Download the HTTPS Everywhere extension for Firefox and Chrome, made by the venerable Electronic Frontier Foundation — it’s one of the easiest and most important ways to protect your privacy online, by forcing all servers that support SSL connections to encrypt your internet traffic.

That padlock you often see to the left of a URL indicates that the connection is SSL-secured. You’ll see that padlock a lot more often after installing this extension, indicating that your connection is encrypted and what you’re sending to the website cannot be deciphered or intercepted. Online banking and credit card purchases couldn’t happen without SSL, but it’s essential for protecting other forms of private communication such as email. Use it. Everywhere. Always.