HERE IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DARK WEB

 Dear readers of Hacker's Station, today we are going to talk about the Dark Web, (we have already talked about the Dark Web in the past), but today we will go into detail to understand how to access and which search engines to use.

When we talk about the so famous dark side of the Internet, we refer to the Dark Web, think that it represents 96% of the entire network. The submerged web, unknown to most, which is not directly accessible and which is not indexed by traditional search engines (Google, Bing, etc.).

A targeted research estimates that the Dark Web is about 500 times the size of the public one, where governments, terrorists, pedophiles, drug traffickers and many other people operate.

Being a hidden web, in order to access and consult the contents published on the Dark Web we must resort to special software such as Tor Browser or I2P.

Browsing the Dark Web technically can be done by anyone, the important thing is to be careful because as you can imagine we can find people of a certain type. To access the Dark Web, you must use the TOR browser, we will see its operation in detail later.

First we make a distinction by dividing the web into three levels: the web, the deep web and the dark web.

THE WEB

The first (the web) is the one we use every day when we surf the internet, email, search engines, social networks and most of the sites we normally visit.

All these sites are indexed by the Google search engine and by all the other search engines, there are robots (technical name: crawler), which scan the sites by returning their contents, such as photos, texts, videos, etc. to search engines.

The DEEP WEB

The second (the deep web) does not contain illegal material, it simply does not provide crawlers, so the contents of these sites will not be indexed and will not appear on search engines.

These are sites that we normally use (for example uniweb), which have access protection systems.

On the web and on the deep web we can surf anonymously, this does not necessarily mean we want to do something illegal.

Normally all the movements we make through browsers (such as Firefox and Chrome) are traceable and tracked.

On the one hand we have cookies, which help users find some information), for example the browsing history, helping marketers to propose ads and promotions that match the needs of their target audience.

Then there is control over all activities related to an IP address, if an employee surfs from a company network, a system administrator can see which sites he visits and what actions he takes.

In the same way the web service provider could do it, if we visit a site with illegal content, which for some reason is not on the dark web, it is very easy for the postal police to identify this activity and therefore the culprits.

the DARK WEB

The third is (the dark web), which is where illegal activities such as the “chat of horrors” normally take place. To access we always use Tor, unlike the web we all know, here it is not only the users who are anonymous, but also the servers on which websites with illegal content are stored.

These websites are meeting points that are not easily traceable to anyone, the authorities are unable to identify any of the actors involved.

On the web let's call it normal, the information is organized in packets, at any time these packets can be opened and read to view the information contained.

In the dark web, however, information is further broken down and bounced before reaching its destination. All the points (called nodes) where they stop have only two pieces of information: from who the packet arrives and to whom they have to transmit it.

Therefore the identity of the sender and recipient is not known.

If the authorities were to intercept one of these packets, they will practically do nothing, because in each passage the information is encrypted with different encryption systems for each node of the network.

Compared to the past, the dark web has become more accessible and no special skills are required, even a kid who is not particularly "geek" could access it.

The operation of an illegal system, where potentially anyone can ask for money in exchange for illegal content is all based on word of mouth, eventually building a reputation within the environment.

Being so complex it is extremely difficult to identify these types of criminals, we must be lucky enough to identify vulnerabilities in the software that allow us to browse the deep web.

THE DANGERS OF THE DARK WEB

Before going into the detail of our article, I make a small introduction explaining the dangers present in the Dark Web, I also recommend carrying out the so-called cyber hygiene, which will help us keep data safe. I also recommend covering your computer's camera with the classic patch or duct tape, and talking as little as possible because we could be heard by indiscreet and malicious ears. Obviously you NEVER NEED to communicate your personal data.

Surfing the dark net is not illegal, but being out of any control, it is very easy to get into trouble as you can imagine… even for files downloaded unintentionally.

While being constantly monitored by the police, directly or through internal departments, also relying on companies such as ReputationUP, you have to be very careful. Within the Dark Web, we could find forums dealing with dangerous topics, remember that the worst criminals could hide behind the numerous nicknames.

