SimpleLogin

“Hey, you can’t just put 2 Proton services back to back!” Sorry! I just love their services. If you want to make a different email alias for each site you visit, SimpleLogin is the way to go. It’s free to use, and you can get effectively unlimited aliases with a combination of the 10 provided ones and plus addressing! This lets you filter by receiver instead of sender, which is about 10 times easier. Plus, the browser extension automatically generates aliases for you, or lets you copy-paste the ones you have. The API keys let Bitwarden and other password managers also make custom aliases and integrate them into your password manager when you make an account.

If you happen to pay for Proton Unlimited, great news: SimpleLogin premium is included for free. For an alternative, Firefox Relay is a solid open-source option as well, which at the same price as SimpleLogin’s premium, also offers phone masking.Cost/month: $0 ($4 USD for unlimited aliases + some other goodies)Software type: Freemium OSS

5. Pseudonym Identity: MySudo

While it may seem odd to give people a fake name when signing up for things, many times you don’t want people to call or email you about random stuff, flooding your inbox and basically knowing who you are. While a lot of your data might be leaked already, I’ve personally had encounters where having a pseudonym on hand helped matters.

MySudo is just one of the many pseudonym identity providers out there, providing VoIP numbers, email inboxes, and even prepaid virtual card options if you’re in the US. I recommend spending just a little bit of cash and grabbing a VoIP number: it’s only $1 a month, and you can also have up to 3 aliases and email inboxes. This way, if you’re ever in a situation where someone’s asking for your phone number and you don’t want to give it out, you have that in your back pocket and you’ll always know they’re calling from a spot you don’t care about. Similarly, you can give out your MySudo emails and keep your actual inbox clear of spam. There are other use cases for MySudo you can read about on their blog.

One downside: It’s proprietary software as far as I can tell, so no OSS goodness. I wouldn’t take advantage of the virtual card options in this case, but you do you.Cost/month: $1 USD ($14 USD if you want 9 full aliases and 15GB storage, using this as your primary email)Software type: Proprietary

6. Cloud Storage: Sync.com

If the average person could or was willing to set up cloud infrastructure, I’d say Nextcloud would be a great solution here.

The average person, however, is generally not able or even willing to set up and maintain their own cloud infrastructure, even software developers.

That said, with Sync.com’s generous 5GB of data storage for free, integrated collaboration features, and end-to-end encryption with local clients for Windows and Mac, these guys take the cake. Plus, it’s a Canadian company!

Again, proprietary software here, but Proton Drive is also a solid alternative if you’re looking for Open Source.Cost/month: $0 USD ($8 USD if you want 2TB of storage)Software type: Proprietary

7. VPN: Proton VPN

Proton again? Okay, yes, there is Mullvad, but that’s $5 USD per month. With Proton you can get a pretty solid VPN experience for free with end-to-end encryption and Proton’s privacy by design. It won’t guarantee protection if you’re a high-profile journalist, but for your day to day content wall hopping or censorship bypasses (just look at what happened in Turkey), it’s a solid fit. The whole thing about encryption is a little redundant these days, but it’s nice to know that whatever websites you’re browsing probably won’t get out there — so long as you use it responsibly.

With Proton, you get a single VPN connection, 3 countries, 100+ servers, and some decent speeds and security features.Cost/month: $0 USD ($9 USD to unlock all servers, the highest speeds, and access to streaming services worldwide)Software type: Freemium OSS

8. Browser: Mozilla Firefox

You knew it was coming. Few browsers compare to Firefox in terms of privacy, features, and ethics. Firefox can block trackers automatically, just like Brave. Plus, Firefox is free, open source, and always will be because they’re backed by a not-for-profit organization. As a bonus, you won’t have to worry about Manivest v3 mucking over your favourite adblocker. For some added armour, Firefox Focus is a no-frills private mobile browser that’s lightweight to boot.Cost/month: $0 USD (and it’ll stay that way)Software type: FOSS

Rounding Up:

In total, assuming we’re a total cheapskate with this suite, we spend a grand total of:

Isn’t that crazy? A strong privacy and security suite for a loonie and change (if you’re Canadian). Plus, your inbox will thank you, you’ll never have to worry about passwords ever again, and you’ve got the means to do everything you need to, end-to-end encrypted.