Tor and the Dark web – an Unholy Alliance

Whenever you’re online, there’s always the risk of leaving virtual bread crumbs for hackers to track you down. Clingy ads will latch on to you from your browsing history and frequent (or not so frequent) clicks. Imagine opening a browser and not seeing any ads with no one potentially watching your every move. 

Introducing Tor. What is it? 

Tor (The Onion Router) is a web browser that cloaks your online identity and uses layers of encryptions to further leave you anonymous. It navigates internet traffic through a free network of servers known as nodes to conceal your data and location from anyone who wants to spy on you. It currently has around 2 million users with the majority coming from the United States, Russia, and Germany. 

It doesn’t work like any typical search engine. You start by pinning your entry node at any location you please. It can literally be anywhere you want around the world. So everything you receive will come from this address and anything you request will also come from the same fictional address. 

If you’re sending an email, then the entry node will forward the mail to another node (the middle node) which then forwards it to the exit node.  The entry node can see who you are but not what you want. The middle node can’t see anything and encrypts and decrypts any request going in and out. And the exit node has exclusivity to what the request is but not who you are. The many layers protect it and keep you anonymous, hence why it’s referred to as The Onion Router. 

It’s free to use and operated by volunteers. There are no registrations required, no ads, no “upgrade for the premium package” notifications, and no data limits. It almost seems like the perfect hiding spot when going online. And while this may be true for the most part, there are some loopholes in this. 

Who Created It?

During the 1990s, the internet blew up as a worldwide sensation. It was hard to believe that information is only a few clicks away from a personal computer. The United States Intelligence understood the power of the internet and utilized it for their vast network of spies around the world. The US navy created the original technology of Tor and launched it in September 2002 with the sole purpose of protecting users’ privacy. Everyone was panicking about their online information being offered as an open buffet for companies and corporations to fill their plates. The US navy wanted the users to take control rather than some faceless corporation.

Many government institutions backed up this project including the State Department and Department of Defense to name a few. 

And with everything digitalized, they too needed to keep up with the times. They were also worried about enemies hacking into their networks and stealing information. This is why they created their own network with Tor. And as it gained more notoriety, it drew in a bigger audience until it snowballed into what we have today. 

What is the Dark Web?

The internet is divided into 3 levels: Open Web, Deep Web, and Dark Web. The open or surface web is everything that we can access daily whether that’s Googling a recipe you want to prepare for dinner, or finding a friend's handle on social media. You can use regular search engines like Google, Bing, or Firefox to open any page you want and collect the data that’s available there. Everything is well organized and placed into categories so that when these browsers web crawl, they can surface the information for the user to access after filtering out the millions of sources out there. 

They know who the users are and what they’re looking for which makes this a perfect hunting ground for Google or other search engines to sell advertisements. This is extremely important since it contributes to over 80% of the company’s revenue. You’d think that the open web is the majority, but it only comprises 5% of the internet. 

There’s a misconception surrounding the Deep Web. We use it all the time and is the rest of the 95% of the internet. When you’ve exhausted your basic research using a search engine, you turn to certain databases where things are haphazard and misplaced. It’s a huge pile of uncategorized websites and resources that aren’t easily accessible and would need registration web forums or even Emails. In other words, you need to be logged in to enter. Over at the Deep Web, you can find company, academic, and government websites to find more information that search engines don’t show. You won’t find a company email or archive in plain sight on the top of your search list if you’re on the Open Web - you’ll have to open your inbox for that. 

The Deep Web and Dark Web often get interlaced with each other, but they are two completely different things. If the Deep Web is the internet behind closed doors, then the Dark Web is the invisible basement under the table behind those doors. The only way to access it is using a Tor browser and a .onion address at the end of the URL. It doesn’t let you access regular websites you’d find on the Open Web. It cannot operate on anything else besides .onion. 

This isn’t for the faint-hearted nor is it for the brave keyboard knights. It’s a den filled with debauched websites selling everything you can imagine including drugs, weapons, stolen data, and even humans. There is other explicit content like hacker forums and tutorials for creating weapons fueling the notoriety of the dark web. 54.5% of Dark Web content consists of legal traffic from companies such as Facebook, the US State Department, other governmental institutions, and journalists and activists. Because of the rigid encryption, these entities can use the Dark Web as a haven to conduct their activities. 

It’s exasperating to conduct searches on the Dark Web because it doesn’t operate like any other Open Web search engine. Most of the time you’re going to hit a dead end since it’s also a graveyard for websites. 

The Dark Side of using Tor

Because the traffic is encrypted and going through multiple servers to protect your data, you’ll find the browser to be excruciatingly slow. A test showed that downloading a file with a speed of 50 Mbps on a typical connection reduced to 2 Mbps using Tor. Don’t expect to be consuming media or information on Tor like using a typical search engine. 

Another problem is that many websites and platforms like PayPal and YouTube know Tor too well to let their guard down. As a way of protecting themselves, they’ll usually block anyone using a Tor browser trying to enter or log in thinking that it might be a potential attack. 

Is Tor Illegal? 

The answer is no. It’s perfectly fine to install Tor and access the Dark Web. Some countries that ban the use of VPNs also hold the same stance as Tor. So tread lightly at your own risk. The technology itself won’t get you arrested just as long as you don’t interact with some of the dark content on the Dark Web. It’s just like using any browser except more complicated, harder to navigate, and keeps you protected. Think of it like going from the sunshine and vivid Open Web countryside to stepping foot in a dangerous Dark Web neighborhood filled with all kinds of unlawful things.

Buying or selling hard drugs on the Dark Web is illegal just like completing the transaction in a shady corner in that bad neighborhood. Is it illegal to stand in that shady corner? No. Is it illegal to buy and sell some hard drugs there? Yes. So, as long as you’re in tourist mode on the Dark Web you should be fine. However, don’t give out any personal information you come across and do not download any software and install it. 

How VPNs can help

You might be anonymous while browsing with Tor, but that won’t leave you completely invisible. You’re still exposed to your other internet activities that function outside the Tor network. To reinforce your safety, you can install a VPN to make sure you’re completely invisible from cybercriminals. And now that some networks are aware of Tor traffic, they blacklist any kind of entry node. You can climb the fence around the ban by manually inserting an IP address although it’s not convenient. 

By installing a VPN, you’re giving yourself the ultimate cloaking device and can appear invisible even if you’re the Statue of Liberty standing in the middle of Times Square. When connected with a VPN, the sites and Tor entry nodes won’t know where you are. VPNs can boost your internet speed and add an extra layer of end-to-end encryption for more online privacy. 

Final Thoughts

It’s your right to feel protected whenever you’re online. So browsing with Tor may give you some anonymity, but in the long run, you’re still limited with what you can do. It doesn’t allow Netflix to appear in different countries, unlike a VPN. Moreover, Tor is under the watch of law enforcement due to its nature. You still have the risk of being infected with ransomware and malware if you’re not careful. Having a VPN opened while browsing on Tor is the best option to remain hidden.