What is the dark side of the Internet? For the uninitiated, who heard such a term for the first time, it seems to be something very mysterious and, perhaps, even frightening. And this has its own background. The whole horror is that, contrary to the colorful epithet, the dark side of the Internet is more than a real phenomenon, the information about which is recommended for reading only for superficial acquaintance and in no way calls for active use.
What it is?
The dark side of the Internet implies anonymity. That is, it is an opportunity to surf the net without leaving any traces. And although this can be done without any malicious intent, under such conditions a lot of not quite legal, or rather, completely illegal, things are going on. That's why it is the dark side of the Internet.
What might it be for?
Network over network is a brief description of the darknet. What is hidden in the dark side of the Internet, how to get there - many other issues, nuances, are currently becoming relevant. And all because they provide access to blocked sites, which now (given all kinds of laws against piracy) is becoming more and more.
Well and, of course, ordinary human curiosity. Sometimes it is it that makes the user go to the other side of the Internet - good, it sounds intriguing and promising. Well, in a sense, this is so. But, unfortunately, not in the best.
Two sides of the coin, or How it was
The Internet is a powerful, uncontrollable element. He plays in the life of modern people is not the last role. It is not surprising that the authorities of many countries would like to subjugate it to themselves - still, such a means of controlling the mind! Freedom-loving "users" and advanced "hackers", however, resist with dignity and honor. And so it turned out that the World Wide Web was divided: into the visible part, like sites provided by search engines, and the invisible, dark, providing anonymity, which implies more freedom and space. But freedom is a dangerous thing, and you can manage it in different ways. For most people, she is dizzy, and the risk posed by walking along sharp edges only provokes. But this is not something to play with.
How to get there?
We continue the conversation about what the dark side of the Internet means. How to get there? Well, from the outside, everything seems not so complicated: they use a special client - that is, a specific browser with which you can access specific sites. This uses the .onion domains.
When the dark side of the Internet is mentioned, TOR immediately pops up in conversations. This is the name of the very necessary customer. It is not one of a kind, but the most popular.
How does he work?
"Tor" forms a chain of encrypted connections: thus, when going to a specific site, the user leaves no traces. Anonymity is provided not only to “users” who want to visit resources whose legitimacy is being questioned (pirated torrent trackers are the most innocent of them), but also to such sites themselves.
What is the trick?
A question might arise: that is, it is not such an invisible, dark side of the Internet? "Thor" is not such a hidden fact, and articles on this topic are unmeasured.
It can be said that the principle of “hidden in sight” works here. TOR works with so-called onion routing, the network connection of which cannot be traced. The client may be known, like technology, there are also instructions on how to enter the dark side of the Internet. But how to find out who else uses it, whose site offers illegal services or implements illegal trade - the question is much more complicated.
Underwater rocks
The multi-stage, confusing route that Thor offers provides a certain level of anonymity for certain users. But, as you know, there is a reaction to every action, and not everything becomes so simple. User surveillance can be carried out using malicious software, in a simple way - viruses, for example, notorious "trojans". Such software is injected directly into the browser and instead of anonymity, the usual "user" receives a "pig in a poke" as a gift from some "hacker" who has placed an infected Tor-client in free access.
How to access the onion site?
The first action is downloading and installing the Torah directly. It can be taken from the official site. The download package, in turn, contains everything you need: the client itself to access the network, a proxy server that will “cut out” the excess traffic from the traffic, and a program that helps you conveniently manage all this stuff, ensuring anonymity and unhindered surfing the "invisible side of the Web."
Then you can start the search for resources. Beginners are encouraged to start with a hidden Wikipedia that redirects the user to wherever he wishes, and it would be nice if it was communication in harmless anonymous forums.
More alternatives
By the way, not only Tor gives access to the "other side". There is also FreeNet - in fact, not a client, but a data warehouse and YaCy (it is a search engine). I2P is also developing rapidly. Now it is she who is the most technologically advanced.
I2P has been nicknamed the “Network of Absolute Paranoid” because it has the highest level of anonymity. On the other hand, this also causes a major drawback - malfunctions and the low speed spent for constant re-encryption and changing tunnels. Enhanced cryptography loads not only the browser, but also the processor of the computer through which access to the dark side of the Internet is carried out, and this has its own, not encouraging, consequences.
Advantages and disadvantages of TOR
The very widespread TOR, on the one hand, provides anonymity and comfortable surfing, and on the other hand, it is already blocked in many countries. But, actually, it’s for the better.
The essence of building a TOR network
The network is being built by volunteers setting exit points. They provide completely anonymous channels for accessing sites. Resources on the .onion domain are internal Torah sites, essentially hidden web servers. This is an anonymity of a double level: on the one hand, you cannot track the owner of the site, on the other hand, neither he (the owner), nor anyone else can track the visitor.
Locking resources is also very problematic - there are great difficulties in determining the location of the site server.
Network nodes are divided into:
- those through which traffic passes are relays;
- those through which access to the "big" Internet takes place, that is, giving access to blocked sites, for example, pirated torrent trackers, etc. - exit nodes;
- those used in countries where Tor is prohibited, they are called bridges.
Warnings
Anonymity is not in vain called absolute. There is still a small chance of surveillance. In addition, the possibility of being “disclosed” increases if you take rash actions: for example, enter passwords. On darknet, this is almost the most stupid thing you can do.
An open list of relays is also a concern. What does this threaten? In the world, this means that Tor is completely or partially blocked on many sites of the bright Internet. Wikipedia, for example, does not allow you to edit articles through it.
Do not jump into the rabbit hole, Alice ...
Curiosity, as they say, killed the cat. So before you rush into the pool, and in this particular case - darken, you should first read what you can find there.
So, the most popular topics on the other side of the Internet:
- 18+, sex services;
- social networks are also of an intimate nature;
- politics (current Ukrainian issues);
- trade in illegal means (weapons, drugs, bitcoin currency);
- stolen databases, stolen bank card data;
- closed resources, access to which is blocked even by the majority of darknet users.
Is it worth it?
All of these topics are not innocent jokes, but real, actively developing crime. It is on the dark side of the Internet that killers freely post their service announcements, and the dark, or as it is also called, hidden “WikiPedia” provides for reading articles about pedophilia and other perversions - not in a purely scientific language, indicating criminal punishment, but in in the form of instructions to help the "beginner". Darknet forums are actively trading: methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fake passports and government data. Going there is like a "bad neighborhood" on the streets. And the worst thing is that all this is real. So is it worth the mere curiosity? After all, in the end, this is a problem that needs to be addressed.