A Guide to Nine Privacy-Focused Networks and Their Reported Criminal Uses
Summary
The article surveys nine privacy-focused or decentralized networks, outlining how they work and are accessed, their legitimate uses, and reported criminal uses such as illicit marketplaces, illegal file sharing, and stolen-data distribution.
Key points
- Tor routes traffic through volunteer-operated nodes; its .onion sites support anonymous browsing and hosting.
- I2P is geared toward internal peer-to-peer communication and hosts forums and marketplaces, as well as reported illegal material.
- ZeroNet uses blockchain and BitTorrent to distribute censorship-resistant websites.
- Freenet supports anonymous publishing and file sharing; the article says criminals use it to share illegal files, including stolen intellectual property.
- Oxen (formerly Loki) provides private messaging, transactions, and decentralized apps that can be used for marketplaces and forums.
- IPFS distributes files across a peer-to-peer network; the article notes it may attract criminals seeking to share stolen data.
- The article argues that law-enforcement takedowns of Tor sites may encourage criminal users to move to other networks or communication methods.
Article Details
- Topic
- Comparison of dark web networks, their features and uses, and their associated risks
People
Adam J. RichterFounded Yggdrasil Computing, Incorporated, which the article identifies as the developer of Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X.Ian ClarkeLaunched Freenet in 2000 to provide anonymous and censorship-resistant content sharing and communications.Juan BenetProposed IPFS, which launched in 2015.Zer0Identified as the person leading the group of developers who created I2P.ZeroIdentified as the anonymous developer who created ZeroNet.
Products
FreenetAlthough superseded by Freenet, which was launched in 2000 by Ian Clarke, a computer science student at the University of Edinburgh, to offer anonymous and censorship-resistant content sharing and communications, theI2PI2P (Invisible Internet Project) IPFS IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) LokiLoki (Oxen) MysteriumMysterium is a decentralized VPN and proxy service that allows users to securely access the internet while maintaining privacy.OxenLoki (Oxen) TorWhile the Onion Router (TOR) is the most well-known dark web network, there are a number of other networks that have been developed which are used for various different reasons, while these sites do have some legitimateUnigridUnigrid is a decentralized, secure, and censorship-resistant platform that focuses on providing internet access and data storage through peer-to-peer networks.YggdrasilYggdrasil is a decentralized, encrypted mesh network aimed at offering secure, encrypted, and anonymous communication.ZeroNetZeroNet is a decentralized, peer-to-peer network that uses blockchain technology to host websites.