Millions of users go on the internet day by day visiting all sorts of sites from Instagram to LinkedIn. These sites on the internet are known and heavily visited by the majority of the population. The civilians who are not criminals, not part of the government, and are in the middle to lower class walk among distinct people who have much more power. These powerful people may not only use day to day web engines but may also bring into play a much more powerful, resourceful site. Beneath where the majority sites are visited, two different worlds of the internet submerge secluded from the population.
The deep web and dark web are two different sections of the internet that are secluded from the surface webs. What most citizens do not know is the difference between the two. The deep web is full of harmless data and digitized records that can be accessed by a direct web address. Nevertheless, the dark web is not connected to the deep web and is a whole different story. With this world wide web, it is full of criminal activity and as well as harmless activities. After all, only 0.01 percent of the dark web exists in the deep web. These criminal activities can range from stolen information, illicit substances, and criminalized services. More specifically, the activities can be such as follows: hiring a hitman, torture, manufacturing illegal drugs, child pornography, money laundering, and illegal firearm sales. If and when the representatives make purchases in the dark web, they are not able to use cash, checks, and/or any type of cards. The only way to go through the payment is with the infamous crypto currency Bitcoin.
However, not everything on the Dark Web is thought to be dangerous and not necessarily a market place. Those investigating and are “legitimate users” have their own running sites. ProPublica and Facebook have their own sites on the dark web to communicate with sources who want to stay anonymous or to use for those whose countries banned any sort of social networks. The dark web is a platform in which political whistleblowers and journalists could be censored or at risk of political retaliation if at any moment discovered by their own government.
Discovering how to successfully and safely enter the dark web is another story. Guadalupe Dominguez, a senior at Liberty High School, claims “I think it’s through secretive links on websites or a website that seems ordinary that probably has some sort of link that leads to the dark web.” For a fact ordinary browsers will not work to access the dark web. An individual must download a dark web browser such as Tor, FreeNet, Orbot, and/or Globus Secure Browser. The individual must then enter the URL address with every single letter, symbol, and numbers correctly followed by a .onion extension. While doing this process, the individual must use a virtual private network, also known as a VPN to access the web without getting tracked down by criminals or by those who work with the law. Lastly, installing a virtual machine software or disposable operating system to get rid of the activities that had been done if by chance the activities cause trouble. A virtual machine software also known as a VM, can range from Microsoft Hyper-V, Xen Project, and Red Hat Virtualization. A disposable operating system can be any number of gigabytes, eight being a minimum for the flash drive. It is up to the person to stay safe and be cautious of the risks.
Cover photo by Kristine Sanchez.
About the writer:
Kristine Sanchez is a staff writer for The Lion's Roar. You can learn more information about her by clicking here.
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