The purpose of this section of the website is to provide you with detailed step-by-step guides on setting up and using encryption with your digital communications, but also provides more detailed "expert" settings for more advanced use.  The most popular links on this site are shown below, and a basic Q&A has been provided to explain why you may wish (or need) to use encryption at all.

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Popular Links:

Setting up OpenPGP encryption and email signing

Setting up S/MIME (Certificate-based) encryption and email signing

Encrypt your webmail (eg. Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail)

OpenPGP Command Line settings

Anonymous Surfing

Privacy and Security Blog

FAQ

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The Basics
So let's get started.  Here are the basics of email encryption, and how to get started with it.  This page gives you a bit of general information on the principles of encryption, and detailed instructions are provided throughout the site - feel free to browse around using the navigation buttons on the left of your screen.

Why Encrypt?
The real question is why not. If you send a letter through regular mail, you put it in an envelope to stop others reading its contents. You're not planning any acts of terrorism, but you don't want anyone other than the intended recepient to read it. If it has been opened and read, you will be able to tell since the envelope will have been damaged unless very special care has been taken to open it and re-seal it.  You may be suspicious of any delay in the mail delivery though, since a letter is date-stamped when it's mailed.  This interception and reading would not be a quick process.
Email, on the other hand, can be intercepted and copied in a matter of a fraction of a second. It can then be read at any time by any person without the sender or recepient of the email ever knowing.
Encryption can also be used for corporate purposes - email is an insecure way to communicate, so you would not use it to distribute bank details, credit card details or sensitive passwords. Encryption could make communicating this information very secure since only the intended recepient could read the email.

Who would want to read my mail?
Technically, anyone could get some important information about you by reading your email.  Family names, addresses, telephone numbers and details about your employment could all potentially be used in advanced phishing scams.  However, government monitoring of communications is also a likely problem.

Government / law enforcement communications monitoring?
Without wanting to sound like a conspiracy nut with a tin-foil hat, to me this government monitoring is a major concern. Recent EU Laws, for example, require that ISPs save a copy of all internet traffic and email logs for a period of up to 2 years (see this link for more information).  This is a serious erosion of privacy. Where previously, law enforcement authorities had to apply to a judge to get a warrant to tap phones and intercept mail etc, the "digital age" makes automated telephone tapping and email interception very quick and easy.  These authorities are then able to examine the emails en-masse looking for any evidence of crime to pursue convictions. In this case, it does not seem like any due-process has been followed. When using encryption, your email can not be merely intercepted and read - in order to read it, the authorities must present evidence of criminal activity to get a warrant. Personally, if presented with this evidence and warrant, I would be happy to decrypt my communications to prove my complete innocence. Do not feel like a criminal just because you use encryption. It is completely legal and entirely within your personal privacy rights.

Isn't encryption complex and time-consuming?
No.  Once you have installed a small amount of software or imported a security certificate, you simply encrypt your email with the click of a button - it's easy and secure.

Where can I get more information?
Right Here!  The e-ignite website contains all the information you should need to get started - just use the links down the left hand side of the page. If you have any questions not covered here, you can either contact me personally for help, or you can see any of the external links provided to find it yourself.