The Dark Web: The Effects of the Hidden Internet on the Digital Age
In the late 1990’s, the internet became a staple of society, a new “fad” that became integrated into modern culture. As more and more information was uploaded to this repository, data hubs formed, often around illegal materials such as copies of music and movie files. In 2001, a man named Ian Clarke revolutionized the internet by introducing “Freenet,” a service that allowed for anonymous access to the darkest reaches of the web, filled with illegal files that encompassed everything from movie torrents to child porn. (McCormick N.P.) With the creation of Freenet, Clarke changed the world by giving internet users access to the forbidden depths of the internet now dubbed the Dark Web.
The dark Web is a mysterious domain, known by a surprisingly few number of internet users, but it harbors massive amounts of information, estimates include over 75,000 terabytes of data, in fact, including numerous social networking sites, forums, markets, and other internet applications. (Bergman N.P.) It also provides a very powerful feature that may be harnessed for good or for evil: anonymity. By using services to access the hidden web, such as the Tor web browser, an internet user can completely hide his or her identity while participating in a number of online activities. Anonymity may be beneficial by providing a cushion for individuals to untraceably unite over taboo issues or even by establishing contact between
The Internet has proven itself to be helpful, but it can also be a scary place. When the Internet first emerged, it was difficult to gauge its full potential. The Internet was actually created as a “military communications network in the 1960s” (Campbell et al., 2016, p. 41). However, the Internet became a more integral part of society around the 21st century when it transformed into a hub of information and entertainment. The film, The Net, features the early years of the Internet and the dangers that came with it. This film took a radical stance about how the Internet can damage a person’s life. The film remains relevant today since it inspires paranoia regarding the fragile safety
The sharing of information may well be the most advanced activity of the twenty-first century occurring across ages and backgrounds with relative ease. Nevertheless, the use of information that is aired through the internet raises several genuine concerns regarding nature, intent, source, and destination as well as the consequences of the content. This is particularly true when the information has to do with people 's identities and other activities that may touch on critical aspects of national security and unauthorized business. As such, there is a mix of reactions among individuals regarding the extent of privacy they would like regarding information that they share or retrieve on the internet. While some may have genuine concerns such as protecting their identity, others are on malicious tracks to cover their person and conduct unwarranted business on the web. The mix of concerns led to the rise of the Dark Web on darknets. A darknet is an overlay network that utilizes the public Internet but requires authorization or special software to access mainly to protect the user’s identity and location from network surveillance and traffic analysis (Sui, Caverlee & Rudesill 2003). Such trends on the internet raise the question; is the Dark Web an important and necessary tool to offset pervasive online surveillance in contemporary society or is the moral panic surrounding the Dark Web in global news media justified? The aim of this research is to answer the raised question
In today’s world the internet has pros and cons. Although I believe online anonymity was initially intended to provide a layer of safety to those engaging in the use of the internet (pros), I believe this layer of safety has morphed into something sinister (cons). It is now a shield for cowards and predators hiding behind their computers, waiting to pray on their next victim. For example, an online classified such as Craigslist is a website that prides itself through the use of anonymity in an effort to protect both the seller and the perspective buyer. However, the price for this anonymity comes with great risk for the seller, and is a breeding ground for lurking
The media’s skewed outlook and reports on the deep web has affected the way the majority of people view this resource that is inherently not a bad tool. The media also misrepresents the deep web by confusing it with the darknet and giving false information about the two. It is easy to get caught in the wave of horror stories that appear in magazines and online content about the deep web and the darknet, but more often than not the deep web is doing more good than is portrayed by the media. The advances in cryptography that is being used within the deep web and the darknet are creating a safer environment for reporters and political activists; even the simple internet user needs cryptography to protect their information stored in the deep web.
