non-secure network utilities - pointers?

[Sam Quigley <poodge@econ.Berkeley.EDU>]

What cypherpunk-approved (tm) -- that is, cryptographically strong, 
freely available, and well-implemented (reliable) -- network utilities are 
available?  I'm willing to agree to US-only license agreement iff I have 
to...

I'm looking for secure telnet, ftp, talk, etc. that I can run over a 
potentially insecure network (and their respective daemons).

Is SSL the way to go?  (If so, what's the best implementation?)  What 
about other protocols?  Is there some comprehensive {web,ftp}site 
where I can find more information on this subject?

Please reply off-list to poodge@econ.berkeley.edu

thanks,
-sq