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What is the Dark Web?

The dark web is anything that requires credentials to access and thus can’t be indexed by surface search engines. For instance, your Netflix queue and Facebook messengers are both deep web pages.

Screenshots of the alleged sale of 1.5 billion Facebook users’ information appeared on a hacker forum. But that isn’t the only way to access Facebook via the dark web.
1. Accessibility

The dark web is anything you can’t reach from a regular search engine. Your edit profile page on Quora, your bank account information, and even Facebook Messenger chats are all part of the dark web. It’s accessed through special software that hides your computer’s IP address, like Tor.

But the dark web is also home to shady activity. It’s a place where users who want to be anonymous can find tools to hack into and steal data from computers, launch ransomware attacks, or even murder people. And while some of those activities are legitimate, many cross the line into illegality.

Facebook says it has about 1 million users per month using its onion service, but it’s hard to say exactly how many people are visiting. That’s because sites on the dark web aren’t required to display their traffic numbers. In fact, most aren’t even indexed by the surface web, meaning they can only be found through Tor or another software program that encrypts your computer’s connection to the internet.

That’s why it’s so surprising to learn that Facebook has launched an onion version of its website. It’s not the first time a big site has tried this, but it is a major development for the dark web. And it may be a game-changer in countries where the site has been blocked or restricted.

In addition to making the site more accessible, Facebook’s onion service promises to collect none of your data. This is a huge deal in countries where Facebook has been forced to restrict access to its site because of government censorship. The New York Times, for example, launched an onion version of its website in 2017. It offers the same content as the normal site but collects no user data.

Other social media sites on the dark web include BlackBook and Torbook, both of which offer a similar experience to Facebook. However, they can be prone to hacking and don’t offer as much functionality as the clear web version of the site. Nevertheless, they’re worth trying if you’re looking for a social network that doesn’t collect your data.
2. Security

With all the attention focused on Facebook’s alleged role in Russian meddling in the 2016 election and its general failure to protect user data, many users are looking for alternatives. One possible option is a new version of the site that can be accessed using Tor, an anonymous network that bounces web traffic randomly through a network of servers. Tor preserves users’ privacy by disguising their identity and location, and it’s been possible to use it for Facebook access since June last year.

However, using a dark net version of the site comes with its own set of security concerns. The Tor network can be prone to hacking, and the sites it connects to are not always secure. This can lead to phishing scams and malware attacks, particularly for first-time Tor users. To avoid these issues, it’s recommended that you only visit verified sites on the dark web and stick to sites that offer SSL certificates. Reddit is a good resource for finding these types of sites, especially the /r/deepweb and /r/onions subreddits.

Another way to stay safe while browsing the dark web is to use a private search engine. DuckDuckGo is a popular choice, and it’s available in the Tor browser. The company claims that it does not track your browser history or location, and it is also backed by an army of volunteers.

Facebook’s recent problems have energized privacy advocates and libertarians to seek out a more decentralized and encrypted cyberspace. A dark web version of the site might provide that alternative, but it’s still early days Original hidden wiki

The dark web is a hidden internet badlands populated by hackers, drug runners, gun smugglers, pornographers and human-part dealers. It’s also a thriving marketplace for ransomware, with criminal groups that develop and distribute malware taking a cut of the money they steal from victims. A study by IBM Security X-Force found that 29% of ransomware engagements in 2020 involved REvil, which is made by a group called Global Science Research. Those kinds of tactics have given the dark web a reputation as a shady place to shop.
3. Privacy

The dark web is a hidden part of the Internet that isn’t indexed by mainstream search engines like Google. It is home to illegal marketplaces where drugs, weapons and stolen credit card details are sold. It’s also where hackers, terrorists and other criminals hide. In recent years, it’s also become a home for people seeking anonymity online.

Facebook has joined the dark web, allowing users to access the site via the privacy-enhancing Tor software. The feature makes it difficult for spy agencies to track a user’s location. Tor anonymises the browser’s IP address by routing it through multiple servers before reaching the website. However, it can be sluggish and can sometimes cause Facebook to flag an account as being suspicious if it doesn’t see the expected location.

It’s a feature that could prove useful for those living in countries that block large sections of the Internet, or for people worried about their private information being used by corporations and governments. It could even help those seeking to avoid persecution by oppressive regimes, or retaliation in the workplace or community for speaking out against injustice.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal has energized privacy advocates and libertarians to seek a new online world. One that is secure, decentralized and based on blockchain technology where companies don’t collect and husband personal data.

For example, a site called DuckDuckGo is the leading private internet search engine and works with Tor. It doesn’t track a user’s search history and only stores encrypted versions of the results. It’s also easy to use a private email service, such as Guerilla Mail or Protonmail, for a similar level of security.

In other developments, the founders of WhatsApp are creating a version of their messaging app for the dark web. They say they are doing so because the social network is too big to ignore and the dark web is a safe and secure environment for their type of service. This is the first time that a major web company has created a dark web version of their service. It is a sign of the increasing interest in dark web alternatives to mainstream services.
4. Legality

The dark web is a part of the internet that’s not crawled by search engines and is encrypted so your activities are anonymous. While some people use it for legitimate reasons like escaping government censorship, others are not so benevolent. It’s also used by hackers to sell stolen data on forums, as well as in phishing scams. It’s a cesspool of criminal activity that has been home to hitmen, pedophiles, and other illegal activity.

Facebook recently revealed that it now has 1 million monthly users accessing its site through the dark web. The social media giant has maintained an ‘Onion’ site on the Tor network for a year and half, but it is the first time that it has disclosed its presence there.

Accessing the dark web is pretty easy if you have the right software and configurations. The Onion site uses Tor to hide your computer’s IP address and location and creates a pseudo-random name for the website. It’s also difficult to track if you are on an Onion site because of its complex URL structure that starts with.onion and contains characters that look like gibberish compared to the shortened urls we’re used to seeing on the internet.

However, it is important to note that it’s still not completely safe. Some of the content on the dark web is illegal, such as online shops that sell drugs and firearms. There are also sites that sell personal information such as PayPal account credentials, according to a recent study by cybersecurity company Fractl. It was found that these credentials are being sold on the dark web at a cheap rate.

The dark web is also popular with political dissidents, as it’s a place where they can communicate with the outside world without fear of persecution by their governments. For example, there’s the SecureDrop onion site which allows whistleblowers to share information with news organizations. Similarly, there are many congregations on the dark web that worship everything from Lucifer to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. As a result, the use of the dark web is also increasing among refugees and those living in totalitarian countries that have blocked traditional social media platforms.