DarkWeb: Does it exist?

Deathmage

So my co-worker stumbled upon this interesting article today and I never heard of it. Maybe some of the security guys on here know of it. Does Dark Web exist?

CyberSecurity

Yes, it does and is mostly traversed utilizing a minimum of a VPN but mostly TOR if i'm not mistaken. A good starter site to check out is ShodanHQ

Params7

I think you mean sites accessible on the Tor network..which many like to call darkweb due to the nature of the content that can be accessed there.

Verities

Not a security guy, but yes it exists. I'm surprised you've never heard of it. Have you heard of the Deep Web at least?

The Dark Web is portion of the Deep Web that has been known to provide a safe haven for those who want to participate in illicit activity.

Iristheangel

I am just going to drop my new favorite show's opening scene here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNZF3LR0VM

Hondabuff

Iristheangel wrote: »

I am just going to drop my new favorite show's opening scene here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNZF3LR0VM

He is like a Brian Austin Green with Crack eyes! lol, When he said the Shop owner had a 1 gig fiber connection I was like "Wonder if he likes his Fios". Looks interesting but I think I will be watching "Blood and Oil" this fall.

joelsfood

Just remember that it's not as private as you think (Just ask Ross Ulbricht). So Tor or not, give some thought to what you do and say

Deathmage

my co-worker want to go on it at home. I was like: get a Sonicwall, a good anti-virus, and make sure all your **** is backed up and the drive isn't connected. Also ghost your hard drive.

He was like is that needed.....

....yup!.....

Chinook

Yes, the deep web/dark net exists. You generally access it via Tor (the onion router). It's Firefox configured to surf the deep web. A web address on the dark net when accessed by Tor has a .onion address (not .com).

Like all things, the dark net has good and bad users. It allows people living in non-democratic regimes to communicate outside of the watchful eye of the government. And there are thousands of forums on various topics including extreme hate. And it's also a marketplace for drugs, guns, human trafficking, hiring a hitman, etc. The Hidden Wiki is sort of the "front door" to some of the more common sites.

I understand the desire to explore, but I would use extreme caution down there. Depending on what nation you're in, you could run afoul of certain laws. And it is indeed the home to some very serious elements of organized crime.

Deathmage

Chinook wrote: »

Yes, the deep web/dark net exists. You generally access it via Tor (the onion router). It's Firefox configured to surf the deep web. A web address on the dark net when accessed by Tor has a .onion address (not .com).

Like all things, the dark net has good and bad users. It allows people living in non-democratic regimes to communicate outside of the watchful eye of the government. And there are thousands of forums on various topics including extreme hate. And it's also a marketplace for drugs, guns, human trafficking, hiring a hitman, etc. The Hidden Wiki is sort of the "front door" to some of the more common sites.

I understand the desire to explore, but I would use extreme caution down there. Depending on what nation you're in, you could run afoul of certain laws. And it is indeed the home to some very serious elements of organized crime.

Ya I'm not dabbling into it at all.... I'm curious but not stupid. The most sketch thing I do is torrents, the normal internet though is fine for me.

TheFORCE

Chinook wrote: »

Yes, the deep web/dark net exists. You generally access it via Tor (the onion router). It's Firefox configured to surf the deep web. A web address on the dark net when accessed by Tor has a .onion address (not .com).

Like all things, the dark net has good and bad users. It allows people living in non-democratic regimes to communicate outside of the watchful eye of the government. And there are thousands of forums on various topics including extreme hate. And it's also a marketplace for drugs, guns, human trafficking, hiring a hitman, etc. The Hidden Wiki is sort of the "front door" to some of the more common sites.

I understand the desire to explore, but I would use extreme caution down there. Depending on what nation you're in, you could run afoul of certain laws. And it is indeed the home to some very serious elements of organized crime.

Exactly what he said. To add, i read a few days ago in an article that using Tor to access the dark/deep web gives to some government agencies that will not be mentioned a reason to suspect you have something to hide and they might start monitoring you more than you would like. Also the connections are not as anonymous as someone might think. Basically what Tor does is anonymize your conbection but there are ways around figuring out who is who.

beads

Different clients, seeds, Tor releases (Firefox adds, plugins and whole versions), often by invitation only. Many Tor sources require a specific key based on a set of specific MAC and IP address combinations before forwarding to the final host. Some of these are incredibly complex security structures and cannot be "seen" directly from the web. Ever looked at a suspect device in say DNSTools but cannot discern what traffic should be accepted on the box after trying this like http://1ww.xxx.yyyy.zzzz, etc? NMap the box and see the server only responds to traffic on some odd port like 5603 and 45998? Its likely dark web at work. Carders, bitcoin exchanges and many odd **** sites (of many different predilections) have been known to be fond of using these sorts of obfuscation tricks.

Surprised why someone hasn't asked for a specific example of a dark web example. Answer is its safe to say it defeat the whole reason for hiding the site in the first place. Google one, lol.

Yes, Virginia, dark web sites do indeed exists. Now back to bypassing A/V for fun and profit.

-b /eads

cyberguypr

The Dark Web is not for everyone. Exhibit A: Harvard Student Used Tor For Bomb Threat - Business Insider

tpatt100

I have read about it but you guys have made me interested in checking it out. The Subway guy probably hung out there.

Verities

beads wrote: »

Different clients, seeds, Tor releases (Firefox adds, plugins and whole versions), often by invitation only. Many Tor sources require a specific key based on a set of specific MAC and IP address combinations before forwarding to the final host. Some of these are incredibly complex security structures and cannot be "seen" directly from the web. Ever looked at a suspect device in say DNSTools but cannot discern what traffic should be accepted on the box after trying this like http://1ww.xxx.yyyy.zzzz, etc? NMap the box and see the server only responds to traffic on some odd port like 5603 and 45998? Its likely dark web at work. Carders, bitcoin exchanges and many odd **** sites (of many different predilections) have been known to be fond of using these sorts of obfuscation tricks.

