The Onion Router (Tor) and similar anonymizing networks can be used for good and bad purposes. Only anonymity in cyberspace allows for the existence of dark web links. It’s difficult to know what to do on dark web links. The anonymizing capabilities of Tor and other networks have facilitated the growth of black markets, trolling, and child abuse networks. People living under oppressive governments can use the anonymity provided by these technologies to express themselves online, despite government censorship or monitoring freely.

That is to say, Tor is neither inherently good nor bad; it is a tool that can be used for either. The final result will determine whether or not this technique is worthwhile. Unfortunately, the global distribution of the costs and benefits of a system like Tor is not uniform. There is a higher concentration of problems in more liberal nations, while the positive outcomes are more concentrated under more authoritarian governments.

Cutting off access to anonymity networks is not a workable long-term solution because it will likely be inefficient and expensive for individuals who use these services for their intended purposes.

The report contends that the challenge offered by the dark web links is primarily social rather than technological because of the anonymity-granting tools that make it possible. The same notion of careful policing that keeps us safe in our daily lives should be applied to the virtual world.

More active policing of dark web links is required, especially in liberal democracies. The shutdown of underground markets like Silk Road and child pedophilia networks demonstrates the feasibility, efficacy, and timeliness of online policing. Better internet policing can limit the negative effects of anonymizing technology on society without stifling their positive effects. It’s not perfect, but it’s probably the best we have right now.

Tor and Dark Web Links

Due to its architecture and the original purpose of the dark web links, the underlying darknets (such as Tor) offer great levels of anonymity and security. It has already been established that the dark web links were created so that spies and field agents may operate in complete secrecy and safety. Nonetheless, the idea underlying the darknets and the design of the darknets themselves created a secure space where illegal activity could flourish.

Because of their unique architectures, darknets are notoriously difficult to categorize. Since Tor is the most popular darknet, much research has concentrated on it. Tor hosted more legitimate sites than malicious ones in the UK and the US. These results stem from machine learning algorithms that were tasked with data classification. In contrast, the results from the manual classification (1000 websites) showed that 68% of the sites in question hosted illegal content. These findings are the result of looking at 13,584 web pages.

Tor’s design makes it difficult to analyze its usage statistically to determine what percentage of its traffic comes from legitimate sources and what from illegal ones. There is no consensus amongst scholars on this issue. Although experts estimate a 50:50 split between legal and illegitimate content, no specific figures are provided. Even though it is extremely challenging to define the content of the dark web links precisely, it is known that two generic kinds of actors, the non-criminal and criminal, visit it.

Due to the dual nature of the dark web links, where both legal and illegal activities coexist, a middle ground must be found between protecting fundamental rights like free expression and preventing criminal activity. As such, many ‘positive’ uses for dark web links are perfectly acceptable. However, when used for criminal objectives, both as the “bad” and “ugly” examples of the digital world of social media, and despite being based on digital communication and digital transactions, it may have a significant detrimental impact on physical public safety and security.

Various Users of Dark Web Links

Ordinary users of dark web links

Regular people use the Dark Web for various purposes, the most common of which is safeguarding their privacy while online. The Tor Project has compiled a list of reasons why they advise people to use the Tor browser:

• So they can avoid disclosing private information.
• Avoid giving up your personal information or mailing list to companies that don’t use SSL.
• They want to conceal their current physical location by hiding their IP address.
• So that you can conduct research on taboo subjects (such as religion) that are blocked on your country’s public internet. For nations whose governments occasionally limit access to the Internet and social media platforms like Facebook or YouTube?
• With the goal of preventing online monitoring and spying by making it extremely impossible for an outsider to link the user’s online activity to a specific person.

Use of Dark Web Links by Journalists

Today’s journalists frequently use dark web links to conceal their identities and stay out of trouble with the law. Meanwhile, the anonymity of darknets helps keep their sources safe. Other major challenges that the media industry must overcome include the following:

• An oligarchy of stakeholders uses conventional media to influence public opinion.
• Press freedom over controversial subjects compromises the confidentiality of reporters and their sources.
• The proliferation of amateurs in the field of journalism is thanks to the rise of online platforms.
• The veracity, reliability, and authenticity of the ever-growing body of work produced by the new media’s journalists.
• The future of journalism as a profession in the face of the current digital economy and landscape.

Use of Dark Web Links by Activists

In addition to journalists and media figures—many of whom may also belong to activist groups—those who frequent darknets are members of human rights groups, social movements, and political activist groups.

To mobilize people with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights activists are given a platform to speak out. They anonymously denounce injustices in child labor and other forms of exploitation. Organizations like Global Voices and Human Rights Watch advocate using anonymizing browsers like Tor for the aforementioned tasks to bypass censorship.

