The Bad and Ugly

We all know it is out there. The bad stuff. We see it in the movies and TV shows but most of us are blissfully unaware of it. For me it was the stuff of legend, a good imagination, or exaggerated facts. What I am talking about is the evil that can be accessed on the internet. You see on TV the type of things that can be found and bought on the internet: assassins, drugs, sex, people, and many other black market objects. I thought it didn't exist until our class this past Thursday. That was when I learned about  the deep web. The horrible black hole that is the deep web.

The search engines that we use daily with the thousands of websites that are found about one topic only scratch the surface of what is actually out there. Whatever we do online can be tracked with the right process and technology. That is why people don't access the deep web without being anonymous. They achieve this anonymity by using websites like Tor.com. Tor allows users to access any website they want and remain anonymous because it routes the trail through several different computers and makes it untraceable. That might be wrong but that is how I perceived it. You can read for yourself at this link, http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/12/06/tor-deepnet-anonymity/. The website does mention how Tor can be used for good. If someone wanted to make an anonymous donation to a good cause they could use Tor. However I believe that it is used much more often by people who want to remain anonymous to commit crime or obtain illegal substances.

I was horrified to find out that this was real. I have lived a very sheltered life. I feel very lucky to have not been exposed to the dark side of the internet. Am I curious about the deep web? Yes. Will I ever explore it? Unless I absolutely have to, I will never try to explore it and give into my curiosity. Knowing that it is out there is enough for me. I don't know want to know for myself the evils that are available to anyone. I just hope that it is never effects my life.

Beth Gameren