Today is Data Privacy Day, designed to raise awareness and generate discussion about data privacy practices and rights, Data Privacy Day activities in the U.S.A, Canada, and 27 European countries have included privacy professionals, corporations, government officials, and representatives, academics, and students across the country.

One of the primary goals of Data Privacy Day is to promote privacy awareness and education. Data Privacy Day also serves the important purpose of furthering international collaboration and cooperation around privacy issues.

In celebration of Data Privacy Day, I’m including some of my personal favourites for FREE data privacy applications:

• TrueCrypt: Encrypt your hardrive with TrueCrypt - http://www.truecrypt.org
• KeePass: Secure password management - http://keepass.info/
• Secure File Deletion: There are so many tools out there capable of securely wiping files and hard disks. Here are few - Eraser, DP Shredder, the Windows File Shredder, and Permanent Eraser (for Macs), to name a few.

We are curious about your privacy measures. Do you secure your private data? All of it? Let’s hear more about how you handle your data privacy in the comments.

For more information about Data Privacy Day check out Data Privacy Day in North America 2009.