Sometimes, in order for an individual's own safety, sacrifices have to be made. The government has full justification to arbitrate the people’s online private matters because it is necessary for the protection of the country and its citizens. One example comes from an underground network called the “deep web”. The deep web could be described as the wild west of the internet. Numerous amounts of information are posted on the deep web where normal search engines like Google or Bing do not show. According to Tyler Biscontini, a writer for the Salem Press, the deep web is useful for many different reasons. It provides anonymity to anyone using it. Special software must be downloaded in order to run the deep web. This is mainly because the deep web’s main feature is that the user’s ip address is changed so that they can roam the web free of the fear of being tracked. It also provides a significant greater amount of information that is not accessible on a normal browser. Journalist especially, use the deep web in order to dive into research and scouting topics for future stories. However, the deep web can also be a dangerous place. Many individuals take advantage of its features for wrongdoing. Due to the anonymity that comes with accessing the deep web, it is hard to track down individuals performing the crimes. Lev Grossman, a writer for Time Magazine, describes an occurrence that happened
In the Age of Information or the Era of the Internet, everyone is connected. Everyone carries around a computer in their pocket with more than enough computing power to send a man to the moon. Invisibly, data is constantly flowing. Virtually everything we interact with in today’s world has one thing in common: the internet. It plays a huge role in everything from sharing pictures with friends to the election. It is widely accessible and houses a wealth of information. Anyone should be able to access the network of data that is the internet. However, just as this Swiss Army Knife of innovation can be applied towards the common good, it can also be limited and used nefariously—an action that manifests itself in the form of censorship. Internet
Security and privacy concerns present challenges for law enforcement combating deep web criminal activity. Crimes committed on or with the Internet are relatively new. Those crimes include illicit trade in drugs, weapons, wildlife, stolen goods, or people; illegal gambling; sex trafficking; child pornography; terrorism and anarchy; corporate and sovereign espionage; and financial crimes. Police agencies have been fighting an uphill battle always one step behind an ever evolving digital landscape and the criminals who exploit it. The novelty of the Internet begets jurisdictional and legal issues law enforcement must address while remaining ethical and holding to the code of law. Due to the anonymous nature of deep web criminal activity and the means for uncovering perpetrators, privacy concerns of citizens legally using the same software or websites are now a hot topic.
When you begin to examine how the internet and crime are related, you must first examine exactly what the internet is and how it works. The internet is a global system of computers and networks that are interconnected and service billions of users at any given time. This could be considered a cybercriminals’ playground. Because billions of computers are connected via a vast array of private and public networks including many government agencies, it is easy to see how a cybercriminal could obtain valuable information or unleash denial of service attacks that could cripple many of these systems.
Throughout time, privacy and security have been two heavily debated topics. There has always been a struggle to find middle ground between a private environment and a secure environment, but the dawn of technology and the Internet has made this struggle even more difficult. The Internet has drastically decreased the expectation of privacy of any and all individuals that have ever used it. Technology in general can pose a threat to an individual’s physical and virtual security. The Internet has also brought forth a sense of anonymity to those looking to conceal their true identities, some of which plan to commit horrific crimes. Privacy and security go hand in hand, however security is by far the most important.
The agencies employed by governments to police the web in order to protect the vulnerable have seen an increase in child pornography and online fraud. The speed at which information can be distributed and the number of people that can be reached attracts those that are intent on causing harm. The term “cybercrime” is becoming more widely used. The financial gains that can be made and the anonymity the internet can provide, make the virtual world of cyberspace a haven for criminals. Although the internet has huge benefits for information gathering and social networking, in the wrong hands it can cause harm to the vulnerable and criminals are able to vanish into the underground with the use of false identities that are hard to track online.
The Dark Web is a term that is referred to specifically as a collection of websites that are publicly visible, but hide the IP addresses (Location) of the servers that run them. Thus they can be visited by any web user, but it is very difficult to work out who is behind and using the sites. And you cannot find these sites using any regular search engines such as google. Almost all sites on the Dark Web hide their identity and IP address using the Tor encryption tool. You can use Tor to hide your identity, and spoof your location. When a website is run through Tor it has much the same effect.
The Internet is a technology that has negative impacts on our daily lives. It has changed aspects of our life for the last 50 years, and it has demonstrated the considerable influence on people’s lives. Almost 3.2 billion people in the world use the internet. The Internet has gained acceptance across the globe, and it has also become a reason behind the critical changes in the modern society. Some of the changes are social isolation, health disorder, lack of privacy and internet addiction.
There is a big influence of technique on our daily life. Electronic devices, multimedia and computers are things we have to deal with everyday.
As technology has propelled forward in our exploration of knowledge relating to computers and their science it is understandable that there are still areas of this field which may yet remain unexplored. One particular field being the Dark Web, which has been defined as an area of the deep web which has, “been intentionally hidden and is therefore inaccessible through standard [web] browsers.” (Brightplanet.) Although this web has evolved over the course of many years, possibly dating back to the 1990s and the development of onion routing, it has advanced itself into an industry which no one could have ever predicted. Further as well delve deeper into this developmental occurrence known as the Dark Web, I feel that we must ask ourselves how this has evolved into what we know it as today and whether or not it represents our future or past in dealing with the internet activities.
There are dangers of online communication such as social networks where users can lie about who they are [4]“Megan thought she was being abused by 16-year-old Josh Evans, she was actually talking to Lori Drew, the 49-year-old mother of one of her former friends who, it is alleged, had set up a fake profile to taunt Megan.” in social networking sites it is very easy for people to