The darknet is seen as the far side of the internet where real, obedient citizens are not expected to go looking for whatever. It is characterized by the sale of poisons, illicit drugs, computer viruses, and several other criminal products. Services rendered in the darknet can include the likes of assassination, contract killing, bomb-making, and terrorism coaching and so on. Staying out of searchlight leaves you in the dark and that is exactly what the darknet is about. It keeps you out of the basic searchlight of internet search engines. Well, you may wonder how people remain anonymous in the darknet, what is possible in the darknet, what people in the darknet and so on. This article is all about the darknet also known as the darknet.
Can you be anonymous in the darknet?
If you have ever connected to the internet and tried accessing the darknet, you will know that it is impossible to visit onion sites without first connecting through the Tor network or a Tor browser. The Tor browser is a special software that helps a user connect to the darknet through a series of overlay networks before reaching the main server of the website a user is pointing to. The Tor network ensures that a user is anonymous while visiting the darknet. This is achieved through the series of computers that are available worldwide. When a user points to a particular onion address using the Tor browser or network, the data is not sent directly to the server of the website to display the content but instead, it is first sent to another user’s IP, then it is bounced to another and then to another before eventually reaching the server of the target website.
When using the Tor network or a Tor browser, all data requests are sent first from the originating computer, called a starting point, to a separately new node. The IP address of your computer is noted in the Tor network and turn connects your computer to another server. The server then connects you to a second server. The second server will not have your IP address but will have the IP address of the first server alone. All data sent to these servers are fully encrypted in the Tor network. You are then connected to another server that will only know the server 2 IP address and the IP address of the server of the onion address you are visiting. This is how the Tor network keeps users anonymous while transferring data all over the network.
Although the Tor browser and the Tor network is built specifically for accessing the darknet, a user can still access the clear web using the Tor browser and the network. The Tor browser will only behave like a typical browser when accessing the clear net with the Tor browser, but when a user is accessing the darknet with Tor, the software raises the anonymity flag instantly.
Darknet users
The darknet is a very important part of the internet and it only attracts two sets of people. The first set of people that the anonymity the darknet provides attracts are those people that suffer low or no- freedom of speech. These comprise of people that are not allowed to make use of the internet in their country, an activist that speaks up against dictatorial governments, whistleblowers, journalist informants, politically oppressed people, people who are opposed to the government and so on. All of these people need a way to communicate without being noticed, tracked or trailed by the government of the country. Since most of these people cannot speak up their mind or share information on the clear net without being imprisoned or killed, they ultimately turn to the darknet for freedom of speech.
The second set of people attracted to the darknet because of its anonymity are people who need to also run from the government but this time around because of their negative actions and dealings. These set of people flee to the darknet for refuge while still making use of the internet so that they can perpetuate their criminal activities without being arrested or and even prosecuted.
The Hidden Dark Net and what can be done there
The darknet is filled with a lot of hidden services. These so-called hidden services are services that are illegal if carried out on the clear net or open web. Hidden services in the darknet increase the darkness of the darknet. The criminal elements that make use of the darknet perpetrate lots of evil and transact illegal businesses without detection. So the darknet is ultimately called hidden because it is not accessible using the normal browsers. It requires special software like Tor to reach onion sites. Usually, not everything hidden is bad, but then, more than half of whatever is hidden is either illegal or immoral.
Darknet means various things to different people. While some make use of the darknet properly and legally, a bunch of others sees it as a dark place where secret meetings and illegal businesses can be carried out without fear of being caught, prosecuted or even jailed. It is evident that people love to be free and do what they like, but then in the spirit of freedom, there must be justice, law, and order. The darknet houses lots of criminal elements who are into the sale of weapons, ammunition, weapons of mass destruction, illicit drugs, forged documents, stolen credit cards and even debit cards, stolen personal documents, and information. Think of anything that is not permissible under law, and you will be amazed at how the darknet is flooded with such products and services. There are several IT gurus in the dark web offering their hacking and coding potentials for money. Anyone from anywhere can pay them to do their bidding for an agreed amount, These biddings range from destroying a person’s life online and offline using computer and internet, hacking a website, DDos attack, spam campaigns, malware and so on. There are other people offering services such as contract killers, terrorist trainers, bomb makers and so on.
