When I talk to people about the dark web, many are still wary of it and often think that it is illegal to download a browser for the dark web, especially actually accessing the standard hidden part of the world wide web.

But of course, not really. Before we dive deeper, however, let’s take a look at where you can get that thing often called a ‘dark web browser’.

Not only is there nothing illegal about downloading Tor Browser to roam the dark web, you can actually use it to access the part of the web that is very familiar to you: the ‘indexed’, also known as’ clear ‘or’ surface ‘web. Tor Browser works like a regular web browser, except that it connects to the Tor anonymity network, which wraps your traffic in multiple layers of encryption as it is routed through random relays (hence the name, ‘Tor Onion Router ‘) until it reaches its intended destination.

Wherever your browsing takes you, Tor provides some assurance that you are not monitored by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), government or advertisers and that you also remain anonymous to the websites and services you visit. [It’s not a magic bullet, however, and there are various scenarios where the browser can’t protect you, especially from yourself.]

Using Tor

Since Tor Browser is generally considered the gateway to the dark web, let’s use it for a short journey into the dark recesses of the web.

The dark web may sound like a very scary place, but often people are afraid of not knowing more than they are afraid of this part of the web. It is used in a variety of ways, but the truth is, it is often used for illicit purposes, such as buying and selling drugs, guns, and other contraband.

For those of you who have an obsession with it but are still afraid to devoke, I decided to wander the dark web and record my findings, so you don’t have to.

At first glance, Tor Browser is not much different from other browsers. It’s still the application software used to access the world wide web, and Tor Browser even opens up a search engine that lets you visit any open-web URL. However, you can also visit dark web URLs in domains with the suffix “.onion” which are not available in the likes of Safari, Firefox and Chrome (still out of the box).

Tor Browser uses the DuckDuckGo search engine by default, which is a privacy -focused competitor to Google Search that does not collect or share your search history. The quality of search results returned by DuckDuckGo continues to improve, and the search engine is gradually starting to look like a real rival to Google Search as more and more people are becoming more aware of privacy and, in In fact, the internet kept becoming a web. of advertising trackers who track our every move.

Also, DuckDuckGo and others are more likely to have a lot of ads – possibly due to the fact they’re not able to profile you and your interests that easily (and so the search delivery isn’t personalized). Privacy is the main selling point for DuckDuckGo. This Google search alternative does not track your search history, the time or location of your search, or your Internet address… which is important to Google and its business model.

Cleaning up the eBay of the underworld

After searching underground forums and shopping sites, I soon found some illicit sites offering drugs in exchange for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. I read the reviews, there were those offering online chats to discuss the details, everyone with the knowledge that it would all be confidential and relatively untraceable. This makes the dark web extremely attractive to wannabes and career criminals looking to take advantage of its strong anonymity.

I decided to delve deeper into this underworld at my fingertips and look for other illegal products. Soon, I found sites offering me fake bank notes of any currency, fake ID, PayPal account, credit card “fulz” (full card details with corresponding CVV numbers) , hacking-as-a-service operations, and even weapons with unregistered ammunition. It’s scary fast and effortless to get here and in some cases with surprisingly good customer service.

Some sites have even maintained their reputation on this customer service and, in order to achieve better service ratings from consumers, offer a phone number to assist with any problems. This all contributes to their future presence on the sites, which can push up their prices showing potential buyers their effective “legitimacy”. However, I questioned the authenticity of each site but as I investigated them, I realized more and more that it would possibly be more work to make fake sites than to have real artifacts.

I even came across a scary hitman service site that sells all sorts of deadly deals. That being said, I soon started to wonder if in fact this was a scam page, not just because there were several hitman sites with cloned information and all looked identical.

Guns, drugs and… data?

Although guns and drugs were sold, the ease of throwing people’s data, along with people’s passwords, stopped me and made me think. I clicked on a database on the show, which opened up millions and millions of lines of data showing email addresses and passwords.

I easily found the word “password” to show thousands of accounts where people still use it with, or as part of, their password.

Note: I fully checked with my former UK police digital colleagues that what I was doing was legal and they said: “There is no issue with you identifying stolen data on the dark web and using it as you suggest – offenses will only be committed under [UK] Computer Misuse Act regarding what you intend to do with the data you capture. “

With countless account credentials that can be obtained on cybercrime forums, the owners of such online accounts are clearly at risk of being harmed by hacks. And the risk is overwhelming not ‘just’ for accounts listed in databases of stolen logins. With many people simply recycling their passwords to various online services, criminals can hack any other account that is simply ‘secure’ with the same password. This is clearly a problem especially if any of those accounts contain sensitive details such as credit card information. Stolen or compromised login credentials are an important vector of attack behind data breaches and can lead to the theft of sensitive company information.

Not only is it important to change a stolen password, but it is necessary to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all accounts that offer it. Criminals steal data and it can never be deleted on the dark web, so it’s important to secure it, and invalidate what has been known to have been leaked, where possible. There is a strong possibility that the leaked data will continue to circulate indefinitely so you need to control whatever you can, such as using the password manager and only sharing limited personal information on sites. There are also sites, such as Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), that let you check if your email addresses or passwords appear to be a known data breach.

Tor Browser has many uses for people who enjoy the freedom of the world wide web without being monitored or monitored. It also opens the door to the really dark side of the dark web, which can be a dangerous place where cybercriminals hide, and it will likely remain as long as we have the internet.

The police, meanwhile, have a clear frustration with the dark web and they are fighting a tough fight with criminals and the courts. Limited evidence means fewer fraudsters are kept with more anonymity tools at their disposal. Even more problems are seen today where cybercriminals use Telegram and other messaging and social media apps, rather than the dark web, to sell contraband. If you’re interested in these issues, you may want to check out my section on how the dark web spreads on social media.