The Deep Web Research

What is the deep web?

The deep web is the part of the internet that is on indexed on surface search engines such as Google or Yahoo; in order to be accessed, you must have a direct link to the website. To remain even more hidden, the domain for hidden websites ends with .onion rather than .com. These cannot be accessed without the use of special browsers such as Tor, which stands for 'the onion router', which provide anonymity to avoid your information being traced by deep web websites. 

Most links consist of a random jumble of letters and numbers, so are almost impossible to access without a direct link. People can receive links from people themselves, or use services like The Hidden Wiki which is a directory full of many different links to almost anything someone could be looking for.

 

 

Unfortunately, there are too many risks involved with using the deep web that we are not able to access it directly for research, however there are plenty of exploration videos and resources online to find the information we need. 

Uses of the deep web

It's claimed that of all the internet the deep web makes up 96% whereas the regular clear web we access on a daily basis is only 4%. However, much of this is made up of dead links, databases, inactive websites and random pages that simply wouldn't need to show up on search engine results. While unindexed sites are often referred to as a whole as the deep web, the more illegal content is often called 'the dark web'. The internet is often compared to an iceberg, with a small section visible on the surface and a much larger, unseen part.

The sites that are not unused or inactive are largely used for several types of criminal activity. The anonymity that proxies and services like Tor can provide are ideal for discussions, illegal transactions and distributing illegal images.

Drugs

One of the most common uses of the deep web is illegal drug trafficking, the most popular site being Silk Road. Originally shut down by the FBI in 2013, Silk Road 2.0 was developed and then shut down again in 2014. Silk Road 3.0 is currently an active site, and offers not only drug services but also the opportunity to buy weapons and other illegal products.

The original site was developed and run by Ross Ulbricht, who was arrested in 2013 after the site was seized by the government.

Silk Road and other darknet marketplaces use an anonymous, online currency called Bitcoin - 1 Bitcoin is equal to approximately £460. By using anonymous Bitcoin Wallets, users are able to make purchases of illicit items while remaining untraceable to authorities.

Between 2011 and 2013, Silk Road made an estimated $1.2bn with 71% market share of drugs across the dark web. Many people prefer buying drugs from sites such as Silk Road rather than making traditional, offline deals as they allow easy access to a much wider range of products than can be obtained through real life contacts.

Red Rooms

So called 'red rooms' are websites which provide livestreams of victims in real time, broadcast on sites where there is a chat room and payment options. There is very little physical evidence of people coming across these rooms personally, beside from a few screenshots of entry messages, but there are several stories people have documented of their experience after accidentally stumbling into one.

From the accounts given, people say they enter a virtual room consisting of a chat and a livestream of a victim, typically a young girl. For a fee of a certain amount of Bitcoins, the host of the stream will do anything requested to the victim, including torture, rape and murder, all live on camera. This is one of the darkest areas of the deep web documented, however there is actually very little proof of these really existing.

A similar range of sites are relating to human experiments. One website in particular was discovered and taken down, but screenshots of it still exist which show records of tests on different people. These include effects on pregnancy. Many of the subjects taken are said to be homeless people found on the street. Again, although the website was real, there is no conclusive evidence as to weather the experiments were real or just somebody's idea of a sick joke.

Hitman Services

An aspect that is more common on the dark web than you may think is the opportunity to hire hitmen. One such site is called C'thulhu, who advertise their services under the slogan "Solutions to common problems". They claim to all be ex-military, and possess the skill to put a hit on almost anyone. Different prices are offered for people of different statuses, for example a high-profile political figure would cost a lot more to take out than a regular person.