After Target, Home Depot, and Sony were hacked and personal data was compromised, data security became a popular topic.

You may be aware that there are more things you can do to protect your identity. But, let’s face facts, even if you do everything you can, protecting yourself is only as good as what you do with other people and companies. These same entities can be negligent, unfortunately.

The Internet can easily become a breeding ground for criminal activity if people aren’t careful. You are already putting yourself at risk of identity theft by checking your email and banking information online.

There are many ways criminals can obtain personal data from innocent Internet users. Cyber criminals are able to take over an individual’s identity and commit a variety of crimes, according to the United States Department of Justice. Because victims don’t usually become aware of criminal activity until it is too late, cyber criminals love to fraudulently withdraw money from their bank accounts.

Enter Gabriel, an assortment of secure communication applications derived from a U.S. Department of Defense Project. created by VirnetX, an Internet security and technology company.

Gabriel sends information via automatic virtual private networks using military-grade encryption. Consider Cryptograms.

“Gabriel has been designed and built with personal privacy and security as a foundational principle,”Robert Short, Chief Scientist and Chief Technical Officer at VirnetX, says: “As a result, Gabriel provides uncompromising data security? users do not have to transmit data to, or store data with, any third party, including VirnetX. Users can therefore rest easy that their data is stored only on their devices.”

Gabriel offers many other benefits, including:

* Making free voice or video calls or sending instant messages to other Gabriel members in your network.

* Receiving spamless e-mail.

* Allowing for person-to-person messages that disappear once the session has ended.

* Sharing pictures or files with other trusted Gabriel users in your network directly from your personal device.

You can do all of this with other members of your network, with the assurance that transmissions are encrypted at the end.

Gabriel hides your online communications. This is how it works: If bad guys can’t find you, they won’t be able to attack you.

Gabriel is available for free. Visit www.gabriel.com for more information. www.gabrielsecure.com.