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What is the dark web?

Source: Vsoftsystems, 19/10/2018

We shine a light on the often unsavoury corners of the World Wide Web
The web refers to websites and parts of the internet that aren`t
accessible through traditional search engines. Google might be the
all-seeing eye of the normal web, but the dark web is hidden from its
gaze, as well as that of Firefox, Microsoft`s Edge and Apple`s Safari
browsers.
This essentially makes it a hidden layer of the web, ideal for people
who want to surf in utmost privacy or carry out illicit dealings and
dodgy activity without drawing the attention of the authorities or
their ISP.
How does it work?
The dark web is part of the deep web, which is made up of parts of the
web that aren`t indexed by search engines for all manner of reasons,
from supporting online banking to hiding criminal services, and it can
only be accessed through the use of a direct URL or IP address.
Often the dark web and the deep web are used as interchangeable terms.
But while the deep web is simply un-indexed parts of the web, which
can include government databases, libraries of academic research and
password protected services, the dark web is a lot... well, darker.
It uses an overlay network that sits on top of the internet`s logical
foundations but is formed of networks of deliberately hidden sites
that make heavy use of encryption and are pretty much impossible to
find without specialist software.
These networks are either small friend-to-friend takes on peer-to-peer
networks or larger private networks operated by public organisations
or privacy-motivated individuals, with the idea of running websites
out of sight of the authorities and ISPs.
So how do I access the dark web?
If you really want to go and stick your nose into some of the murkier
parts of the web, you`ll need a specialist secure browser. The most
common dark web-accessing software is the Onion Router, or Tor, which
not only encrypts the user`s traffic but also passes their machine`s
IP address through a layer of Tor nodes referred to as `onion layers.
These layers are proxy servers operated by thousands of volunteers
across the globe and make identifying a user`s IP address and tracking
them across the dark web pretty much impossible.
Such routing means using Tor isn`t exactly a speedy way to surf
websites, and you`ll need to know the site you want to go to rather
than search for it, but it`s secure and opens up a host of sites that
would normally be hidden from view.
Alternative networks such as the 12P and Freenet also exist, but Tor
is the most widely used.
What`s on these sites?
Pretty much anything their operators want. As the dark web is out of
sight from law enforcement, a lot of illegal activity goes on there,
from buying guns and drugs, to facilitating terror plots or ordering
assassinations.
The dark web is essentially the murky underbelly of the web, but it
also provides a place where whistle-blowers can more securely talk to
journalists without being snooped on by oppressive regimes or corrupt
organisations.
It can also be a font of hard-to-find information not posted on
mainstream websites or can act as a way for legitimate sites to offer
their services with an extra degree of privacy. Facebook, for example,
offers a dark web portal to its social network.
So it`s not just a haven for cyber criminals?
Not entirely. It can and does serve a purpose when it comes to helping
whistle-blowers remain safe and anonymous online. And hidden IP
addresses make it more difficult for malware to sneak off sites and
infect computers, although there are plenty of services that mask and
hide IP addresses on the normal web.
But the dark web does facilitate the activities of hackers and cyber
crooks, can be rife with scammers, and full of illegal content that
can be easily accessed at the click of a mouse.
So if you`re going to browse its collection of sites, do so with
caution if you wish to remain on the right side of the law. Surfing
the dark web is certainly not something you should be doing at work or
in a public place full of people happy to sneak a peek at your screen.

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