A Guide to Dark Web Links for Newbies

 

dark web links

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 unintentionally encouraging them to engage in risky or illegal activities.


Onion Links

The most well-known darknet is Tor, short for the Onion Router, which bounces information through a series of encrypted layers – like an onion – to offer users anonymity. Tor is used by more than 2 million people daily in 2021 and is completely legal, with the U.S. government funding the project that created it. Tor is not the only darknet but it’s one of the most popular. The other darknets have different names and require specific software or network configurations to access.


These days, most people know the dark web is a hub for illegal marketplaces selling everything from drugs and firearms to counterfeit money and hacked Netflix accounts. But the dark web is also home to other hair-raising online activities such as child pornography and a variety of services that enable cybercriminals to launch attacks.


There’s even a dark web version of Facebook, allowing users to stay anonymous while communicating with friends and family. Other surprising sites include the BBC’s news website, which has a Tor version so it can be accessed without censorship in countries with restrictive media laws.


The Hidden Wiki is a catalogue of working dark web links that is more organized than the Onion Links site, but it’s not categorized so its entries can be hard to find. It’s worth checking it regularly to see what’s been added or removed and to keep up with the latest developments in the dark web. And it’s always important to remember that no matter how safe and secure you are on the dark web, you can still be a victim of scams. So be careful who you talk to and trust your intuition if something feels wrong.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dark Side of the Internet: A Guide to Dark Web Links

Image
Many people associate the dark web links with nefarious, illegal activity, and for good reason. However, the dark side of the Internet isn’t just a cesspool for drug dealers, human traffickers and hitmen. It’s also a platform for whistleblowers, political dissidents and other individuals seeking anonymity online. As a result, some parts of the Internet aren’t visible to regular search engines and require special browsers and software to access. These sites are known as the darknet, or hidden web, and include everything from illicit marketplaces to a network of websites where users can chat with strangers anonymously. To browse the darknet, you must use a browser with built-in support for Tor, which allows you to access the hidden web without risking your privacy or identity. While your Internet service provider (ISP) can still see that you’re using Tor, the information passing through each of the network’s nodes is bounced around in a way that makes it difficult for anyone to identify ...
Read more

The Deep Web's Quiet Rebellion: A Historical Perspective

Image
  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...
Read more