The darknet is also filled with forums based on different ideologies. There are forums for journalists, students, schools, education, love life and so on. Other forums are specifically tailored towards criminality, for instance, a forum for terrorists and racists. There are marketplaces in the darknet that offer these services and products in their listings and categories. Vendors only need to register to become a member and start posting their products and services on the sites but there are marketplaces where a vendor is charged a certain fee before he/she can list his /her products.
Most of the transactions carried out in the darknet are done using cryptocurrencies, usually Bitcoin. The very currency is chosen because of its pseudo-anonymity and simply because it is a bit difficult to trace funds paid in or received in bitcoin. The fact that everyone and everything in the darknet is anonymous makes a more difficult for government agencies, especially law enforcement agencies, to track down criminal elements in the dark web. To catch a single person behind a scam site in the darknet, it takes a lot of research and follows up for years to get the job done. So in place of just starting a fresh investigation into a criminal activity after it has occurred, government agencies nowadays have sleeper agents in the darknet, camouflaging like day to day darknet users, who are always informing their agencies what the next move of a particular scammer or criminal could be, even without such criminal being aware.
A lot can be done in the darknet and this is why people flood the darknet thinking they can get away with whatever they do, so far it is done in the dark side of the internet. Below are some of the things people do in the darknet.
Credit cards and debit cards
There are several stores and vendors in the darknet that offer to sell credit and debit card numbers, CVV and even expiry dates belonging to unsuspecting individuals for cheap in the darknet. This information is usually gotten through phishing websites, authentic card theft or even keyloggers. The vendors sell these details to interested buyers who in turn shop with the cards, paying for whatever they must have bought with the card holder’s money.
Poison
There have been cases heard about people in the US who enrich themselves by selling ricin off the darknet. This particular poison is derived from the spurge plant and it is a form of protein that kills human cells pretty fast. So imagine someone selling poison to another person just for money.
Weapons and ammunition
A Darknet is a convenient place for ammunitions and weapons sellers around the globe. It was once said that the darknet is like a hub for black market weapons sellers. There are different types of guns for sale, explosives and even ranging to small and medium missiles, in the darknet. There are likes of C4 explosives, Ak47 and sniper guns, rocket launchers and so many others up for sale in the darknet.
Forged identity cards
Numerous websites in the darknet offer the service of getting people fake or forged documents, including identity cards, driver’s licenses, international passports, and even university certificates. The people behind some of these websites offer forged US citizenship for as cheap as $800.
Contract killers
People have grudges with their neighbors can simply go online, use the Tor browser to access the darknet and simply employ the service of a contract killer to take their neighbor’s life the same evening. It is that depressing. The darknet harbors vendors who offer to sell their killing skills for money. All you need do is just to pay them for their service and give them the required information and yes, consider the job done. It is still unclear whether this particular service will be carried out in truth or not.
Malware
The darknet is home to several IT specialists who can create any type of malware and even a computer virus. These people charge less to wreak havoc using their IT skills. You can pay some bucks to get malware developed for you for a targeted purpose in the darknet.
Uranium
It is stating the obvious when I say almost anything can be bought off the darknet. Uranium is a special element that can be developed into a weapon of mass destruction and the ore of this element is on sale in the darknet. Even the FBI has taken time to investigate sellers of uranium in the darknet and although they have been successful, it is difficult to eradicate all sellers.
Illicit drugs
One of the most sold or probably, the keyword with the most hit as regards the darknet in the open web is weed. Buying of illicit drugs is a thing that takes several users to the darknet. The darknet has more than a million drug-related product listings as of 2019. There are various types of drugs sold in the darknet and various quantities from various countries. The drug market in the darknet is thriving by the day and though the government is trying to keep it at the lowest, more vendors spring up as soon as some are nabbed and convicted.