By Romain F.

We often hear about it in the press, unfortunately accompanied by numerous preconceived ideas, clichés, and confusion.

Today, I wanted to talk to you about darkwebs. Yes, if we want to refer to the not-always-so-obscure sites on the global internet, we say "darkwebs." We've barely begun the introduction and we've already debunked our first misconception. Things are certainly keeping busy around here.

The content of this article is based both on my own experience (I have been interested in dark webs for about five years) and on Rayna Stamboliyska's The Hidden Side of the Internet . I highly recommend reading this book if you want to explore the subject further. It is accessible to everyone, even without technical knowledge.

I will share with you everything I know about the subject here.

Deep web ≠ Dark web

Let's start by debunking a common misconception. There is often confusion between the terms deep web and dark web.

The deep web refers to web pages that are not indexed by search engines such as Google, Qwant, or DuckDuckGo.

Darkwebs are indeed part of the deep web (that's the point), but that's not all. If you search the internet for "Romain Forgnone's bank account," you won't find anything, and thankfully so. This web page exists but is not indexed.

Your social media news feed is therefore part of the deep web. Just like your personal space on impot.gouv or articles reserved for subscribers on news sites.

In short, anything that requires a username and password to access, or that is simply not indexed by a search engine, is part of the deep web. You visit it every day.

What is the dark web?

We have all seen this famous infographic, depicting the internet as an iceberg. The deep web and the "darknet" are said to be the submerged part.

In reality, this representation is bogus but has been relayed very seriously by many media outlets, especially since 2016. At that time, Valeurs Actuelles and Congressman Bernard Debré revealed that drugs could be purchased "very easily" on the "darknet" (the Valeurs Actuelles report and Bernard Debré's speech to the Assembly).

So we leave the iceberg where it is and continue:

A dark web consists of websites that can be accessed via a darknet.

A darknet is a computer network superimposed on the internet (or overlay network) accessible via dedicated computer tools. Another example of an overlay network is voice over IP, or VoIP (Skype, for example).

Remember that "web" refers to content and "net" refers to the network providing access to that content. Among other things, the Internet allows you to access websites, send and receive emails, and transfer files.

A dark web is generally accessible via a dedicated browser. But with the necessary knowledge, you can easily modify an existing browser such as Mozilla Firefox to access it.

No one knows exactly how many there are. Some of them are only accessible through sponsorship.

When the press and YouTubers talk about them, they are actually talking about two of them. They are called Freenet and Onionland.

It is important to bear in mind that the aim of Freenet and TOR (The Onion Router, the network used to access Onionland) isto offer internet users anonymous and free internet browsing, free from any form of surveillance or blocking. You can still visit Google using the TOR browser.

In 1996 ,Freenet creator Mike Godwin said

For many, it's a way of returning to the internet of the 1990s.

“TOR changed my life and brought me back to the internet of my childhood by giving me the freedom to not be spied on.” Edward Snowden, Permanent Record (2019).

What can you find there?

Having never been sponsored on the dark web, except for Squad's social network "Talkspirit" (a haven for the worst scoundrels on the web), I will talk to you here about the content of Onionland and Freenet.

Forums

Discussion forums are usually the first sites people visit. Without a proper search engine, it is difficult to find content (there are a few search engines, but most of them only update their indexes once in a blue moon). These forums are a key place for exchanging links, particularly for identifying reliable sites and scams (of which there are many).

Some forums require sponsorship or that you complete a general knowledge or computer skills questionnaire. Your registration will be validated based on the results of these tests.

On these forums, any topic can be discussed:

• Computer hacking tutorials
• Political and religious debates
• People exchange digital books there.
• Different methods of scams
• Netflix, Spotify, etc. logins
• Trolling, lots of trolling

Outside of these forums, there are blogs by artists of all kinds and humorous websites with unusual concepts.

The general idea is to enjoy total freedom, without any restrictions.

Traps

I mentioned scams a little earlier. There are many of them, and they are the source of most of the urban legends that circulate.

These are usually small websites (one to three pages) decorated with images from horror or spy movies, depending on what they are trying to sell you. Because that's what it's all about: selling a product. Whether it's snuff movies (amateur films showing the violent death of a person) or hitman services, these sites are actually "tourist traps." They exploit the negative image of the dark web and the naivety of their targets to extort money. The story of the BesaMafia site is instructive in this regard.

Read: https://www.vice.com/fr/article/9aqmpa/besa-mafia-letrange-site-de-tueurs-a-gages-du-dark-web

Illegal markets

Now let's talk about the infamous dark web markets. I know you've been eagerly waiting for this. Yes, they do exist. Yes, you can find every drug imaginable there in exchange for cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin, but definitely not bank transfers). They are fairly easy to find via the various forums I mentioned earlier. The now defunct website deepdotweb.com listed a few of them.

However, there are a few rules to follow, and you will quickly be banned if you break them. If you don't know how to encrypt your emails, for example, no one will do business with you. Here is an example of the rules for a French-language dark web market (including mistakes).

Some markets are generalist, while others specialize in a particular product.

You can also find:

• Medications that normally require a prescription
• Fake documents 
• Malicious software "ready to use."

As usual, there are scams. In August 2019, Camazon (yes...) appeared and was oversold on several forums as THE new benchmark for French-speaking dark web markets. The verdict came less than a month later: it was a huge scam and the site has not been available since.

As for weapons, they can indeed be found. In small quantities and sold individually. So far, I have only seen handguns. Markets often refuse to sell weapons on their platforms (see screenshot above). Having always taken on the role of a curious observer, I have never gone through with a transaction on a marketplace. It is also possible that the sales ads I have seen are scams .

I regularly visited the FrenchDeep Web market, whichwas shut down in 2019. The conviction of its founders serves as proof that the products sold on this market were authentic.

I invite you to learn about the history of Silk Road, the largest marketplace ever created. It has been unavailable since its creator, Ross Ulbricht, was imprisoned. It's a fascinating story, especially since, apart from the nature of the products sold, Silk Road had all the features of a traditional online marketplace like Amazon.

As dark web sites, Onionland and Freenet obey the implicit rule of any web site: you find what you are looking for. Having not searched for child pornography for obvious reasons, I cannot confirm that it does indeed exist on these networks.

However, court cases on this subject prove that these sites are a sad reality.

There is still much to be said on the subject, but we are not here to write a book. Besides, it has already been done. While the idea behind Freenet and TOR is commendable, it also serves illegal purposes. On the other hand, this trend is part of a philosophy of almost total freedom specific to its users.

Keep in mind, however, that:

• No, we cannot watch a murder live.
• No, you can't hire a hitman.
• Cryptocurrencies have many other uses besides buying drugs on a dark web market.
• No, there are no classified CIA documents (to my knowledge, the only ones you can find are on Wikileaks), and the same goes for all the conspiracy theories you may have heard.

Beyond the markets and scams, there are passionate and fascinating people who want to share and learn with others. It is also a platform for complete freedom of expression.

It remains a subject that is little known to the general public and suffers from media coverage riddled with clichés.

I don't recommend looking for information on YouTube and its numerous "Top 10 WORST websites" lists. Even though some of them have done some real in-depth investigative work, there are still a few errors and inaccuracies to be found.

The best thing to do is still to make up your own mind if you wish. However, make sure you protect yourself by using a VPN, even though the usefulness of this protection on these networks has been the subject of debate for some time.