The Clearnet
Every day in our life, we visit tons of websites. Like Facebook , Twitter , Google , LBRY , Youtube etc. I really mean there are tons of websites we see here and there for every purpose.
But the question is. "Is it all of them?". According to CISO, we only see 4% of the whole internet which is known as Indexed Web. Related to dark matter term in physics. Rest 96% are called Deep Web AKA DarkWeb. According to statistics, there are currently 6 billion websites only on Clearnet.
And on the darknet? Who knows...
The rise of the Darknet
During the internet revolution when the world was getting connected, Sneaky governmental agencies such as NSA were getting stronger on preying. As activists, whistleblowers, resistance was being cornered and wiped out.
Two research organizations in the US Department of Defense drove efforts to develop an anonymized and encrypted network that would protect the sensitive communications of US spies. Thus the modern dark web started to grow.
TOR: The Gate
Whenever and wherever you hear about the dark web, it is almost inevitable that you would hear about the TOR too.
TOR stands for The Onion Router. While regular browsers can not connect or resolve darknet addresses, TOR comes and saves the day.
TOR is a router that routes through several nodes and connects to .onion addresses. Unlike normal domain names. Onion domains are fully random hard to remember.
The Darkness
On the clearnet, even with 4% of the whole thing can we explore every website we want? Nope!
Look at Giant Techs, full of Censorships and lies. Then there's government threatening our speech freedom and human rights. Post a sentence against any of them and a jail sentence comes free with it.
On the other hand, Dark Web is uncontrollable, free, and unpredictable. Here you're responsible for what you do. Show your real self, express your mind. No ones gonna stop you.
Some examples are:-
Hacktivists: A group of people actively taking steps against capitalism and immoral acts. Mostly Virtually
WhistleBlowers: They are mostly free journalists who want to expose the deep and dirty secrets of states and giants.
Marketplace: One of the most popular things of the darknet. Not like the usual marketplace. You can buy anything here. Yes I mean Anything.
So which is darker? A clear legal net full of Censoring and suppressed voice or a world where every door is open. Yet to be decided.
Darker Stories
There is freedom. Then there are weirdos. While dark web is a great place to research, learn and express. It has some real dark sides which approve its name.
Renting hackers: Hundreds of critically skilled hackers offering their services. From hacking Facebook accounts to Get some arrested for doing drugs [Though he never touched them], From cleaning one's criminal records to ruining one's professional life. Pay the price and it's done.
Red Rooms: Red Rooms are the most disgusting service available on the dark web. Here human traffickers torture Minors and women as well as murder humans on live camera. Some people pay to see a completely random person getting murdered brutally
Child Pornography: As if rapes weren't enough. These studios, rapists, molesters shoot clips while torturing/raping or physically abusing children.
Drugs and Weapon: One morning you wake up, open your favorite online marketplace and order a T-shirt. Looks nice. Let's say one morning you wake up, open a marketplace, Order 1 KG of Weed and 2 M16s? Impossible? Well not! All popular marketplaces on the darknet utilize cryptocurrencies as payment methods as a result they can get paid for anything without even revealing themselves. How they ship the items? Well, that's another story.
The Bottom Line
As the proverb goes, "There's no unmixed good on earth". Darkweb is no exception. The question is "How much is the impact?"
No one's going to question you what you do. Most of the time you're untraceable. Also, it's not like you're doing something illegal as soon as you enter or connect to the dark web. Even Facebook is usable through the dark web.
But if your local government and Law Forbids activities such as harmful trading or pornographic / gore content. Then you should stay away. Because if your IP Address of coordinates is leaked by any chance it won't take long to track you down and live a beautiful life in jail!
Resources
These are some links and references to give you a heads up!
TOR Browser [Most simple way to access Onion Network]: https://www.torproject.org/download/
BlackBelt Privacy [Anonymity Bundle integrating TOR/I2P] : https://lbry.tv/@Enilog:f/Blackbelt-anonymity-solution:7
Tips to be safe: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-safely-access-and-navigate-the-dark-web/
Exploit by FBI used for tracking: https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-refuses-to-release-tor-exploit-details-evidence-thrown-out-in-court/
DarkWeb Directory on clearnet: https://www.thedarkweblinks.com/
Uncensored Onion Search Engine on clearnet: https://onionlandsearchengine.com/
*Optimized USB based OS for browsing : https://tails.boum.org/*