Surprised why someone hasn't asked for a specific example of a dark web example. Answer is its safe to say it defeat the whole reason for hiding the site in the first place. Google one, lol.

Yes, Virginia, dark web sites do indeed exists. Now back to bypassing A/V for fun and profit.

-b /eads

Because no one wants to get on a watch list from the FBI lol. When I mentioned illicit activity is being conducted on the Dark Web: Tor's most visited hidden sites host child abuse images - BBC News

Sickening.

For the non initiated:

Everything You Need to Know on Tor & the Deep Web

tpatt100

http://www.scmagazine.com/indiana-man-indicted-for-illicit-deep-web-drug-sales/article/434023/

Just happened the other day

Deathmage

Verities wrote: »

Because no one wants to get on a watch list from the FBI lol.

This isn't the 1st off the chart discussion on this forum before I bet were all on some watch list

wes allen

The dark web isn't really anything different from the normal internet, you just have to use TOR to get there. And as far as safety, I would say browsing it isn't any worse then the "normal" web, with all the drive by downloads, malvertising, and compromised websites. A couple months ago I built a vm just for TOR with emet, applocker, etc, and was like "this is just like my everyday rig", only with less personally identifiable data and traffic patterns, as I was using PIA for a VPN.

TOR, btw is slow as hell for anything more than simple browsing or text communications. Otherwise, it isn't that much different - there are search engines, email providers and various forums. The sites tend to be more basic though.

Params7

Yep tor is slow as hell. Also people shouldn't be hesitant about using it. If you can surf the surface internet without landing on NSFW sites, then navigating Tor should be a piece of cake. The search engines aren't that great so I have to research sites and their content before I end up going to those sites. There's tons of forums discussing tech and normal stuff just like internet. Just don't end up visiting the dark pits, curiosity will kill the cat here. But you won't end up on some FBI watchlist just for using it, lol.

On the flip side, tor can be very useful for political activists, it can offer masks for people like Assange and Snowden, and make it that much harder for NSA to spy on our habits, which is why governments don't like it.

MTciscoguy

When I was in Military intelligence we used the dark/deep web regularly. If you know where to go, you would be amazed at what you can find.

koz24

tpatt100 wrote: »

I have read about it but you guys have made me interested in checking it out. The Subway guy probably hung out there.

Yep and he got caught. The deep web, dark net or whatever you want to call it is for diddlers and terrorists basically. You can check it out but unless you are a diddler or someone looking to make a bomb or looking for other highly illegal activity there is nothing all that special about it.

gorebrush

I watched a full 90 minute documentary on Ross Ulbricht - it took years for that investigation on Silk Road to result in his arrest. Fascinating story actually.

BlackBeret

I used to hang around there and pull down cracked copies of all the latest botnet C2 systems. Zues, Spyeye, Black Ice, etc etc etc. It was interesting to work with them, throw them through AV, run some modules, pull the pcaps and see how Snort reacted, etc.

superbeast

I did a project on the deep web and dark web for a class I was in over the summer. I'll see if I can post a link to download the ppt I made on it. I used TOR to access different sites for services made available on dark web (i.e. drugs, hit men services, counterfeit money, passports/birth certs.) I used TOR to access these sites to show how easy it was to find illicit things. Of course a lot of the market sites require a membership either obtained through open membership during a period of time or referral based. Like anything else, if there is a demand for something, someone is willing to supply it. It's nothing new given how it's exactly like a black market that you would find AFK. Only difference is this is online and can appeal to wider market.

kurosaki00

Definitely exists and is definitely not for everyone. A lot of NSFW and NSFL content.
Tor is the most popular way of getting into part of the dark web. As some ppl said, a bunch of it is invitational only.
IRC used to be a good way back in the day too to get your hand in info, gossips, stuff.

BlackBeret

Keep in mind also that TOR isn't the only anonymizing protocol with websites sitting on it. Check out i2p as well.

jibbajabba

In a financial company I used to work I was actually asked to see if I can access TOR to test some logging tools. And yes, it was a pain, it was slow, but it existed ... Things you can buy * shakes head *

superbeast

I believe Clearnet as well is another browser you can access deep web on

jamthat

jibbajabba wrote: »

In a financial company I used to work I was actually asked to see if I can access TOR to test some logging tools. And yes, it was a pain, it was slow, but it existed ... Things you can buy * shakes head *

Were you all able to successfully log/identify that traffic? I've read about some pretty nifty ways of doing it in real-time..but this was a while ago and there may be some more very obvious ones now.

ehnde

superbeast wrote: »

I believe Clearnet as well is another browser you can access deep web on

No, clearnet is the normal 'internet'. The darknet is accessible only via TOR. URLs typically end in '.onion'. This is because a nickname for tor is the 'onion router'. TOR works by encrypting your traffic through multiple encrypted relay nodes. The tor exit node your traffic finally comes out of can't be tracked back to you without some complex processes, but it can be done. By the local police department? No. By the NSA? More ways than they've publicly admitted to so far.

There are unexposed zero days held by hacker groups and large governments, but they're only interested in espionage, terrorism, and large scale fraud and other major crimes.

kurosaki00

ehnde wrote: »

No, clearnet is the normal 'internet'. The darknet is accessible only via TOR.

Yes, Clearnet is how Darknet users refer to "normal" internet. Darknet is not only accesible via TOR. There are many other ways. TOR is the most popular, thus the most "watched" too. I2P, Tails and many other alternatives.