If you are not protected in the correct way, it is not at all complicated for an attacker to go back to the home address to give vent to their perversions. According to some statistics, the Dark Web can lead to addiction, especially on very curious subjects or those suffering from loneliness.

Curiosity can in fact lead the surfer into platforms that have very bloody photos and videos, (think of the very famous snuff movie), videos that end with the killing of the victims, who can be people or animals.

Even for experienced users, security is never 100%, no virtual friends can be trusted.

HOW TO ACCESS

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, to access the Dark Web it is necessary to use Tor, (an anonymous network capable of masking the real IP address).

First we download and install Tor (you need to install the browser of the same name) in order to access. (You can download it at this link https://www.torproject.org/), follow the instructions you find on the portal.

Instead, to have access to particular domains, (for example .Onion -cipolla-), you have to be invited by someone.

These domains (.onion) constitute the Onion network, have very short transaction times and are beyond any control or surveillance.

Even if we don't know who we are communicating with at the same time, we are not entirely anonymous.

To avoid being traced, it may be useful to use a public connection (public WiFi hotspot or the network of an Internet Point), by not requiring any identity document, no one will be able to trace us.

WHAT YOU FIND

On the Dark Web we can find those who sell, and we can buy everything, illegal goods / services such as drugs, weapons, fake educational qualifications, counterfeit money, even hit men, child pornography material, stolen identities, fictitious bank accounts, medicines such as diet pills etc. ...

The Dark Web is not only used for these illicit trafficking, it is also used as a place for ethical exchange (think of political confrontations within countries with dictatorial regimes).

Real libraries are organized for the exchange of prohibited books, the network is also used by criminal, mafia and / or terrorist organizations.

PAYMENT METHODS

Obviously, scams are on the agenda, thousands of criminals are ready to collect money and flee. Payments are not made through credit cards or bank accounts…. but rather with Bitcoins, (the famous virtual currency, which does not keep track of any type of movement).

For the payments part, we will be able to use Tails, (free downloadable software). This software can be used for each individual transaction in order to encrypt all movements within the dark network.

Now let's go see the 8 best hidden search engines to use in the Dark Web of 2020.

AHMIA

One of the few deep web search engines that actually work and deliver results like a traditional search engine.

The user interface is simple with a few instructions and a search bar on the homepage.

TORCH

This search engine has been active since 1996 and establishes its potential, the dark forces do not let anything live so long if it is not of quality.

The use is very simple and intuitive, static advertisements are shown that are the same for everyone.

It is rumored that it has over 1 million indexed pages in its database, which I suppose is enough for most of us.

KILOS

The results of this search engine are illegal, as the name suggests it is a specific search engine on "Drugs".

The search engine takes the keyword and filters it by searching all of its 8 indexed Darknet markets, 556,728 forum posts, 764,555 reviews and 3,012 indexed suppliers.

NOT EVIL

Not Evil has an extremely simplistic interface, just an image on the home page and a search bar at the top.

Just enter the keywords to search for and press enter to view the result.

Advanced searches also include data such as the site's latest response along with ping time and additional results to the main search result.

CANDLE

There is a slight resemblance between Candle and Google, but I assure you that it is nothing like Google.

Being one of the simplest deep web search engines in existence and resembling the popular Google, you won't find it difficult to use either.

Only .onion and non-clearnet results are displayed and can be used to directly find deep web links if you know the keywords you are looking for.

HAYSTAK

With over 1.5 billion web pages indexed and nearly 300,000 individual searches performed every day, Haystak is one of the best onion search engines in this industry.

Only onion URLs are listed, what makes it special is that it not only shows links to websites but also more advanced information, such as historical version, cached version, data points, etc.

ABIKO

Abiko is one of the simpler deep web search engines. It does not include anything except a search box and search results, they only include .onion websites.

ONION LAND

Sponsored by Tor and Tor2Web, the homepage is easy to use, there is only a search box to enter keywords.

As always, make good use of it by testing your device / computer, doing them on devices / computers not yours is illegal.

See you next article!

N.B .: I do not take any responsibility for the use you will make of the guide, as it is drawn up for didactic and training use.