The Deep Web - Dark Web - Essay Example

The Deep Web (Dark Web) Deep web Introduction Deep web can be defined as the part of the internet that isnot visible by normal search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo(Segaran, &Hammerbacher, 2009). Deep web is also known by other names like dark web, deep net, invisible net and many others. Although it goes by other names like dark net, deep web should not be confused by names like dark internet as this is another thing altogether. It is believed that deep web was a top secret NASA activity towards some secret inventions although this has turned out to be incorrect. Dark webprovides an anonymity that the government and other organizations use to store their databases and records since they often use personalized protection passwords. This means that their business are safe from hackers as they use additional software like TOR (the onion router) which crawlers-people who surf the web surface-do not have access to(Yao, 2010). Deep web is not such a bad thing as normally portrayed and can be of great use to the society. This paper is going to discuss the deep web, its creation, how society influences deep web and how deep influences the society. On how the deep web affects society, the paper is going to discuss the good side and bad side of the deep web. Creation of deep web Deep web was created by Mike Bergman. It uses a site that calls itself BrightPlanet(Dragut, Meng& Yu, 2012). This site has rapidly grown and matured over the years. BrightPlanet has over ten years of experience in harnessing deep web sources. BrightPlanet has a repository where it stores deep web sources. As per now, there are over eighty thousand deep web sources indexed in BrightPlanet repository. How deep web affects society As stated earlier, the deep web is the part of the internet that is invisible to the standard browsers. However, it affects the society in good and bad ways as discussed below. Good purposes of deep web Deep web is a blessing in various ways; firstly, deep web has a lot of space thus making it the perfect place where businesses can conduct their business online.According to Steve Pederson, the deep web is approximately 400-500 the size of the surface web (Pederson, 2013). Picture it like this, a fisher man out fishing casts the net and only catches what is on the surface imagine what and how much he can catch if his net would reach the deep end of the waters. This is how crawlers look for information and conduct business with normal search engines like Google and Yahoo. They collect partial knowledge(Witten, Gori&Numerico, 2007). The deep web allows users freedom(Chhabra, 2013). This includes freedom of speech which allows users to say whatever theories, stories, conspiracies and any other thing in their mind to inform the public. An example is Edward Snowden the American who released the US intelligence surveillance to the whole world via deep web(Greenwald, 2014).This is because there are some conspiracy theories that the government hides form the common man and they are illegal too. Moreover, the government is lying and robbing the public without their knowledge not to mention killing them slowly and using them as test materials. This information can be obtained in deep web pages and can keep one safe and knowledgeable(Jaffe, 2012). Privacy is another benefit of the deep web that mostly business organizations enjoy(Olsen, 2005). This privacy allows them to conduct business, keep their financial record and company records where nobody can access them. Furthermore, this privacy can assist organizations to monitor competition from rival companies without being noticed. This is because TOR completely clears history of a user after they log off. Deep web enables access to Secret or classified information like court cases, medical researches, test medicines and inventions(Hunsinger,Klastrup, & Allen, 2010). This can be beneficial in that at times the government keeps useful medicine that have not been medically tested on animals from human beings who really need it. Or in other instances some medication that is needed by many people is banned or controlled by the government, by using deep web, people can get their medications and lead healthy normal lives again. Although it might seem like deep web encourages illegal stuff and bad things, it is actually good in that it can aid in cutting fraudsters. This has been previously used by policemen to catch even the toughest criminals who have cheated the law and avoided being caught for centuries(Fransson, 2009). For example police recruits work undercover to gain access to drug rings and cartels as buyers, peddlers or users. They then use this information to trick them into walking into traps set by policemen. Bad purposes of deep web As much as deep web good is a blessing in disguise to humanity it is also an evil in its own capacity(Pederson, 2013). First, deep webs anonymity nature makes it a den for sexual predators. Pedophiles and sex offenders have a haven in the use of deep web because they cannot be traced upon law trespassing. Grown up men, with abnormal sexual behaviors prey and lureunsuspectingvulnerable females into sex. The deep web also aids in the killings of these sexual preys. In addition to this, child pornography is on the rise on deep web. This business of child pornography is the most common with deep web since offenders cannot be caught. Secondly, the deep web serves as a market place for illegal business like the black market. In these markets controlled substances like cocaine, marijuana and other substances are sold easily and without fear of authoritiescatching up with them due to the anonymity offered. Additionally, armories are also sold in this market that is from simple weapons to nuclear weapons. Deep web is loved by terrorists. Thirdly, deep web was originally meant for government usage to store data and government secrets. The accessibility by anybody with the software TOR has made this very difficult since of late there has been a large number of unauthorized leaks of sensitive information. This information can be very dangerous especially in the hands of the wrong people like terrorist or government spies and the likes. Theycan trigger wars or create major depressions on the economy. Lastly, other illegalschemes and fund embezzlement have been made possible by deep web. This has seen the rise of issue like credit card fraud, identity theft. This is because once a person logs in to BrightPlanet it clears their information but some sites require proof of human being to continue or just access the user without their knowledge or consent. Furthermore, money laundering and copyright infringement has been conducted using this same method on the deep web. How society influences the deep web 1.1 Edward Snowden the man behind the prism scandal has greatly influenced the deep web phenomenon (DOrazio et al, 2014). Snowden used the anonymity of the deep web to have his understanding of freedom of speech. The nature in which Snowden has made vulnerable the US has forced people to panic and start using deep web in fear that their properties, money or identities may be stolen. The question is, if Edward Snowden could reveal the US’s most secret surveillance program using deep web and get out of the country what more can others do with the information? Everybody now is trying to access deep web to be on the safe side and this influences deep web and its growth. There are no laws that govern the use of deep web since it cannot be traced back to anybody. Furthermore, even Snowden did use deep web to reveal the secret surveillance program and if not for his public declaration could not have been reprimanded. The deep web internet is also influence by the use of other torrents like TOR and other software. This is how society influences the deep web. Conclusion The deep web is an invisible internet surfacing method that crawlers cannot access and was created by Mike Bergman. Deep web has both advantages and disadvantages but mainly deep web is a blessing. It aids in more knowledge, doing business and accessing limited substances that are not illegal for use but are just controlled to avoid over usage. It is bad because it is like a haven for criminals who leak vital information like Snowden, sexual predators, terrorists and drug lords. 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