Use of Dark Web Links by Business Owners

Two primary motivations for companies to use dark web links are conducting illicit activities or enforcing security measures. The first component is discussed in greater depth in the following chapter of this book, devoted to darknet markets, and in the section of this chapter devoted to the criminal players of the dark web links.

Second, in order to effectively monitor the darknet and its markets for new computer vulnerabilities, exploits, and hacking tools, the necessary IT departments (such as security specialists, SOC teams, security incident response, etc.) need to get conversant with the dark web links. Because of this knowledge, they will be able to take precautions against potential dangers.

Large companies must contend with a wide variety of cyber threats. Companies are vulnerable to a wide variety of online attacks, such as phishing, malware, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), and hacking, which can result in the theft of confidential information and digital assets, which can then be used for black market purposes or extortion.

More and more intellectual rights, software, and digital items belonging to corporations are being stolen and then offered for sale or as ransomware on dark web links marketplaces.

Dark web links Accessible Through Tor

For those fighting against persecution and censorship, the dark web links may be a strange and wonderful oasis, providing unfiltered news, anonymous messaging, and decentralized banking. However, hackers and other nefarious types frequent this area.

TorLinks

In the same vein as The Hidden Wiki, TorLinks facilitates the discovery of .onion domains. TorLinks should be used in preference to The Hidden Wiki if THW becomes inaccessible. It also helps you discover new places to go online if you can’t access a certain site that used to be on the Dark Web.

TorLinks, on the other hand, lacks the depth of and is more difficult to traverse than, The Hidden Wiki, which many of us are already familiar with because of its similarity to Wikipedia.

RiseUp

RiseUp, a secure communication network created in 1999 for activists working towards social change, protects users from government snooping and cyber threats by keeping no logs of user activity. You won’t be able to sign up without an invitation code, but you can always check out the site’s security page for privacy and security advice.

The Intercept

The Intercept is an online news outlet known for its bold, often controversial reporting. It takes great satisfaction to provide journalists with the legal protections and editorial leeway required to expose governmental wrongdoing. Leaks and anonymous sources are used in many of its pieces. Whistleblowers can use the SecureDrop service provided by its .onion address. Documents submitted through this service can remain anonymous.

Use a VPN with a rigorous no-logging policy, such as ExpressVPN, before connecting to the Tor browser if you want to read or contact a news source like The Intercept while remaining anonymous online.

Darknetlive

Information about dark web links, such as darknet market sites, cryptocurrency resources, onion link indexes, and arrests associated with the dark web links, are reported on Darknetlive, a news website.

Kilos

With a growing index of 7 darknet markets and 6 forums, Kilos is one of the newest and most comprehensive dark web links search engines. The website has added a Bitcoin mixer called Krumble and has its own members-only live chat.

Most users are interested in its sophisticated dark web links market search, which helps them locate sellers and listings for the goods they need and then allows them to narrow down their search based on factors like cost, location, and currency.

Invidious

Invidious is a free and open-source YouTube front-end replacement. As a result, Google won’t be able to collect any personal information about you when you browse YouTube. No registration or login is required, and there are no commercial interruptions either.

Beneath VT

The steam tunnels beneath Virginia Tech University in the United States are the focus of Beneath VT, an onion site. The tunnels provide the entire campus with steam, electricity, and communication connections. There are log entries, maps, movies, and a comprehensive explanation of the risks associated with exploring the numerous tunnels.

Keybase

Keybase’s cryptographic melding of your several online personas renders impersonation by hackers impossible. The site provides a PGP key generation tool, or you can generate and upload your own PGP key to connect your GitHub, Twitter, Bitcoin address, and Facebook accounts.

The best way to reach dark web links is by using The Onion Router (Tor), which provides many layers of encryption and reroutes your internet traffic through random computers called nodes. When a user connects to Tor, only the origin and destination of the node are transmitted to other Tor nodes and servers.

Even though you’ll be protected from prying eyes while using the Tor browser, you’re still vulnerable to the kinds of cyberattacks and scams common on dark web links. Tor’s usage of the internet to connect to Tor servers is also detectable by your internet service provider.

The Majestic Garden

The Silk Road was removed, but The Majestic Garden emerged from the ashes in its place. After the takedown of Silk Road, a group of psychedelic drug enthusiasts formed a new online community called The Majestic Garden. The forum was created so that people who have had experiences with the effects of psychedelic drugs on their expectations might talk about them.

Unlike the Dream Market, there is no central marketplace on The Majestic Garden forum. Here, members buy from approved merchants without going through a middleman. Therefore, the forum does not handle the users’ funds directly or profit from the exchanges. It serves merely as a central location for gatherings of various kinds. Due to the lack of a centralized market, all shops operate within their own threads.

Monitoring tools for dark web links

Knowing what information hackers have on you is a powerful tool, among many others, available to ward off intrusions. Some tools on this list will automatically fix any compromised accounts, while others will simply alert you to the problem.

