The Deep Web Guide

  While a number of legal websites reside on the deep web -- including paywalled publications, private databases and academic journals and research -- the vast majority of sites are illicit. The deep web is home to illegal marketplaces where criminal activity takes place, such as black markets for stolen credit cards, personal information and firearms, malware, sex trafficking, drugs and cyber-attack services like access to botnets. It also houses the dark side of the internet, including websites that support neo-Nazi and white supremacist rhetoric and extremist groups. The combination of an encrypted network hidden from most of the world and a transactional currency that is nearly impossible to track has created a shadowy marketplace that allows drug dealers, arms brokers and other corrosive societal elements to operate in relative anonymity. Over the past few years, international regulators and law enforcement agencies have made significant progress in addressing this challenge b...

  If you're not familiar with the dark web, it's an unindexed portion of the internet that exists inside layered proxy networks known as darknets. These darknets encrypt traffic, making them ideal for bypassing government surveillance and censorship. Some examples of dark websites are anonymous wikis, educational materials and services, and sites that host files for downloading malware or other viruses. Other users of the dark web may include whistleblowers, activists and others who want to cloak their online activity. To help these users, some websites are mirrored in the dark web and accessible only using Tor (or "The Onion Router"). This means that anyone visiting these websites must first download and install Tor before they can browse them. The New York Times launched a dark web version of its website in 2017 to make its journalism available without censorship. This option is also useful for people in countries that block the newspaper's website. The dark we...

  One of the most common reasons to use a bitcoin mixer is to obscure your cryptocurrency transactions. Bitcoin mixes, also called tumblers, reroute your coins through complex semi-random networks and private pools to disconnect the links between your incoming and outgoing Bitcoin addresses. This makes it significantly harder for law enforcement to trace your transaction history. It’s important to remember that Bitcoin mixing services aren’t foolproof. There are still ways to trace your transactions and connect them to your real-world identity. Nevertheless, they’re an essential tool that every cryptocurrency user should have in their arsenal. There are many different Bitcoin mixer on the market, and each has its own unique set of features. For example, some mixers are decentralized while others are centralized. Decentralized mixers like Unijoin use obfuscation and CoinJoin to hide your transaction history. Centralized mixers, on the other hand, keep your information privately and...

  The dark side of the Internet is a cesspool of drug dealers, black hat hackers, hitmen, and human traffickers. But it’s also a meeting place for political outcasts and a liaison between people in the free world and those who wish to submit anonymous tips (whistleblowers). This twilight realm of the Internet lives on darknets, overlay networks that use the Internet but require specific software or configurations for access. This Nira guide will help you understand what the dark web is and how to protect yourself against its risks. This article is part of our series on online safety for young people, produced in partnership with The Children’s Society and the Marie Collins Foundation. Parents and carers may be concerned about their young people visiting the dark web sites , particularly given press reports linking it to dangerous or illegal online activity. Being aware of the basic facts about these parts of the Internet can help you support young people when they do so and avoid u...