Tor and the Dark Web
The web is dark and full of terrors
CryptoParty TLV
January 2018
Who We Are
Disclaimer
- We ARE NOT here to advocate for criminal activities
- DO NOT ask us to help you with such requests
- Please respect these boundries and do not make us ask you to leave
What the Dark Web IS
Just kidding...
What the Dark Web IS
- A loose term use to describe "hidden" parts of the Internet
- An overlay network on top of the clearweb
- Provides a layer of anonymity
- Several implementations:
- Tor
- I2P
Popular Myths
- There are no "levels"
- It’s not "for porn, drugs, and assassinations"
- There are no "secret leaks" buried in the dark web waiting to be exposed
- It’s not "romantic" as the mainstream media pictures it
- There are no "red rooms"
Dark Web Users
- People who cherish privacy
- Digital rights activists
- Free speech activists
- Dissidents
- Criminals
- Whistleblowers
Anonymous Submission
How Tor Works
Tor vs. VPN
-
VPN is not an anonymity tool
- Change one service provider (ISP) for another (VPN)
- Logging and data retention
- Tor is
- Free (as in freedom) software
- An active community
How messages are encrypted in TOR
.il Tor Users
.ps Tor Users
.ir Tor Users
Accessing the Dark Web
- Tor Browser
- SOCKS proxy
- Torify (CLI)
- I2P
Onion (Hidden) Services
- Provide anonymity for website publishers
- Routed over Tor directory services, instead of DNS
- Addresses are hashed public keys
- I2P works slightly differently
Onion Service Setup
- Run existing service - e.g. web server on port 8080
- /etc/tor/torrc
-
HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:8080
-
HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
-
Onionshare
Markets
- Libertas
- Tochka (Russian)
- Zion
- Lots of exit scams
- Past markets
- Silk Road
- AlphaBay
- Hansa
Warnings
- Never visit illegal content (child abuse, etc.)
- Never download files from unknown sources
- Never provide any identifying information
- Always assume you are being scammed
Next Steps
- Explore the dark web
- Deploy onion services
- Use TAILS as a compartmentalized OS