Have I Been Pwned?

To find out more about a person or company, you can use this clear website to conduct free searches of the Deep Web and the dark web links. There is no need to create an account; just enter your email address in the service’s single input area on the homepage.

All data leak instances in which that email address was engaged are displayed; as a result, the address is available on dark web links to attack lists. In terms of data leaks, the service only provides information about those that involve compromised email addresses.

A complete domain scan is available to businesses. You may also configure the service to constantly check for new incidents and send you email alerts if any pop-ups. To utilize this service, you must prove that you are the owner of the email domain.

Dashlane Business

The Dashlane Business package offers comprehensive safety for your online accounts. Features like encrypted file storage and scanning of dark web links are also included. The scanner checks both the corporation and its employees’ personal information, including passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and postal and IP addresses.

The business version of Dashlane is a bot-based dark web links scanner, just like ACID Cyber Intelligence and DarkOwl Vision. Dashlane’s interface is where you submit your company’s IDs, after which the service will do a thorough initial dark web links scan targeting those identifiers. After that, your names and email addresses will be added to Dashlane’s dictionary of words to search for during their periodic, scheduled scans.

Progress WhatsUp Gold

To keep tabs on your network, you can use WhatsUp Gold. Windows Server is required to run the system’s software. The platform relies on a network device monitor as its central component, which may be expanded with various optional modules. The Network Traffic Analyzer is an example of one of these plug-ins.

Progress WhatsUp Gold is an extensible tool for keeping tabs on your network’s devices and additional infrastructure. A traffic analyzer is one such supplementary component. When you use the WhatsUp Gold Network Traffic Analyzer, you may access a threat intelligence reference database that details Tor’s known entry and departure locations. Hackers will occasionally use the anonymous service Tor to hide their digital footprints.

ACID Cyber Intelligence

The deep web, dark web links, and chat systems are some places where the ACID Cyber Intelligence service looks for information on potential threats. Thanks to the data gleaned from these locations, the service can provide alerts to its users in the event of impending danger or the discovery of a data breach.

The Automated Collective Intelligence for Defense (ACID) Cyber Intelligence service is a bot-driven scanner of the Deep Web and social media. Like DarkOwl Vision, this automated service proceeds without further input from the client once IDs are entered for inclusion in the search. It will alert you if the system detects a security breach or data leak.

DigitalStakeout Scout

DigitalStakeout’s Scout is a service that gathers information about threats from dark web links. The system’s built-in workflows and machine learning components can identify abnormal network behavior. It then uses its dark web links, Scanner, and threat intelligence database to look up the external source or target of that traffic to find the bad guy behind the attack.

The DigitalStakeout Scout suite is a NIDS that monitors networks for suspicious activity and compares discovered IPs to a blacklist. Alerts are delivered to the network administrator if a potential threat is detected. Another aspect of the service is looking for leaks of sensitive information (such as IP and trade secrets) about the protected company on the dark web links.

Digital Shadows SearchLight

The reputation and credibility of the businesses that hire Digital Shadows are of paramount importance to the company. This solution doesn’t just safeguard accounts; it also guards the reputation and proprietary information of the businesses it services.

The Digital Shadows SearchLight service investigates potential breaches of intellectual property and the sale of information regarding a company’s physical location, internal network, and confidential information.

SpyCloud ATO Prevention

You can use SpyCloud to safeguard your company’s staff and customers from account takeover (ATO) attacks.

A commercial version of SpyCloud ATO Prevention is an identity protection solution. The business service also provides a system hardening mechanism that analyses Active Directory and suggests improved security measures, including more restricted account groups and complex passwords. Names of accounts are collected and added mechanically to dark web link searches. The service’s address scanner scans incoming traffic and emails for indicators of malicious intent.

DarkOwl Vision

Vision, developed by DarkOwl, is a program for scanning dark web links that crawls the content of dangerous websites all over the Internet in order to find stolen client information.

DarkOwl Vision combines elements of CrowdStrike and Echosec. This method, like CrowdStrike, necessitates the creation of a list of unique identifiers for your business, such as domain names, addresses, and product names. The Echosec subsequently incorporates these terms into its standard dark web links sifters. You’ll receive alerts once new results become available.

What should you do if you find your employee’s information on dark web links?

You should count yourself lucky if you locate employee data on the dark web links. It’s preferable to be aware of this information rather than oblivious. There is currently no way to remove the content from other sites.

This should indicate that it’s time to implement stricter network security measures, such as requiring a new password for all system users via your ARM.

Conclusion

The use of dark web links itself is not inherently illegal. One’s intent determines the outcome of every communication, whether spoken or written. Even though criminals, terrorists, and child molesters use secure messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, no one advocates for their removal.