Internet is worldwide public system of interconnected computers, used by 4.5 billion people. If you are reading this article than you are one of them. Things of the internet that you are using every day, respectively what you can get to more easily (on the internet) is only small percentage of the whole internet.
We can say that web is composed by three layers. The first one is called “Surface web”. In this layer, you can find this article, videos on YouTube, e-shops, blogs, etc. Basically, everything that you can find through a web browser. Under this basic layer is a lot bigger layer that is the major of the internet and it’s called “Deep web”. In this layer, you can find everything, that web browsers can’t find. Your email inbox, online storages, bank accounts, archives, researches and others. Simply everything that you can’t find with “Uncle Google”, and you need specific link or login information. But internet has one more layer, “Dark web”. Dark web as same as Deep web is not searchable by basic web browser. But a difference between Dark web and Deep web is that you can’t go to Dark web with basic web browser, for example: Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc. If you want to get to Dark web, you need to have specific web browser. The most popular is called “The Onion Router” or shortly “Tor”. Tor is specific because it gives you whole anonymity. While your information is “flying” from your computer to its final destination, it will pass other computer networks in the whole world, so your IP address is basically untraceable, but it also makes Tor slower.
Internet pages on Dark web looks as same as basic pages, but they have some differences. One of them is the link. Any link doesn’t end with “.sk/.cz/.com”, but with “.onion” and the link also looks like mix of random letters, for example: “zd2noahfp7nf.onion”. The Dark web is different, especially in its content. On Dark web because of its anonymity, we can find a wide range of sites that deal with something illegal. On Dark web, you can buy drugs, guns, stolen credit cards, logins to fake accounts, fake money, fake id cards and passports, accounts from different sites, etc. Of course, it is not paid with a card, but with untraceable cryptocurrencies, such as a Bitcoin. The FBI eventually uncovers a large number of these illegal businesses, and their administrators are convicted. Very popular is Ross Ulbricht’s drug shop Silk Road, which was uncovered by the FBI, and the owner was sentenced to life in prison. However, when somewhere is demand, there will always be an offer, and when such a shop is cancelled, another one will replace it.
You can also ask: “Why doesn’t the FBI just take down the entire dark web?”. Well, the point is that they somehow need it themselves. Tor was created and is largely paid by the US Navy for their needs of anonymous communication. The thing is, if they were the only ones using it themselves, then it wouldn’t be anonymous. It would be clear from whom to whom all the messages are going. This way they simply blend in with the crowd.
In addition, it is important that not everything on the Dark Web is bad. It also has many positives, such as the fact that it allows you to communicate with people in countries where they have limited rights, help journalists and investigators get anonymous tips from people, and so on. Basically, it offers anonymity, and it can be used good or bad.
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