Darknet isn’t that dark after all!
No, it is not a crazy thing to say. We are not saying that it is rainbows and sunshine, either. Let’s do this exercise, think about darknet and name the things that come to your mind. Illegal activities, drugs, shady place where bad things happen, human trafficking, dark, mysterious, etc. which is all true. I get it. But to disregard something which you don’t completely know about isn’t fair anyway.
Diving into the Basics
There are three levels of the internet we visit. To properly understand Darknet you need to understand these concepts. Imagine an iceberg. What portion of that iceberg you see above the surface of the water signifies the surface web or Lightnet. It is something we visit day to day, all our Google searches and open pages come under this category. It is readily available to the general public and accessible with regular search engines.
Now, the question is what lies below the surface of the water? There’s a lot more to the iceberg than you can see. The truth lies in deep waters. Let’s go deeper and talk about the Deep Web or Invisible Web. It is the part of WWW whose contents are not indexed by standard search engines. Its content is hidden behind HTTPS, paywalls, etc and users can access it by URL or IP address. It contains all the parts of the internet that requires a password or a security code to access beyond the webpage available for the public. Emails, online banking, social media websites, VOD and OTT services, etc. all come under Deep Web.
Lightnet and Deep Web allows to monitor your online activity and mostly collects your personal information and location. But what lies beyond Deep Web? Darknet or Dark Web. It is that layer of the internet which is not open for public view. It basically maintains your anonymity while you surf. Yes, it is a breeding ground for all the criminal activities but it has a bright ray of light which can be beneficial to us. We’ll get to this point later, let’s understand it a little better, first.
What is it and how to access it?
It came into the picture after ARPANET(government-funded military/academical network which evolved into the Internet). Darknet addresses could receive data from ARPANET but did not appear in the network lists and would not answer pings or other inquiries. “Darknet” was coined in the 1970s to designate networks isolated from ARPANET, for security purposes.
Darknet can be accessed for all types of pornography, by crypto-anarchists, drug markets, self-harm communities, social media racists, and transhumanists. But you’ll need special browsers to access it, for example, Tor and Freenet.
To further add to anonymity, it is recommended to use a VPN as browsers can be hacked and undercover policemen are active there to monitor and patrol. Using browsers like DuckDuckGo can help you protect yourself as well.
What is it used for?
Darknet provides you with online marketplaces that can open your doors for all the illegal activities. You name it, they have it. All of this happens due to the fact that it protects the identity of the user. Therefore, it is also used for political activism and revolutionary action to spread information about various companies.
Security researchers use the darknet as a source of information on computer software and hardware, exploits, tools, etc. whereas the FBI and other law enforcement groups use the darknet for sting operations. It is a place where information is publicly available. Hence, many intelligence communities use it. Journalists and whistle-blowers also use it to keep themselves safe while revealing a scandal.
Home automation platforms, which are used to access manage, and control the internet of things (IoT), are turning to the darknet’s hidden services to leverage its secure communication connection against malicious threat actors. Even social media is more secure if used on the darknet, it saves you from the terrors of not-so-perfect privacy policies.
Hence, darknet may be a place where ‘dark’ things might happen. But it is very important to use it judiciously. It is a platform where you can put your opinions without any judgement and use all its features for legitimate use. No, it is not a crime to access darknet but it is definitely a felony if you illicit stuff there. You can also see a light in the dark if you use this platform sensibly.
