OK. Question 1 can be answered with this: TrueCrypt

Question 2 however... What exactly do you mean? You want the WiFi signal between your laptop and the router to be encrypted? If so then that's easy enough in most cases. The router needs to be set up to encrypt it's WiFi with either WPA or WPA2. (Don't bother with WEP because it's easily crackable.) Assign the network a key to allow access. Your laptop should pick up the network and will prompt you for the key to the network. Enter it and voila!

However if you're using a hotspot to access the internet it gets a lot more difficult. Almost all public networks have no encryption at all. If you're that paranoid try and access your email account from a secure website. ("https://" at the start of the address.) To be honest though I don't think it's that much of a problem. The file you're uploading/downloading will be encrypted anyway. The chances thet you'l be sniffed are minimal. Hackers tend not to bother with the average internet user. They're motivated by profit and so they go for the big companies most of the time.