Online Security Guide

Use irc client and SSL over port 443 to stay secure
For windows users:
mIRC client - www.mirc.com/get.html
XCHAT - xchat.org/download/
Pidgin (ex-GAIM) - www.pidgin.im/download/

For Mac users:
Pidgin here - www.pidgin.im/download/
Babbel - www.babbelirc.com
Xirc - www.aquaticx.com- 30 days trial
Ircle - www.ircle.com/
LimeChat - limechat.net/mac/

For Linux Users:
Pidgin - www.pidgin.im/download/
XCHAT - xchat.org/download/

For iPhone/iPad
LimeChat - limechat.net/mac/

SmartPhones/Sympians
jmirc - jmirc.sourceforge.net/
mIRGGI - mirggi.net/

What you also need
Hotspotshield - It is a free VPN service provided by AnchorFree. It hides your IP and protects your entire web surfing. Useful for Anonymous cause! and when you at a cafe using WIFI.

Windows users just go to hotspotshield.com/
See an example tutorial for Vista (applies to Windows 7) here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzYiH3yCwl4&feature=related

HOTSPOTSHIELD for Linux read http://piratepad.net/NoM99ntnL0

TOR - http://pastebin.com/KfSvMcn5
A system intended to enable online anonymity, composed of client software and a network of servers which can hide information about users' locations and other factors which might identify them. Use of this system makes it more difficult to trace internet traffic to the user, including visits to Web sites, online posts, instant messages, and other communication forms. - wiki

Create  ghost accounts
For the most highly sensitive work, create a ghost - a separate, highly obscure online identity. Use a new webmail account for each project; avoid using names in emails; never link accounts together (an email address connected to a Facebook profile, etc); use your ghost identity in a physical location and computer separate from where you do other work (again, avoiding connections between a known identity and your ghost). You can still have a "public" email address and online identity that is known to family, coworkers and friends.

It's best to use Firefox browser - http://www.getfirefox.com/

If you have ideas, write a new http://piratepad.net/ and post the link in the channel