The dark web is an area of the Internet that we seem to hear a lot about, but most of us have never even caught a glimpse of it. Well, an ethical hacker explains what the dark web is really like, and it’s way more complicated than you might assume.
Professional cybersecurity specialist and technology wizz Ryan Montgomery appeared on a podcast to shed light on what the dark web is, and how it can be accessed to find almost anything, although he explained: “The dark web itself isn’t a marketplace, like what you’re thinking.”
Ethical hacker explains how the dark web is accessed
Privacy may seem non-existent in most areas of the Internet since tools like social media heighten accessibility and exposure, but the dark web is an entirely different ball game. Do we really know what the mysterious term means?
While the Internet is sizable, the “visible” side of the Internet – referring to sites that can be found using search engines like Google and Yahoo – is just the beginning.
The dark web is a hidden part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible using special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable.
Ryan Montgomery, referred to as an ‘ethical hacker’ known for exposing online predators, appeared on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast to talk about the dark web and how it can be accessed to find almost anything. It may seem odd to fathom, but it can be used as a normal ‘internet’ as well. You can check your email account there, too!
Additionally, Kaspersky explains that the dark web hosts both legal and illegal activities, offering anonymity but also posing risks like scams and illicit content.
In the podcast uploaded on YouTube, he revealed that “the dark web itself isn’t a marketplace, like what you’re thinking, so the black market or whatever you want to call it.”
The cybersecurity expert suggested that it’s not as easy to access the disturbing nature of the dark web, because once you’re connected to it, “you still need to know where to go to visit these horrible websites.”
Ryan said: “You can’t visit those websites in a regular browser, you have to do that while you’re connected to the Onion Router which you can download using a specialized browser like Tor.”
Tor (an acronym for The Onion Router) is a free overlay network for enabling anonymous communication, essentially acting as a network that masks online traffic.
‘Horrible’ websites on the dark web
To help listeners visualize what accessing the dark web looks like, Ryan suggested: “Imagine a very long string of letters and numbers and the website instead of ‘.com’ it would be ‘.onion’.”
Once you’re in the mysterious territory, you then enter a thing called the Hidden Wiki, and the Hidden Wiki will show all different categories of websites with links to them.
Ryan revealed that there are different categories of websites with links to them, filled with various sites that “do horrible things.”
The comment section is filled with horror surrounding the dark web, and many people have praised Ryan Montgomery for his ethical work in cybersecurity.
One comment applauded: “Thank you intelligent young man for exposing these horrible people on the dark web, you’re amazing and the world needs more people like you, Bravo!”
Ryan Montgomery is a professional cybersecurity specialist and ‘ethical hacker’, with a significant aspect of work focusing on the safety of children online. Ryan is the founder of Digital G Investments, co-founder of Pentester.com, and chief technology officer at Sentinel Foundation, dedicating considerable resources and efforts towards creating safer digital spaces for the younger generation.
