Free Software Collection
Free Privacy and Security Tools
The usual mistake with privacy tools is installing only one layer. A browser extension stops tracking scripts on a web page but not a mobile app dialling an ad domain directly; a VPN changes your exit address but not your browser fingerprint. What works is stacking by interception point — one layer in the browser, one on the device, one across the whole network, each covering what the others cannot. This list follows that order, ending with two extremes: one that boots from a USB stick and leaves nothing behind, and one that takes over DNS for the entire house.
13 curated recommendations
Selection Criteria
- Collects no usage data, so the tool does not become a new tracker itself.
- Open source or with a publicly auditable mechanism, not a trust-us black box.
- Core protection is free, with no protection level behind a paywall.
- Interception point and coverage are stated per tool — that is what decides what it can actually stop.
Recommended Tools
uBlock Origin
A fast, memory-light blocker for ads and trackers — install and breathe
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Privacy Badger
No blocklists — it watches which trackers follow you across sites
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
AdGuard Home
Network-wide ad blocking, with encrypted DNS thrown in
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Pi-hole
One device, and every screen in the house loses its ads
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
SearXNG
Aggregates dozens of search engines, without logging you or building a profile
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Aegis Authenticator
Two-factor codes on your phone, encrypted, never online
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Ente Auth
Two-factor codes synced across devices, invisible to the server
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
GnuPG
The long-standing standard for encryption and signatures
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
ClamAV
An open-source antivirus engine that never pops up, upsells or uploads your files
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
WireGuard
A modern encrypted tunnel protocol configured in a dozen lines
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Proton VPN
A free VPN tier with no data cap — nearly unique in this industry
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Tails
An operating system on a USB stick that forgets everything at shutdown
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Recommended Skills & MCP
FAQ
- If I install only one?
- uBlock Origin. It covers the main doorway through which you touch the internet, uses less memory than its peers, and runs on community-maintained lists. Note that after Chrome's Manifest V3 migration only the feature-limited Lite build remains there, with full capability requiring a Firefox-based browser — which is why many people switched browsers.
- Pi-hole or AdGuard Home?
- Both intercept at the DNS layer and cover every device in the house, including televisions, mobile apps and smart speakers where no extension can be installed. Pi-hole is older, with more community lists, and runs best on a Raspberry Pi; AdGuard Home is a single binary, simpler to deploy, with DNS-over-HTTPS and per-client rule groups built in. They overlap; do not run both.
- Why not SMS for two-factor codes?
- SMS codes are vulnerable to SIM swapping and visible to the carrier. Aegis and Ente Auth both generate TOTP codes locally with no network involved. Aegis is fully offline with an encrypted database on the phone; Ente Auth syncs end-to-end encrypted across devices with only ciphertext on the server. Losing the phone means losing access in both cases unless you exported a backup — do not skip that step.
- Are free VPNs usable?
- Most are not. The business model of a free VPN is usually selling your traffic data, which moves the tracking from the websites to the VPN vendor. Proton VPN's free tier has no data cap, no ads and no logs, which is close to unique in the industry, at the cost of few locations and moderate speed. For actual anonymity rather than a different IP, use Tor Browser or Tails.