Hi dear reader,
have you ever heard about the Dark Web?
If you have, you may wondered about its depth already…
Maybe you’ve heard some crazy stories that made you think what a terrible and filthy place it is…
Maybe you’ve even tried to check it out anyway — downloaded a specialized browser and visited some of the forbidden pages yourself…
The question is, what have (or could have) you find and what you have (could) not. This article is for all those curious about the secret layer of the internet, its true possibilities and actual usage.
In the beginning, I think I should explain the basic terms, because they are usually not used in a proper meaning. So I apologize to all you, who already know them well, if you do, please skip the next part.
Dark Web and Deep Web — what’s the difference?
These two terms are frequently mistaken with one another or aren’t distinguished at all due to their similarity. But there is an important difference to keep in mind.
Deep Web is everything on the internet that is not publicly accessible and is not possible to access and view using a regular search engine like Google and others. So the emails in your mailbox, chats, pictures and much more. Basically, everything on the web you can access using a password. So also your personal data. And also data of your family, employer, friends and everyone else‘s. You can think of the internet as an iceberg. The Deep Web is the part underwater, hidden from view.
Dark Web is usually described as the part of the Deep Web where illegal activities take place. But let’s have a closer look at it. Besides illegal activities, Dark Web serves other purposes as well. People can actually use Dark Web the same way as the regular internet. But there are some important differences. To access the Dark Web, people use special software and settings that make them anonymous. One popular software people use to access the Dark Web is called Tor (The Onion Router) which was developed to hide your address while browsing the internet.
As you can see, we should know the difference between those two.
The Deep Web is like the hidden part of the internet that’s not easily searchable, and you need your keys (password( to access it. The Dark Web is a smaller section in the Deep Web, where people can be anonymous and find websites that may involve illegal activities.
Surface web
Do you remember the iceberg analogy? Well then, you might know the answer already. Yes, the surface web is like the part of the iceberg that everyone sees. We use search engines such as Google and others to navigate here and it’s publicly accessible. That’s a part where you probably spent most of your time. Did you know that based on analytic data that is only about 4% of the internet? The rest, so roughly about 96% is Deep Web. Isn’t it mindblowing?
So now that we know what exactly we talk about, let’s dive deeper into the web.
Is it all just illegal business?
Usually, when it comes to Dark Web you hear about marketplaces like Silk Road or AlphaBay which are called Dark Markets. Both of above mentioned were already shut down by authorities, but when one goes down, there are always new ones to take advantage of the freshly created demand. Usually, you pay with cryptocurrencies, in the early stages only with Bitcoin. Even though it’s true that you can order almost anything legal or illegal on these marketplaces, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your order will be fulfilled.
Oh yes, and what about all those terrifying stories? These are probably well known to many of you, but all of the stories you might have heard are most likely made up just to scare people, get more views or both. All of the hackers and hitmen offering their services were never proven to do anything else than run away with your money. And it makes total sense! Would you do the job you got paid for if you don’t really have to? Remember, on Dark Web, everyone is anonymous (unless you somehow crack down on someone’s identity of course). So what is the risk for you?
If you really think about it, the only driver in the anonymous business is that you want your customer to come back and buy more of your product, therefore the Dark Web is mostly used for selling illegal substances such as drugs, steroids and others. In this scheme destroying lives through a genius hacker or buying a murderer doesn’t really make sense. But one major issue I have to address is definitely child pornography that could be shared among organized groups of pedophiles on the Dark Web and is an example of its worst possible use. Against this activity stands an army of cybercrime investigators who work their way to get through these groups and arrest them as same as law enforcement agencies worldwide actively work to combat this issue and bring offenders to justice.
So the truth is that Dark Web can be a dark place indeed and it’s up to people what they decide to use it for.
Did you know that even the CIA has its pages on Dark Web? And that BBC is also running its pages there since 2016 to spread information to people living in countries with censored media and the internet? This is one of the good examples of its potential. The Dark Web has legitimate use cases beyond illegal activities and it can be used by journalists, activists, and individuals in repressive regimes to communicate securely and protect their identities and lives.
A few words at the end…
As with many other tools, Dark Web always depends on how we use it. Yes, there will always be individuals who will use it for bad purposes, but in general, it can be used to free people and fight censorship as well as for regular use of the internet known to us all — chatting, buying stuff online, gaming, joining forums and online groups and all that in anonymity.
If you value privacy and free speech, you will perhaps agree, that Dark Web is needed in modern society despite its controversy. Let me know your opinion in the comments.
