WHAT IS THE DARK WEB?

EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE DARK WEB

Hello everyone,

Happy Month of March! I hope you’re all keeping safe out there. There’s plenty of news on the internet about the Corona Virus Epidemic so I won’t boggle you down by discussing it in this newsletter. In case you’ve been living under a rock and have no idea what I am talking about, please visit the CDC website to learn more about the epidemic and what you can do to minimize exposure to you and your loved ones.

Are you still strong in your pursuit of a career in cybersecurity? Remember the spirit is to never give up, keep pushing and the breakthrough will surely come.

This month’s newsletter discussion will be about the DARK WEB. On hearing this term, I'm sure it conjures up images of digital back alleys where people perform all sorts of illegal activities. When we hear the name “Dark Web”, we assume it's something bad. But is this assumption truth or myth?

In reality, it is neither all good nor is it all bad. The Dark Web was created with security and privacy in mind. But cyber criminals took advantage of it to perform illegal activities.

What Is The Dark Web?
The Dark web is a collection of websites that cannot be indexed on traditional search engines. It is the opposite of the Surface web (the one we all use which can be indexed and tracked by Google, Yahoo, Bing e.t.c.).

The Dark Web relies on peer-to-peer connections. This means that data is not stored on the database (Surface Web), but rather get distributed on many computers across the network which makes it difficult to uncover its source. Also, when you access the Dark Web, your IP address and the website you are accessing is encrypted. Both are also rerouted to at least hundreds of servers, which provides its users with complete privacy.

Why People Use The Dark Web

Drugs Sales:
The Dark Web is mostly used for drug sales. Because of its privacy, sellers can sell without exposing their identities and also get paid using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as they provide the same level of anonymity.
Illegal Commerce:
The Dark Web is used not only for drug purchases but also things like organs, firearms or even stolen information. Some also sell hacking tools such as ATM reader that can be used to steal debit/credit card information.
Communication:
Most people also use the Dark Web for communication as it provides anonymity and doesn't allow tracking, many use it as a way of trolling in online forums.
Child Pornography:
As sad as this might be, it's actually part of what some people use the dark web for. Simply because it protects these sick individuals from being known.
Reporting:
Most reporters and journalists often use the Dark Web to communicate sensitive stories with their sources and investigate information without risking their covers.

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How To Access The Dark Web
Accessing the Dark Web is not a difficult thing to do and it's not illegal if you are not performing anything illegal while using it. Now that you are aware on what the Dark Web is and how it works, I will tell you how to access it:

To access the Dark Web, you will need a specialized browser like The onion Router (Tor). The Tor browser is widely used to access the Dark Web because it provides the encryption to keep your identity unknown and also hide the source of the information you are accessing.

The Tor Browser can be downloaded freely on Torproject.org. After download, run the file and install it like you would install any other downloads. Open it and you are ready to surf the internet anonymously.

The Dark Web is filled with lots of illegal activities and this is not the type of place you would want your personal information or company details to be.

So after installing the Tor browser, how do you get into the Dark Web? As there are no search engines to index websites for you, there's no way you can find your way around. To visit the Dark web, you have to know the exact URL of the site. Most websites on the dark web use the URL suffix “. onion”. Also, the URLs are mostly random collections of letters & numbers and they are changed often, making it difficult to remember. Visit here to see some examples of Dark Web sites.
The Dark web has its good and bad sides. Governments are working tirelessly to shut down all illegal websites on the Dark Web. But it seems like the more malicious websites get taken down, the more new ones keep emerging.

However, the Dark web has its good and bad sides and government are working tirelessly to shut down all illegal websites on the Dark Web in other to stop all illegal activities. But it seems the more websites that get taken down, the more new ones keep emerging.

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