Would you know how to access the dark web?

[NoFriendsNoEnemies]

Just that.

Whenever someone appears to be convicted of child abuse, accessing violent porn etc they always seem to trot out the cliche that they came across the images by mistake or that they were downloaded to them when they were downloading something else.

And for some obscure reason they always have their band of loyal supporters who believe them.

But quite apart from the fact that it’s obviously lies, I was always under the impression that to access that kind of material you had to visit the dark web, and so accessing that kind of thing in error is in fact not possible.

But how many people would actually know how to access the dark web? And if they wouldn’t how could anyone believe that these kinds of things could be stumbled upon in error?

Would you know how to access the dark web? Not for nefarious purposes obviously, but just in general. If you wanted to access it, would you know how?

Tor isn't illegal in itself. You ban Tor, something else will replace it. Look at Piratebay. There were replacements cropping up within days of it going down.

Tor is just a browser like Google, but it's not regulated and so you can access more content and it doesn't track you. The 'dark web' is just the web, but without a monetised search engine collecting your data and steering you where it wants you to go. There's nothing inherently sinister about it, it just means you have access to more content. Of course, it can be used for sinister reasons.

www.torproject.org/

😂 You can't remove part of the Web. You would need to know where it was being hosted for a start and that's the point, it's hidden.

I wouldn't know but I know someone (not in touch) with someone who would.

@babywalker56

I was literally talking to DP about this yesterday!!

I remember when I was watching that Catching Paedophiles doc on channel 4 and they'd always mention the dark web. Then a few people that were found to have pictures or whatever, would be like 'I downloaded them by mistake' 'I didn't know that's what was on the file' and I always thought why the hell are you on the dark web anyway??

To me, people only use the dark web for dodgy things (maybe that isn't always the case but to me it is lol.) I'd have absolutely no clue where to start if I wanted to use it😂
Like a pp said, I'd just google 'dark web' but I'm sure there won't be a link that shows me how to get there! So I have absolutely no clue.

Even reading the comments and people are mentioning TOR. What the hell is that??

You can just Google Tor to download the browser. But the dark web is a bit like the 90s internet as pp said, because it’s not indexed - you have to go following up chains of links, or have a domain you can type into the browser to get to - like the web before search engines. I’ve not done it myself but have seen screenshots etc. Tbh it’s meant to be quite dull if you’re not an IT enthusiast and aren’t after something illegal/inadvisable either.

Yes. Adhd hyper focus on how do you access the dark web.

I know the most random information because I wake up in the middle of the night with burning questions that have to be answered

No, I wouldn't know, apart from yes, googling.
But a while back I was looking into going to Amsterdam for a few days, looked at hotel websites etc, and after that kept having a pop-up telling me to click for hardcore porn come up on my computer.

Similarly to others I would only know a small about because of the Josh Duggar trial.

Yes, I use it fairly regularly.

Not a scooby doo and happy for it to stay that way

Yes, I know how to.

But you can access it on the regular web or at least the deep web.

I follow a few YouTube channels that are by Ed police officers/people who investigate this kind of thing.

I have visited the dark web before to view WikiLeaks in its entirety.

@Notanotherwindow

😂 You can't remove part of the Web. You would need to know where it was being hosted for a start and that's the point, it's hidden.

Was that meant for me? I didn't say anything about removing a part of the web, it's about accessing unlisted sites.

It all ends in .onion as well.

Yes. Not difficult.

Buying drugs isn’t difficult. I still wouldn’t know where to start to do it.

I think the point is, you’d have to active look for it, you won’t come across it by accident.

A two minute google and you can work it out if you’re even slightly tech savvy. It’s not hard.

Not a clue

Yes I have and do. For some countries its their only source of wider world news than what they are being fed by corrupt governments.
It is not illegal to surf the dark web. Also, "Dark" is meant as when a military operation "goes dark". Not dark as in evil.

Yes I know how to use the dark web. It's easy, just install Tor browser (a version of Firefox) or similar, and away you go.

There's a lot of perfectly legitimate stuff there. It's not called the "dark" web because it's inherently evil, it's because sites are not openly visible in the way they are on the world wide web. (Different "webs" exist on the internet - the world wide web is by far the most commonly used, hence the "www." prefix on domains.) It's used (legitimately) by people who are concerned about their privacy, for instance I might not want my ISP or anyone else to know I've been asking for advice about my piles.

I also think the OP is highly naive to believe that the child porn/violent abuse images only exist on the dark web. They really don't. They are available in plain sight on the mainstream web too.

Not a clue.
I do know someone who investigates the dark web. I suppose I could contact him and tell him I want to commit a crime, but I don’t think that would go well.

Yes, and bought bitcoin in 2014 ... made massively on paper as I have never sold them

No.

I also though don't understand why if it's able to be accessed, it can't just be totally shut down?!

Someone / something must control it?

I used to buy drugs on the dark web. It took a couple of hours to work it out - max. But no, you couldn't find yourself there by mistake.

I wouldn't have a clue! Just asked DH and he knows how, but he does work in cyber security so it's not surprising!

No thanks, Google suits me just fine...