Dark Web: A Quickiepedia

Imagine this, you are at a beach and for miles you can see nothing but sand. Now you pick a handful and look at it. What you are looking at is the part of the internet that you browse every day i.e. the surface web. And the rest of the sand is the entire internet which consists of the deep web and the dark web. That’s how enormous it is!

1. Terminology

2. Definition

3. Contents:

• Bitcoin Services
• Botnet
• Darknet markets
• Hacking
• Terrorism
• Child pornography
• Social media

Terminology:

The term Dark Web was coined to highlight the difference between dark web and deep web, as the two terms were often used interchangeably.

So whats the difference between the two?

The sites on the ‘deep web’ can only be accessed if you have the exact URL and the permission to visit the site by the owner of the website.

The main difference between deep web and dark web is that the deep web does not necessarily have anything illegal. It is just information that the owner of the website chooses to conceal from its visitors like academic information, scientific reports, government resources and some legal documents.

But the dark web is a small part of the deep web. The dark web is when you wander deeper and to the illegal lanes of the deep web. So naturally, the dark web is a breeding ground for illegal trade, forums for pedophiles and terrorists.

Definition:

The content on the dark web can be accessed without special softwares that encrypt your communication and make you anonymous. The 2 most common softwares are The Onion Router (TOR) and Invisible Internet Project (I2P). While TOR provides anonymous access to the Internet, I2P specializes in allowing anonymous hosting of websites.

The dark web was actually invented by the US navy to protect military communications. Identities and locations of users of the darknet cannot be the tracked.

Contents:

• Bitcoin Services

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency and a digital payment system. Bitcoin is legalized in 146 countries and can be used for normal online transactions too. But Bitcoins are used in the Dark web to make illegal transactions. Bitcoin transactions never reveal who the sender or the receiver of the money is. They maintain anonymity using Block chains. The block chains maintain records of all the online digital transactions. The 2nd reason is that with Bitcoins you can buy absolutely anything, even illegal things. Another reason is that there is no government regulation over Bitcoins since nobody really can control the Bitcoin. And so, people have full freedom to do anything under the sky without the fear of being monitored. Hence making it the perfect match for the dark web

• Botnet 

A botnet is a number of internet-connected devices each of which is running one or more bot. Botnets can be used to steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker access to the device and its connection giving the botmaster leeway to commit cyber crimes like financial fraud, malware distribution, identity theft, and much more. While browsing the internet, we often download software, sometimes these might have malicious intentions called Trojans. They are one of the leading causes of Botnets. Your computer then becomes part of a network of computers that have been affected by a malware.

In such a situation, your computer becomes a zombie and comes under the control of a botmaster. Being a botmaster your primary concern will be to conceal your identity and hence the dark web is the perfect option for them.

• Darknet Markets

Access to the darknet markets is one of the main reason people use the dark web. These online market places are used to buy illegal drugs and weapons with assured anonymity. 

• Hacking

The dark web makes it very easy for people to master the tricks of hacking. There are sites that will give you a step by step tutorial on hacking. Many hackers even provide hacking services and groups even recruit hackers based on their skills.

• Terrorism

Dark web is known to be where the terrorists communicate and is a safe haven for terrorist groups. In fact, ISIS is known to have a page or 2, where they communicate with each other. After the 2015 Paris Attacks, one of their websites were hacked by an anonymous group and replaced it with an Ad for Prozac. 

• Child pornography

The most agonizing thing on the dark web is, however, child pornography, revenge porn and live streams of human torture. Many ethical hackers are working towards debunking the child – pornography racket and a few of them have been quite successful too.

• Social media

The dark web has social networking sites of its own, in fact, Facebook and other social media have begun creating dark web versions of themselves to address problems on their traditional website and to extend their markets. But the dark web knows no end. The Black Book used to be a social networking site where people would use computer generated names and give fake locations. It’s a no-brainer that The Black Book was completely uncensored. Nudity, human torture videos were all over the platform.

While the vastness of the dark web is prodigious and tracking the illegal activities a Herculean task, there are some super computers working day and night to track them down.
We are a long way from making this dream come true, but we are trying!