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2015-11-29
Pixabay/JavadR
You might have heard about the "dark web."
It's the digital back alley of the internet where you can find pretty much anything you normally can't find on the regular "surface web" we all use every day.
But unlike a dark and dangerous back alley where the black market thrives, the dark web is much more accessible, and to a degree, safer. There's no contact with criminals or gangsters, but you can browse through their services and offerings online like you would on Amazon or eBay.
The Codebreaker podcast by Marketplace and Tech Insider had a chat with a couple who visit the dark web to obtain life-saving medicine they can't get anywhere else.
On the podcast, we also speak with a researcher who argues that the dark web makes the illegal drug trade safer.
Still, it's shocking to find things like weapons and counterfeit currency as product categories on a (hidden) web site.
You can learn more about the dark web in the latest episode of Codebreaker. In the meantime, I took a little tour of the dark web to see what it looks like so you don't have to.
My dive into the deep web started with a simple Google search in Chrome for the "Tor Browser," which I need to access hidden websites. It was the first search result.
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You download and install Tor like you would any other web browser.
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The Tor browser "prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location, and it lets you access sites which are blocked," according to the site.
And there it is. My key to the dark web was pretty easy to obtain!
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Here's the Tor browser's home page. Looks pretty friendly! The dark web doesn't look so bad!
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It goes without saying that much of what you can buy on the dark web is illegal: counterfeit currency, hacked Spotify accounts, stolen smartphones, and hardcore drugs.
That's not even touching the worst of it. There have been stories of murder-for-hire jobs and child porn on the dark web too. The good news is that authorities are getting better at tracking that activity on the dark web, as we saw in the big Silk Road case a few months ago.
It's not all bad either. Some of what you can do on the dark web is morally ambigious, but still helpful. As we learned in the dark web episode of Codebreaker, shopping through Tor can also give you access to medications that are cheaper and easier to obtain if you don't have insurance.
Still, the dark web seems mostly designed appeal to the worst in people. So it shouldn't be shocking that it makes up a huge chunk of the internet. It's best for you to stay away.
It even has its own search engine called "Disconnect" that uses search results from Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. It basically doesn't let anyone track your searches or the sites you visit.
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Tor is meant to help make my internet usage anonymous. I checked if it changed my IP address (my computer's unique ID), and it did! My real IP address on the left was totally different than the one on the right in the Tor browser.
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Tor even suggested I don't make the browser window full size because my computer's screen size can be sent to websites and I could be tracked based on that information. But now it's time to find some hidden websites.
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Hidden websites don't have regular URL addresses, like "Google.com." Instead, hidden site URLs are a garbled arrangement of letters and numbers, and instead of ".com," they all end in ".onion." To find hidden websites, you go to a Tor link repository where you'll find pretty much all the websites you can only access with the Tor browser.
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Here are some delightful services you can find on Tor. You can actually find this on your regular web browser, but only Tor can open the links.
Some of the friendlier services are illegal tech stores that sell iPhones for (relatively) cheap.
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There were some Samsung devices too, but it's unclear where they came from. There's a good chance they were stolen. But this is child's play.
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How about counterfeit currency? You can get $1,250 fake USD for $600.
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I could also find fake IDs, which could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Other services would also allow me to get weapons, drugs, and other disreputable products and services.
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Need some hacking done? Just rent-a-hacker!
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But I often wasn't able to connect to some of these hidden web sites. Some of them are total scams, and there's no one you can report them to.
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So I dug deeper and discovered "marketplaces" where sellers and buyers were rated on trustworthiness. I registered for it like I would sign up for an Amazon account.
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You won't find these categories in Amazon or eBay, though.
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I found some stolen Spotify accounts that would give buyers Spotify Premium for just under $2. See the vendor's "trust" level? Five is the maximum, so this vendor is among the most "trustworthy" in the marketplace.
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There are also Netflix accounts for $0.50.
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You can find a whole range of illegal drugs on dark web marketplaces.
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Guns are for sale in hidden marketplaces. Some of these weapons might be legal in the US, but they won't be legally registered, nor will the buyers go through the necessary background checks by law enforcement.
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Here's the "Fraud" section. There's no sugar coating here. It has stolen credit cards, financial information, personal information, and more.
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Here's an entire fake US identity for sale, complete with social security numbers, date of birth, and bank and credit card info.
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Buyers even leave feedback for these illegal items, like they do on Amazon and eBay.
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Is this evil?
REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
It goes without saying that much of what you can buy on the dark web is illegal: counterfeit currency, hacked Spotify accounts, stolen smartphones, and hardcore drugs.
That's not even touching the worst of it. There have been stories of murder-for-hire jobs and child porn on the dark web too. The good news is that authorities are getting better at tracking that activity on the dark web, as we saw in the big Silk Road case a few months ago.
It's not all bad either. Some of what you can do on the dark web is morally ambigious, but still helpful. As we learned in the dark web episode of Codebreaker, shopping through Tor can also give you access to medications that are cheaper and easier to obtain if you don't have insurance.
Still, the dark web seems mostly designed appeal to the worst in people. So it shouldn't be shocking that it makes up a huge chunk of the internet. It's best for you to stay away.
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Antonio Villas-Boas was a consumer tech expert with over a decade of experience testing and reviewing smartphones, tablets, computers, smartwatches, and phone carriers.ExperienceAntonio joined the Business Insider team in 2015 as a tech reporter on the news desk and moved to the service journalism team in 2020. During his time as Business Insider’s senior tech reporter, Antonio developed industry-leading battery-life tests for smartphones and tablets, and covered and reviewed hundreds (if not thousands) of products from major brands like Apple, Google, Samsung, and OnePlus since as far back as Samsung’s Galaxy S6, the original Apple Watch, and the very first Google Pixel. This decade-plus of experience has given him tremendous insights into what consumer tech truly stands the test of time and what will be irrelevant in just a few years' time (RIP The Pebble).Antonio is also an experienced deal hunter, surfacing the best discounts on phones, laptops, and smartwatches for readers during sale events like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Previously, Antonio was a consumer-electronics analyst at PCMag and ran his own blog. Why you can trust AntonioAntonio approaches all his reviews not only as a tech expert but as a consumer himself. He reads every word of fine print in the phone carrier plans he reviews, and is deeply skeptical of deals that promise you the latest iPhone model for free. (Spoiler: it might be “free,” but you could be stuck with it for three years.)He largely recommends less expensive and small-scale fixes to upgrade your existing tech before considering buying the latest and flashiest in new tech. Antonio believes his role as the go-to “tech guy” for his family and friends extends to his readers as well; he only recommends products that have stood up to the testing process.Scripps News, NewsNation, Fox 5 DC, NBC LX, and Rich DeMuro’s “Rich On Tech” radio show have requested his commentary and expertise. ExpertiseHis expertise includes:
Phones, including the iPhone, Google Pixel, and Samsung Galaxy models
Phone accessories, including charging cables, phone cases, and protection plans
Smartwatches, including the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch
Mobile carrier plans, including major carriers and MVNOs
Tablets, including iPads and Galaxy Tabs
Laptops and computers, including MacBooks and Windows models
Computer accessories, including mice, keyboards, and monitors
