Hacking is a sad reality for businesses and ordinary users. Often leaked data is sold by attackers of all stripes: hackers, carders, phishers, etc. And this is done through the Dark Web (darknet). Therefore, many people perceive it as something unambiguously bad and harmful, although this is not the case.
Yes, attackers are actually actively using the encrypted part of the Internet to sell stolen data, drugs, and weapons. But Facebook and even the UN use the darknet to protect dissidents and journalists. Let's find out what the Dark Web is, what it has, and what tools you can use for safe surfing.
Sites on the darknet have a top-level domain .onion and most often are opaque non-mnemonic alphanumeric strings that are automatically generated based on the public key when setting up Tor. This open source browser is focused on security and is used more often than others. From analogs, you can recall SRWare Iron, Comodo IceDragon.
To indicate that the domain points to an encrypted site, the URLs of sites on the darknet end with a suffix .onion and are not available for traditional browsers that lack proper security plugins.
For added security, advanced users and professionals also use operating systems that protect anonymity, such as Tails. Tails is a portable and disposable Linux-based operating system that adds another layer of security when working on the darknet. The operating system is installed on a flash drive in about 20 minutes, and it can be run on almost any computer. Tails comes pre-configured with Tor and offers many other security features.
Despite the anonymity and privacy of the darknet, it has its own search engines. DuckDuckGo, NotEvil, Torch. Other systems are also emerging. So you can search for some information. But many popular forums are not indexed in any way, so you can't find them through the search engine. Alternatively, you can use directories of sites like Godnotaba, but the links in them quickly become outdated. The Runion website is popular among Russian-language resources.
Because the tools needed to access shadow sites help protect the anonymity of users and servers, the Dark Web has become a magnet for criminal activity over the past decade. The eBay-like resource Silk Road, which has become a major market for drugs and weapons, helped shape the illegal trade. The FBI investigation in 2013, which made a lot of noise, did not bring any real benefit — Silk Road, which stopped working, had a lot of followers. Today, the darknet sells drugs, weapons, malware, and a huge amount of personal and corporate data.
But the Dark Web isn't just about criminals and illegal trade. For example, ProPublica, a respected investigative news organization, also has its own*. onion website, which provides secure communication with valuable sources of information. One of the UN offices monitors the darknet and shares data with the public and global police organizations. Even Facebook, the largest social network in the world, has its own darknet site, which is used by more than a million people every month.
Email encryption technologies (such as PGP) cannot be considered part of the darknet. Although PGP is often used to hide communication, allowing administrators and users of sites on the darknet to communicate anonymously.
There is also the Deep Web, which is often confused with the darknet. The Deep Web includes pages that are not accessible to the public and are not indexed by search engines. You don't need any special tools to access it.A working connection is enough. Examples of "deep" sites are corporate intranet and wiki pages, secure banking pages, and personal social media accounts.
There is a link between Bitcoin and the darknet. Yes, bitcoins are not inherently anonymous. But determining the source of the received bitcoin is not a trivial task. Therefore, bitcoins are actively paid in the darknet, this is the most common currency there.
Yes, attackers are actually actively using the encrypted part of the Internet to sell stolen data, drugs, and weapons. But Facebook and even the UN use the darknet to protect dissidents and journalists. Let's find out what the Dark Web is, what it has, and what tools you can use for safe surfing.
What is the darknet?
As we have already said, this is an analog of the regular Internet, but with its own characteristics. This segment is hidden from public access, but anyone can use it. The darknet connection is established between trusted peers in encrypted form, using non-standard ports and protocols. This network uses its own DNS, i.e. domains, and address space.Sites on the darknet have a top-level domain .onion and most often are opaque non-mnemonic alphanumeric strings that are automatically generated based on the public key when setting up Tor. This open source browser is focused on security and is used more often than others. From analogs, you can recall SRWare Iron, Comodo IceDragon.
To indicate that the domain points to an encrypted site, the URLs of sites on the darknet end with a suffix .onion and are not available for traditional browsers that lack proper security plugins.
For added security, advanced users and professionals also use operating systems that protect anonymity, such as Tails. Tails is a portable and disposable Linux-based operating system that adds another layer of security when working on the darknet. The operating system is installed on a flash drive in about 20 minutes, and it can be run on almost any computer. Tails comes pre-configured with Tor and offers many other security features.
What else you need to know about the darknet
How big is the darknet? It's not that big. Sites appear and disappear. Sometimes by themselves, sometimes with the help of the authorities due to violations of the law. We can say that there are from ten to one hundred thousand active sites.Despite the anonymity and privacy of the darknet, it has its own search engines. DuckDuckGo, NotEvil, Torch. Other systems are also emerging. So you can search for some information. But many popular forums are not indexed in any way, so you can't find them through the search engine. Alternatively, you can use directories of sites like Godnotaba, but the links in them quickly become outdated. The Runion website is popular among Russian-language resources.
Because the tools needed to access shadow sites help protect the anonymity of users and servers, the Dark Web has become a magnet for criminal activity over the past decade. The eBay-like resource Silk Road, which has become a major market for drugs and weapons, helped shape the illegal trade. The FBI investigation in 2013, which made a lot of noise, did not bring any real benefit — Silk Road, which stopped working, had a lot of followers. Today, the darknet sells drugs, weapons, malware, and a huge amount of personal and corporate data.
But the Dark Web isn't just about criminals and illegal trade. For example, ProPublica, a respected investigative news organization, also has its own*. onion website, which provides secure communication with valuable sources of information. One of the UN offices monitors the darknet and shares data with the public and global police organizations. Even Facebook, the largest social network in the world, has its own darknet site, which is used by more than a million people every month.
Email encryption technologies (such as PGP) cannot be considered part of the darknet. Although PGP is often used to hide communication, allowing administrators and users of sites on the darknet to communicate anonymously.
There is also the Deep Web, which is often confused with the darknet. The Deep Web includes pages that are not accessible to the public and are not indexed by search engines. You don't need any special tools to access it.A working connection is enough. Examples of "deep" sites are corporate intranet and wiki pages, secure banking pages, and personal social media accounts.
There is a link between Bitcoin and the darknet. Yes, bitcoins are not inherently anonymous. But determining the source of the received bitcoin is not a trivial task. Therefore, bitcoins are actively paid in the darknet, this is the most common currency there.
Short summary
- What is the Dark Web? Like the usual Internet, the darknet is a network of websites, forums, and communication tools (such as email). The main difference between it and a regular network is that users have to use a certain set of tools to anonymize traffic.
- Why does the darknet matter? The answer is two words: ideology and practicality. There are a lot of users who want to maintain anonymity (their own or someone else's). And to do this, they need encryption and other tools that hide the identity and transmitted data.
- Who does the darknet concern? Probably every Internet user. If your data has been compromised at least once, it can probably be found on the Dark Web.
- How to get into the darknet? Most often, they are connected using Tor and the Tails OS, which can boot from a flash drive. The technology is available to everyone.
