This post started out as a response to Ethan's blog post, but it quickly became far too long for a comment. And it's my week to write my own post anyway, so here we are.
Maybe I could shed some light onto the darknet and deep web.
As for the difference between the two, you got it. There is the surface web, the deep web, and the darknet. Surface web is this. Deep web is not indexed by search engines, but is not necessarily inaccessible. This could perhaps be information buried deep in an unpopular website that Google never managed to get its hands on. Then there is the darknet which *is* totally inaccessible unless you are using Tor. Every website with the .onion domain (The Onion Router) exists only through Tor.
Once you get connected to the Tor network, a browser window pops up confirming that you are connected. You can open up any standard webpage, except you will likely get the international version of the page due to your exit node being overseas. You can do google searches and check Facebook (although this is obviously a bad move...you don't want to send any sensitive info over this network).
Then, if you know the web address of the .onion site you're trying to access, you can type it in and take a visit. Anything you can imagine, you can find on the darknet. There are lots of sites I've opened in my exploration and very quickly closed down. All transactions are done using bitcoins, all sensitive communication is done via PGP encryption. You can (allegedly) purchase assassins and hitmen (although my hunch is that most of these are scams), you can buy unregistered weapons, and you can also buy information.
I know people who have purchased lifetime Netflix accounts, hulu accounts, Spotify premium, premium porn memberships, you name it. $5 or $10 and you get a few usernames that will last (again, allegedly) forever. The vendors even offer customer service in that if your account stops working they will send you a new username for a certain period after your purchase.
Then, you can also buy guides on how to get free Apple devices by exploiting their return policy. You can get info on how to phish credit cards at your local bank. There are tons of conspiracy theorists offering their proof of government meddling. You can buy cell phone jammers, buy guides on how to make narcotics, grow weed, on and on.
I have seen the accounts work and I have read some of the information offered. It seems like it could work, it's pretty crafty, although I have certainly never taken the risk and tried.
Then there's the darknet markets. The Silkroad is the most popular, but is actually disgraced in the darknet community. It's gotten taken down a few times by law enforcement and come back up, so people question the security of their information. There are many more markets with varying levels of exclusivity and varying products offered. Here's where you find all your drugs, drug paraphernalia, counterfeit passports, fake IDs, and basically anything else you may want but not be able to find on Amazon (although you can get them shipped to your door at speeds no slower than Amazon's)
I cannot personally confirm how detailed the IDs are or how potent the drugs are. I'm a curious boy, but I have limits. What I will argue, however, is that I don't agree entirely with the tone you (referring to Ethan's original blog post, found here) took towards people who use the darknet. You made it seem that only negative comes from the darknet.
While this may not have been when you meant entirely, and it is certainly true in some instances, it is not true in all of them.
To preface here, I am not addressing the human trafficking or child porn or theft guides or things of that nature. The darknet is undeniably a hub for criminal behavior and once I saw some of the darkest parts of the darknet, my curiosity dulled. I have no interest in seeing such things, nor do I support anyone who has an interest, nor do I support the continued existence of those horrible things.
On the other hand, I think that many times, people who use the darknet for their illegal ventures are actually doing it because it's a safer route than the alternatives. Heres a hypothetical (really). If I were to go to a concert and I wanted to get some drugs, I have a few options. I could wait until the show and ask around and see what I get. The risk here is that I have no way of knowing what it is I just bought. It could be a $20 sugar pill, or it could be a $20 cheap research chemical that could put me into cardiac arrest. I could do that, or I could look up some reviews online to see the most reputable vendor, compare prices, make a purchase, buy a drug testing kit from walmart and run some tests of my own to ensure what I purchased is what I want it to be, then go from there.
I would argue that by using the darknet, I just caused *less* harm to myself than I would have otherwise. The darknet is not responsible for anyone's drug addiction, because the bottom line is that these "addicts" downloaded tor, taught themselves PGP encryption, and did the vendor research on their own time. These markets only exist because people wanted a safer way to get what they want. There's no billboards for the Silkroad, there are no late night infomercials. It's actually MORE challenging to buy drugs online (especially for a junkie addict who likely isn't familiar with computer land) than it is to get them on the street, so the argument can't even be made that it's facilitating easy access.
Anyone going through the trouble of buying drugs online would have gone through the trouble to get them in any other manner. I view it as a positive that these "addicts" can get higher quality drugs, since at least that way there is less risk of harm from getting something bunk. Many overdoses come from people getting drugs that aren't what was advertised. Shady drug dealers will tell you you're buying a $10 tab of LSD (actually a very safe drug, believe it or not) but it's really some cheap questionable research chemical that has unknown side effects and a low LD50.
Then, on a different note, there are people who are actually prescribed medications that choose to buy on the darknet over going to Target Pharmacy. Oftentimes, the prices for these generic drugs online are significantly cheaper than what they would cost for someone without insurance, for example. Again, obviously there are many people without prescriptions just trying to use these drugs recreationally, and I can't argue that there is any positive outcome from prescription drug abuse. The subset of people who are using these drugs for medical reasons cannot be ignored, however.
The reason I know so much about the darknet is due largely to my curiosity, and partially due to first hand accounts from people who I know. I'm a CS major so I couldn't help myself from exploring. Keep in mind that aside from the Netflix account which I did see used successfully, I can't say with 100% confidence that anything on the darknet is legit.
Please don't get any ideas about me! I'm a good student!
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