When you do a search on Google or Bing, do you know that the countless results you see are a very small part of all the information that exists on the Web, with the vast majority remaining unknown to you? Imagine that the famous "deep" internet, the Deep Web, is the entire network of interconnected systems that constitutes the web and what ordinary users do not see, is up to 500 times larger than what we use or see in search engines. The best representation of the Web is in the form of an iceberg. Where the web that we use most is the visible part above the surface of the sea, and the Deep Web, all the ice that lies below.
What is on the Deep Web?
As we said, search engines display results using some algorithms that "list" websites and are called crawlers. However, crawlers do not find everything. There are "hidden" resources on the internet that are roughly classified into the following categories.
- Dynamic content: dynamic pages that someone can only access through forms in which they fill in information.
- Unlinked content: pages that are not linked to other pages. Thus, the crawlers used by search engines cannot "find" them from other pages they examine.
- Private Web: websites that require you to log in with a username and password
- Contextual Web: are those pages whose content is adapted depending on how one accesses it. For example, those pages that, if you access them with an IP address from Greece, you see different content than if you were to visit the same page from a US IP.
- Restricted content: websites that restrict access to their content through technical means (Robots Exclusion Standards, CAPTCHAS and others)
- Scripted content: pages that are only available from links generated by JavaScript as well as content downloaded from Web servers via Flash, e.g.
- Non-HTML/text content: text content that is encoded in multimedia files or specific formats that search engines cannot read.
- Anything that does not follow the HTTP/HTTPS standard.
We're sure all of the above sounds "Chinese" to you, but you've all come across websites and content that are not publicly available, or you've all realized in your online life that behind an application, or a video you're watching, there's an infrastructure, only the result of which you see in your browser. Let's keep it to this generalization.
How do I "enter" the Deep Web?
The key to entering this parallel web is Tor. We have talked to you several times about it and how it differs from the usual experience you have using search engines and services that most of you enjoy on the internet.
Tor is essentially a network of volunteer machines that allows anonymous browsing of the internet since essentially, the information you send or receive using it goes through various stages of encryption and various routes until the data reaches the destination you want, or comes to you from the destination you have chosen.
The randomness of the path your information will follow is what essentially ensures both the anonymity of your browsing and the difficulty for a malicious person to track your activity. But that is not the case here. However, the same randomness and access to the "infrastructure" of the Internet is what has created the enormous source of information on the Deep Web.
Tor is the gateway to the Deep Web as the network works on all platforms. However, whether you use the Tor software or the network website, keep in mind that there is another alternative, Tails OS, an operating system that you can use at any time and on any computer, as long as it is bootable either from a DVD (ideally), or if you have loaded it and carry it with you on a memory stick.
What will I see on the Deep Web?
It is important to realize that your browsing experience on the Deep Web has nothing to do with what you enjoy on the conventional internet that you usually browse. And the main reason is because there is no categorization of information, so the search does not work in such a simple way, as you are used to on Google or Bing. Also, forget the “endings” that you knew on websites, such as .com, .gr, .gov, .org. Most domains on the Deep Web have the ending .onion and you will find that many of the urls do not have any verbal coherence.
If you want to browse the Deep Web, it is a good idea to start with pages that contain lists of content on the Deep Web, such as the Hidden Wiki for example https://3suaolltfj2xjksb.onion/hiddenwiki/index.php/Main_Page or other pages that exist to suggest "useful" links.
On the Deep Web you will see everything. From drug markets (like Silk Road) to any illegal and paradoxical transaction you can imagine. Everything is for sale, from fake IDs, malware and weapons, to murders and stolen gadgets, while in many of the listings you will see the indications CP (Child Pornography) or PD (pedophile) which are obviously links and material that you avoid. If you need help realizing the range of things that one can buy on the Deep Web, imagine the spread of e-commerce and what you can buy online right now, from your home, with your credit card and multiply that by 500, as we wrote at the beginning of the post.
The transaction currency, however, in most cases, is BitCoin.
Is it safe, is it anonymous?
No and no. If you expect someone to protect you from the content you will see, then you should not even get involved. On the Deep Web there are no filters that will classify content as "good" or "bad", nor is there any assurance for your transactions there.
It's not anonymous if you continue to use your old habits while surfing. For example, if you decide for some reason to make a transaction that could expose you and you give out your gmail account that clearly shows your name, we're not talking about anonymity, are we?
In terms of malware, you don't run such a risk if you access the Deep Web through Tails OS mainly. Also, since the program runs from your RAM and leaves no traces on the computer you use it on, unless you ask for it, so technically, (as long as you also use anonymously) you don't have any issue with identifying yourself. But remember that everything depends on you.
Is there any reason to access the Deep Web?
Yes, if you believe that your anonymity is being compromised and you still want to use the internet to search for information and communicate, without anyone recording you for it.
Yes, if you belong to a population group that is at risk or under surveillance and you want to communicate anonymously.
Yes, if you are a journalist and you don't want the identity and lives of your sources to be threatened.
No, there is no reason to get involved with the Deep Web if you think the internet is social media and the selfies you share on it, along with the 5-minute reports on what you are thinking, what you are doing and who you are doing it with. There is also no reason to get involved with the Deep Web if your internet usage does not include some “broader” searches. And no, there is no reason to get involved with the Deep Web if you cannot deal with the experience of chaotic content with all the implications that this can have. From annoying or threatening discussions, to illegal and dangerous material.
Sources: Hacker News, Tor Blog, Wired Insights , etc.
Source: digitallife.gr
